Buyer: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
Buyers buy merchandise or commodities, other than farm products, for resale to consumers at the wholesale or retail level, including both durable and nondurable goods.
- Preparation
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- medium preparation
Data Government data groups this job as Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products (O*NET-SOC 13-1022.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.
Every page for Buyers
What buyers do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Negotiate prices, discount terms, or transportation arrangements with suppliers.
- Inspect merchandise or products to determine quality, value, or yield.
- Recommend mark-up rates, mark-down rates, or merchandise selling prices.
- Obtain information about customer needs or preferences by conferring with sales or purchasing personnel.
- Buy merchandise or commodities for resale to wholesale or retail consumers.
- Collaborate with vendors to obtain or develop desired products.
- Authorize payment of invoices or return of merchandise.
- Consult with store or merchandise managers about budgets or goods to be purchased.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Administration and Management, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Production and Processing, Mathematics, Administrative.
Software buyers use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- Purchasing softwareProcurement softwareIn demand
- FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
- Advanced Retail Management Systems Retail ProPoint of sale POS software
- Applicant tracking softwareHuman resources software
- CAM Commerce Solutions Retail STAR Point of Sale POSPoint of sale POS software
- Enterprise risk management software ERMSRisk management data and analysis software
- Graphics softwareGraphics or photo imaging software
- Infor Supply Chain ManagementMaterials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
- Inventory control systemsInventory management software
- Kliger-Weiss InfosystemsMaterials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
- LinkedInWeb page creation and editing software
- Materials requirement planning MRP softwareMaterials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
Also called: Bakery Buyer, Deli Buyer, Frozen Food Buyer, Gourmet Food Buyer, Grocery Buyer.
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.