Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (2024)

What is a buyer?

A buyer sources, negotiates, and purchases goods and services on behalf of a company or organization. They research market trends, evaluate suppliers, and make decisions based on quality, price, and availability. Buyers work closely with sales teams, vendors, and other departments to deliver products on time and meet the needs of the business. They also manage inventory levels and track expenses. Successful buyers have communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work under pressure.

What does a buyer do?

A buyer's duties include product sourcing and comparing resources for the best product range that would suit the specific needs of the business. Buyers must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to evaluate items that most likely benefit the customer and improve the sales of daily operations with cost-efficient products. They also conduct extensive research for market and price trends while considering the highest quality standards. Buyers should also possess strong analytical skills to create purchase orders and statistical analysis.

Learn more about the specifics of what a buyer does

Buyer pros and cons

Pros

  • Opportunity to negotiate and make deals

  • Constantly learning about new products and industries

  • Opportunity for travel

  • Potential for high earning potential with commission or bonuses

  • Ability to take ownership of projects

Cons

  • Work can be high pressure and stressful

  • Long hours, including evenings and weekends

  • Reliance on technology which can be frustrating if it malfunctions

  • Dealing with difficult vendors or customers

  • Limited opportunities for creativity or innovation in certain industries

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Buyer career paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of senior buyer you might progress to a role such as purchasing manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title director of purchasing.

Buyer

Learn more about buyer career paths

Average buyer salary

The average Buyer salary in the United States is $54,049 per year or $26 per hour. Buyer salaries range between $37,000 and $76,000 per year.

Average

Buyer

Salary

$54,049Yearly

$25.99

hourly

What Am I Worth?

Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (1)

Buyer skills and job requirements

The most common skills required to be a buyer are purchase orders, customer service, and logistics.

Buyer skills

  • Purchase Orders
  • Customer Service
  • Logistics
  • Supplier Performance
  • MRP
  • Commodities
  • ERP
  • Cost Savings
  • On-Time Delivery
  • Cost Reduction

Buyer requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in business or related field.
  • Minimum five years of experience in buying and procurement.
  • Knowledge of relevant industry regulations.
  • Proficiency in MS Office Suite.
  • Excellent numerical, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
Aditional buyer skills

Buyer responsibilities

The role of a buyer includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry. Here are some general buyer responsibilities.

  • Achieve QA initiatives by increasing transparency and communication with multiple departments and suppliers to achieve daily/weekly/monthly production requirements and expedites.
  • Manage all incoming RMA equipment, processing and directing to correct locations and departments.
  • Create, analyze and manage recaps pertaining to inventory, trends, OTB, and markdowns.
  • Manage KanBan spreadsheets to optimize inventory levels and supplier performance.
Aditional buyer responsibilities

Buyer education

If you're interested in becoming a buyer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 63.6% of buyers have a bachelor's degree.

We found that 6.6% of buyers have master's degrees. Even though most buyers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

The most common majors for buyers are business, marketing, and accounting.

Buyer majors

42.5

%

Buyer degrees

Bachelor's

63.6

%

Associate

18.2

%

High School Diploma

7.3

%

Aditional buyer education information

Buyer resume examples

Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (2)Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (3)Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (4)Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (5)Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (6)Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (7)Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (8)Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (9)Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (10)Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (11)Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (12)Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (13)

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How do buyers rate their job?

5/5

Based On 1 Ratings

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Buyer reviews

Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (14)

5.0

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019

Pros

To be involved in negotiations

Cons

I like all in this job, because I have the choise to be in relation with a lot of persons and know what they are doing against purchasing also what the use to buy and under what coondition

Best states for a buyer

Some states are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a buyer. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, Washington, Kansas, and Pennsylvania.

1. Pennsylvania

Total buyer jobs: 432Avg. salary: $59,918Location quotient: 1.14

2. Michigan

Total buyer jobs: 293Avg. salary: $58,965Location quotient: 1.16

3. Ohio

Total buyer jobs: 289Avg. salary: $58,883Location quotient: 0.87

4. Washington

Total buyer jobs: 258Avg. salary: $60,792Location quotient: 1.08

5. Utah

Total buyer jobs: 112Avg. salary: $57,828Location quotient: 1.08

6. Connecticut

Total buyer jobs: 119Avg. salary: $59,291Location quotient: 1.1

7. Wisconsin

Total buyer jobs: 194Avg. salary: $57,209Location quotient: 1.08

8. Kansas

Total buyer jobs: 68Avg. salary: $60,772Location quotient: 0.69

9. New Jersey

Total buyer jobs: 226Avg. salary: $61,714Location quotient: 0.87

10. Illinois

Total buyer jobs: 455Avg. salary: $56,892Location quotient: 1.17

11. New York

Total buyer jobs: 463Avg. salary: $59,667Location quotient: 1.11

12. West Virginia

Total buyer jobs: 27Avg. salary: $58,559Location quotient: 0.54

13. South Dakota

Total buyer jobs: 21Avg. salary: $58,774Location quotient: 0.6

14. Kentucky

Total buyer jobs: 112Avg. salary: $55,658Location quotient: 0.93

15. Missouri

Total buyer jobs: 178Avg. salary: $55,722Location quotient: 0.93

16. Montana

Total buyer jobs: 12Avg. salary: $58,602Location quotient: 0.32

17. Maryland

Total buyer jobs: 245Avg. salary: $56,027Location quotient: 1.18

18. Minnesota

Total buyer jobs: 246Avg. salary: $54,245Location quotient: 1.14

19. Virginia

Total buyer jobs: 255Avg. salary: $57,893Location quotient: 0.83

20. Iowa

Total buyer jobs: 122Avg. salary: $53,510Location quotient: 1.03

21. Massachusetts

Total buyer jobs: 297Avg. salary: $56,371Location quotient: 0.99

22. California

Total buyer jobs: 1,170Avg. salary: $54,651Location quotient: 1.23

23. Alaska

Total buyer jobs: 30Avg. salary: $56,144Location quotient: 1.1

24. Delaware

Total buyer jobs: 31Avg. salary: $56,802Location quotient: 0.76

25. Indiana

Total buyer jobs: 165Avg. salary: $54,432Location quotient: 0.77

26. North Carolina

Total buyer jobs: 335Avg. salary: $53,084Location quotient: 1.07

27. Wyoming

Total buyer jobs: 15Avg. salary: $54,015Location quotient: 0.77

28. District of Columbia

Total buyer jobs: 47Avg. salary: $57,159Location quotient: 0.86

29. Tennessee

Total buyer jobs: 175Avg. salary: $51,467Location quotient: 0.91

30. New Mexico

Total buyer jobs: 30Avg. salary: $54,697Location quotient: 0.47

31. South Carolina

Total buyer jobs: 120Avg. salary: $53,649Location quotient: 0.82

32. Colorado

Total buyer jobs: 280Avg. salary: $51,674Location quotient: 1.44

33. Vermont

Total buyer jobs: 20Avg. salary: $54,593Location quotient: 0.8

34. Nebraska

Total buyer jobs: 55Avg. salary: $53,126Location quotient: 0.76

35. Arizona

Total buyer jobs: 251Avg. salary: $50,538Location quotient: 1.32

36. New Hampshire

Total buyer jobs: 51Avg. salary: $53,082Location quotient: 0.89

37. Rhode Island

Total buyer jobs: 29Avg. salary: $53,742Location quotient: 0.73

38. Oregon

Total buyer jobs: 149Avg. salary: $51,314Location quotient: 1.1

39. North Dakota

Total buyer jobs: 20Avg. salary: $51,866Location quotient: 0.66

40. Mississippi

Total buyer jobs: 53Avg. salary: $51,419Location quotient: 0.77

41. Maine

Total buyer jobs: 41Avg. salary: $51,642Location quotient: 0.95

42. Georgia

Total buyer jobs: 401Avg. salary: $49,364Location quotient: 1.19

43. Nevada

Total buyer jobs: 56Avg. salary: $51,745Location quotient: 0.82

44. Oklahoma

Total buyer jobs: 26Avg. salary: $51,482Location quotient: 0.26

45. Alabama

Total buyer jobs: 82Avg. salary: $50,438Location quotient: 0.57

46. Idaho

Total buyer jobs: 49Avg. salary: $49,554Location quotient: 0.92

47. Texas

Total buyer jobs: 642Avg. salary: $48,743Location quotient: 0.97

48. Hawaii

Total buyer jobs: 29Avg. salary: $39,256Location quotient: 1.06

49. Arkansas

Total buyer jobs: 57Avg. salary: $48,035Location quotient: 0.67

50. Florida

Total buyer jobs: 428Avg. salary: $45,720Location quotient: 0.84

51. Louisiana

Total buyer jobs: 51Avg. salary: $48,699Location quotient: 0.49

Full list of best states for buyers

Buyer videos

Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (15)

Career Advice on becoming an Art Buyer by Dawn N (Highlights)

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Buyer jobs by state

Updated February 16, 2024

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Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia (2024)

FAQs

Buyer Overview | What is a buyer? - Zippia? ›

A buyer sources, negotiates, and purchases goods and services on behalf of a company or organization. They research market trends, evaluate suppliers, and make decisions based on quality, price, and availability.

What are the key responsibilities of a buyer? ›

Duties and responsibilities of a Buyer

Selecting new products and reviewing the old. Finding the right suppliers. Negotiating prices (so the store doesn't get ripped off) Ensuring the products are delivered on time.

What is a buyer 3 job description? ›

Buyer III/Buyer III (Lead)

The Buyer III may be assigned purchases or contracts for commodities and services which involve the integration of many diverse elements, are of high cost, or which entail construction projects, service agreements, repair projects, or interagency agreements.

What should a buyer do? ›

Buyers are responsible for purchasing goods for a company to use or sell in their own business. This position requires extensive research and the ability to negotiate contracts with suppliers, manage an inventory, evaluate quality goods, and stick within a budget.

What is a buyer 1 job description? ›

Researches, secures, compares, and evaluates information regarding source of supply, price, quality, availability, terms and conditions, and related information for varied materials, supplies, services, and equipment.

How do you describe a buyer? ›

A buyer is a person who is buying something or who intends to buy it. Car buyers are more interested in safety and reliability than speed.

What skills does a buyer need? ›

Skills and qualities
  • excellent communication skills.
  • negotiating skills.
  • an aptitude for figures and the ability to manage a budget.
  • an analytical mind.
  • IT skills.
  • an interest in the activities of your own organisation.
  • the ability to build up a good knowledge of manufacturing and distribution methods and suppliers.

Is being a buyer a hard job? ›

For example, you may need to inspect products, negotiate contracts, manage inventory, or conduct market research. Ultimately, buyers juggle a lot of different responsibilities in the workplace. It's an ideal job for people who thrive in fast-paced, ever-changing environments where no two days are alike.

What is the difference between buyer 1 2 and 3? ›

Buyer I is the entry-level professional job in this series. Buyer II is the second-level professional job in this series. Buyer III is the first-level supervisory job in this series.

What is a buyer 2 job description? ›

Performs moderately complex purchasing procedures in the acquisition of goods and services from a variety of vendors including small, women, and minority owned businesses.

How to be a good buyer? ›

This means that a buyer should always do their research, taking time to determine their priorities, as well as getting to know the products that they want to buy, the manufacturer or supplier that they are speaking with and having an awareness of their room for negotiation.

What do buyers do on a day-to-day basis? ›

Analyze past buying trends, sales records, price, and quality of merchandise to determine value and yield. Select, order, and authorize payment for merchandise according to contractual agreements. May conduct meetings with sales personnel and introduce new products. May negotiate contracts.

What does it mean to be a good buyer? ›

Good buyers do their due diligence. They weigh their options, they are sure of their direction and they make decisions. Good buyers commit and go! Salespeople can be pains in the ass.

What is the difference between procurement and buyer? ›

Procurement professionals work in projects: Theoretically they have clear scope, timing, defined milestones, budget and a final delivery date. Buyers have a routine to respect, and that routine is part of the success of the role. Discipline and alignment with the parts involved is key to success.

What is a professional buyer? ›

Professional Buyers rarely own the business issue or problem related to the products and services you are selling. They are buying on behalf of the people and functions in their organization who do own that business problem. In other words, they all have internal customers they are trying to satisfy.

What is the basic obligation of the buyer and seller? ›

The obligation of the seller is to transfer and deliver and that of the buyer is to accept and pay in accordance with the contract. ‹ § 2-328. Sale by Auction. up § 2-302.

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