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 doesBuyer 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
- Salary$54,049
- Jobs Number23,589
- Job Satisfaction
- Complexity LevelChallenging
- Most Common SkillPurchase Orders
- Most Common DegreeBachelor's degree
- Best StatePennsylvania
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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
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 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.
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.
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 degrees
Bachelor's
63.6
%
Associate
18.2
%
High School Diploma
7.3
%
Buyer resume examples
Improve your buyer resumeHow do buyers rate their job?
5/5
Based On 1 Ratings
5 Stars
4 Stars
3 Stars
2 Stars
1 Star
Buyer reviews
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: 1.142. Michigan
Total buyer jobs: 293Avg. salary: $58,965Location quotient: 1.163. Ohio
Total buyer jobs: 289Avg. salary: $58,883Location quotient: 0.874. Washington
Total buyer jobs: 258Avg. salary: $60,792Location quotient: 1.085. Utah
Total buyer jobs: 112Avg. salary: $57,828Location quotient: 1.086. Connecticut
Total buyer jobs: 119Avg. salary: $59,291Location quotient: 1.17. Wisconsin
Total buyer jobs: 194Avg. salary: $57,209Location quotient: 1.088. Kansas
Total buyer jobs: 68Avg. salary: $60,772Location quotient: 0.699. New Jersey
Total buyer jobs: 226Avg. salary: $61,714Location quotient: 0.8710. Illinois
Total buyer jobs: 455Avg. salary: $56,892Location quotient: 1.1711. New York
Total buyer jobs: 463Avg. salary: $59,667Location quotient: 1.1112. West Virginia
Total buyer jobs: 27Avg. salary: $58,559Location quotient: 0.5413. South Dakota
Total buyer jobs: 21Avg. salary: $58,774Location quotient: 0.614. Kentucky
Total buyer jobs: 112Avg. salary: $55,658Location quotient: 0.9315. Missouri
Total buyer jobs: 178Avg. salary: $55,722Location quotient: 0.9316. Montana
Total buyer jobs: 12Avg. salary: $58,602Location quotient: 0.3217. Maryland
Total buyer jobs: 245Avg. salary: $56,027Location quotient: 1.1818. Minnesota
Total buyer jobs: 246Avg. salary: $54,245Location quotient: 1.1419. Virginia
Total buyer jobs: 255Avg. salary: $57,893Location quotient: 0.8320. Iowa
Total buyer jobs: 122Avg. salary: $53,510Location quotient: 1.0321. Massachusetts
Total buyer jobs: 297Avg. salary: $56,371Location quotient: 0.9922. California
Total buyer jobs: 1,170Avg. salary: $54,651Location quotient: 1.2323. Alaska
Total buyer jobs: 30Avg. salary: $56,144Location quotient: 1.124. Delaware
Total buyer jobs: 31Avg. salary: $56,802Location quotient: 0.7625. Indiana
Total buyer jobs: 165Avg. salary: $54,432Location quotient: 0.7726. North Carolina
Total buyer jobs: 335Avg. salary: $53,084Location quotient: 1.0727. Wyoming
Total buyer jobs: 15Avg. salary: $54,015Location quotient: 0.7728. District of Columbia
Total buyer jobs: 47Avg. salary: $57,159Location quotient: 0.8629. Tennessee
Total buyer jobs: 175Avg. salary: $51,467Location quotient: 0.9130. New Mexico
Total buyer jobs: 30Avg. salary: $54,697Location quotient: 0.4731. South Carolina
Total buyer jobs: 120Avg. salary: $53,649Location quotient: 0.8232. Colorado
Total buyer jobs: 280Avg. salary: $51,674Location quotient: 1.4433. Vermont
Total buyer jobs: 20Avg. salary: $54,593Location quotient: 0.834. Nebraska
Total buyer jobs: 55Avg. salary: $53,126Location quotient: 0.7635. Arizona
Total buyer jobs: 251Avg. salary: $50,538Location quotient: 1.3236. New Hampshire
Total buyer jobs: 51Avg. salary: $53,082Location quotient: 0.8937. Rhode Island
Total buyer jobs: 29Avg. salary: $53,742Location quotient: 0.7338. Oregon
Total buyer jobs: 149Avg. salary: $51,314Location quotient: 1.139. North Dakota
Total buyer jobs: 20Avg. salary: $51,866Location quotient: 0.6640. Mississippi
Total buyer jobs: 53Avg. salary: $51,419Location quotient: 0.7741. Maine
Total buyer jobs: 41Avg. salary: $51,642Location quotient: 0.9542. Georgia
Total buyer jobs: 401Avg. salary: $49,364Location quotient: 1.1943. Nevada
Total buyer jobs: 56Avg. salary: $51,745Location quotient: 0.8244. Oklahoma
Total buyer jobs: 26Avg. salary: $51,482Location quotient: 0.2645. Alabama
Total buyer jobs: 82Avg. salary: $50,438Location quotient: 0.5746. Idaho
Total buyer jobs: 49Avg. salary: $49,554Location quotient: 0.9247. Texas
Total buyer jobs: 642Avg. salary: $48,743Location quotient: 0.9748. Hawaii
Total buyer jobs: 29Avg. salary: $39,256Location quotient: 1.0649. Arkansas
Total buyer jobs: 57Avg. salary: $48,035Location quotient: 0.6750. Florida
Total buyer jobs: 428Avg. salary: $45,720Location quotient: 0.8451. Louisiana
Total buyer jobs: 51Avg. salary: $48,699Location quotient: 0.49Buyer videos
Career Advice on becoming an Art Buyer by Dawn N (Highlights)
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Buyer jobs by state
- Buyer jobs in Montana
- Buyer jobs in North Carolina
- Buyer jobs in North Dakota
- Buyer jobs in Nebraska
- Buyer jobs in New Hampshire
- Buyer jobs in New Jersey
- Buyer jobs in New Mexico
- Buyer jobs in Nevada
- Buyer jobs in New York
- Buyer jobs in Ohio
- Buyer jobs in Oklahoma
- Buyer jobs in Oregon
- Buyer jobs in Pennsylvania
- Buyer jobs in Puerto Rico
- Buyer jobs in Rhode Island
- Buyer jobs in South Carolina
- Buyer jobs in South Dakota
- Buyer jobs in Tennessee
- Buyer jobs in Texas
- Buyer jobs in Utah
- Buyer jobs in Virginia
- Buyer jobs in Vermont
- Buyer jobs in Washington
- Buyer jobs in Wisconsin
- Buyer jobs in West Virginia
- Buyer jobs in Wyoming
Buyer Related Careers
Buyer Related Jobs
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Buyer Jobs By Location
- Buyer Albuquerque Jobs
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- Buyer Danbury Jobs
- Buyer Fort Myers Jobs
- Buyer Glendale Jobs
- Buyer Hermosa Beach Jobs
- Buyer Hilton Head Island Jobs
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Buyer Jobs By Company
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Updated February 16, 2024