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Wholesale and retail buyers purchase products

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like clothing and electronics for stores

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and organizations to sell or use.

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They have two major goals:

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to buy goods their company can sell at a profit,

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and to increase their customer base

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by offering products that consumers want.

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Buyers are successful if they choose merchandise that sells,

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and fail when warehouses and store racks

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are left with unwanted goods.

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That makes for a lot of pressure in this position!

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The most challenging part of the job is

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predicting which items will be popular.

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To do this, buyers must understand both

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their product and their customers.

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They visit trade shows and showrooms for ideas, 

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and research trends in their product area.

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They analyze economic conditions, study past sales records,

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and listen to customer feedback to identify buying patterns.

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Wholesale and retail buyers often specialize in

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one or two types of products when working for a large organization,

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and must be familiar with a larger variety

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of products when working for a smaller business.

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They carefully select product suppliers that will

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meet the quality, cost, and delivery date promised.

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Extensive retail experience is required to become a buyer,

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along with a high school diploma, or for some positions,

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a bachelor’s degree in a retail or business related field.

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This career depends on good planning skills, decisiveness,

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and the willingness to trust your intuition.