# Future Goods > Future Goods means goods to be created or obtained by the seller after a sales contract is formed. **Term:** Future Goods **Last updated:** 2026-07-29 ## Definition ## What Future Goods Means in a Contract Future Goods refers to items that do not exist, or that exist but are not yet owned by the seller, at the moment a sales contract is agreed. Unlike existing or specific goods that can be handed over immediately, future goods depend on some later event, such as manufacture, harvest, extraction, or acquisition from a third party, before they can be delivered. This distinction matters because the law governing the contract treats a contract for future goods as an agreement to sell, not an outright sale, since title cannot pass until the goods actually come into existence and are identified to the contract. Common examples include a farmer contracting to sell next season's harvest, a manufacturer agreeing to supply units it has not yet produced, or a trader agreeing to deliver minerals it has not yet extracted. In each case, the contract is valid and binding, but ownership and risk typically transfer only once the goods are produced, identified, and made deliverable. This makes future goods a practical tool for commerce, allowing parties to lock in supply and pricing before production is complete. ## How Future Goods Is Defined or Measured Future goods are usually defined by reference to two elements, existence and ownership. Goods that do not physically exist yet, such as crops not yet planted or products not yet manufactured, are future goods by definition. Goods that already exist but are owned by someone other than the seller at the time of contracting are also future goods, because the seller has no present ability to transfer them. Measurement in practice often involves describing the goods generically rather than specifically, since the precise units may not yet be identifiable. A contract might refer to a quantity of a described item, a percentage of a future crop yield, or output from a specific production run. Only once the goods are manufactured, grown, or acquired and then appropriated to the contract, typically through selection, labeling, or delivery, does the seller's obligation crystallize into a transfer of specific goods. - Goods not yet manufactured or assembled - Goods not yet grown, harvested, or extracted - Goods the seller expects to acquire from a third party - Goods that exist but are not currently owned by the seller ## Where Future Goods Appears in Agreements The concept of future goods commonly appears in a