Consideration

The MBE tests consideration through fact patterns that look like contracts but secretly lack a true bargain. The “tell” is a recital with no real exchange: watch for nominal or “sham” consideration (a token $1 recited for a house to disguise a gift), gift promises dressed as deals, and illusory promises where one side reserves an unfettered escape (“I’ll buy if I feel like it”). The answer hinges on whether the detriment was sought in exchange, not on adequacy — courts will not weigh fairness (a sham figure fails because it is a pretense, not because the sum is small).

Distinguish consideration from an offer, which only creates a power of acceptance and needs no exchange to exist, and from promissory estoppel, the fallback when consideration is missing entirely. The classic trap is treating a conditional gift (“come to my house and I’ll give you a coat”) as a bargain — walking over is a condition, not the price. Memory hook: the promisor must seek the detriment as the price, not merely tolerate it.