Merchandise buyer vs grain buyer

The differences between merchandise buyers and grain buyers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes More than 10 years to become both a merchandise buyer and a grain buyer. Additionally, a grain buyer has an average salary of $63,792, which is higher than the $49,264 average annual salary of a merchandise buyer.

The top three skills for a merchandise buyer include vendor relations, purchase orders and customer service. The most important skills for a grain buyer are customer database, grain contracts, and commodities.

Merchandise buyer vs grain buyer overview

	Merchandise Buyer	Grain Buyer
Yearly salary	$49,264	$63,792
Hourly rate	$23.68	$30.67
Growth rate	19%	-
Number of jobs	22,291	9,280
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	-	-

Merchandise buyer vs grain buyer salary

Merchandise buyers and grain buyers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Merchandise Buyer	Grain Buyer
Average salary	$49,264	$63,792
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $64,000	Between $39,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City	Fairview, NJ	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	Bob's Discount Furniture	-
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	-

Differences between merchandise buyer and grain buyer education

There are a few differences between a merchandise buyer and a grain buyer in terms of educational background:

	Merchandise Buyer	Grain Buyer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	Harvard University

Merchandise buyer vs grain buyer demographics

Here are the differences between merchandise buyers' and grain buyers' demographics:

	Merchandise Buyer	Grain Buyer
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 37.2% Female, 62.8%	Male, 65.4% Female, 34.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 6.7% White, 76.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 2.4% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 78.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	15%	15%

Differences between merchandise buyer and grain buyer duties and responsibilities

Merchandise buyer example responsibilities.

Prepare the merchandise assortment plan for the company, manage the OTB and purchase the merchandise.
Manage open-to-buy to ensure continual flow of merchandise to stores and warehouses with careful attention to advertise events and promotions.
Perform allocations pulls in JDA program on inbound shipments and back-stock merchandise from distribution centers.
Assist in implementing the POS system and develop pricing policies.
Enter data into the appropriate POS systems and create new identifications for new product purchases.
Create open to buy, allocation buying, pricing, and direct the visual presentation of all apparel.

Grain buyer example responsibilities.

Assure suppliers comply with safety and quality alignments within company standards and manage non-conformance reporting for logistics as per company policy.
Coordinate shipping logistics with various freight companies as needed to buy and sell different commodities.
Perform monthly commodities inventories and audits.
Assure suppliers comply with safety and quality alignments within company standards and manage non-conformance reporting for logistics as per company policy.
Purchase all components to support NPI development builds and serve as primary interface to transition projects from development to manufacturing.

Merchandise buyer vs grain buyer skills

Common merchandise buyer skills

Vendor Relations, 14%
Purchase Orders, 11%
Customer Service, 10%
Apparel, 6%
Trade Shows, 5%
Product Categories, 4%

Common grain buyer skills

Customer Database, 81%
Grain Contracts, 14%
Commodities, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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