How much does a Buyer in NYC make?

[peteyross]

How much does a decent Buyer make in NYC? What is the best way for a young dude to get into this scene? Are there programs that people go through or do you just need to meet the right people? Anything people are willing to share about life as a buyer in New York would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[dnnsmanace]

You mean drugs?

[peteyross]

Alright, I'll play along. a RETAIL/FASHION buyer.

[Rockn]

Buyer's typically make around 40k a year. The perks are you get to be a complete deutchbag (some are better then others) and I am sure you get paid expenses to the trade shows in Vegas and New York. Buyers also tend to have great hours.

A lot of buyers are just managers or employees that have been there for a while. This is speaking on the boutique level. You should check out the GQ forum, there is a guy over there who is a buyer for Barneys.

[schatzi182]

I used to be an Associate Buyer for Saks back in the day.

I would say that most fashion buyers in NYC make between 60 and 85 grand a year. The mass store merchants tend to make the most (Macy's, Lord & Taylor), with the specialty stores coming next (Saks, Barneys) and vendors coming last (Polo, Prada, etc). Dealing with better and more fashionable merchandise is considered a perk.

Most of the buyers go through an executive training program. It's actually rare for someone from the store organization (sales clerk, floor manager) to rise through the ranks and go into the executive office. It happens, but most of the exec's start right out of school, and have business degrees.

The hours can often be pretty brutal, and the job is just as much about crunching numbers as it is about having taste. I definitely used to enjoy it though - retail can be pretty fast-paced and exciting. In general, sales account executives are among the best paid people in fashion retail.

It's pretty common for someone to start out in buying, and then enter sales in exchange for a larger salary. Former buyers are prized commodities for HR people.

Peace,

Schatz

[dnnsmanace]

My uncle supplies Tsum in Moscow (probably the biggest retail clothes store in city, was recently bought out by some germans). Basically hes always in London, Italy, Germany, etc checking out collections. I dont know how much he makes because that side of the family is secretive about things like that but its a shitload for sure with all the bonuses at the end of seasons. Its hard because he only comes back for a few days then is gone again to a new city for a couple of weeks.

http://www.tsum.ru/en/