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buy vs. purchase

English translation: No, there is no actual difference but there are customs of usage

08:09 Dec 26, 2007
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Marketing - Textiles / Clothing / Fashion
English term or phrase: buy vs. purchase
Is there any actual difference between these two words?
E.g. head buyer/head purchaser; buy/purchase a company; responsible for buying/purchasing.
William [Bill] Gray
Norway
Local time: 00:39
Selected answer:No, there is no actual difference but there are customs of usage
Explanation:
"Buying" seems to be a term that is used more in merchandise retailing (stores have buyers who buy merchandise for the store to sell at retail). "Purchasing" is the same function (buying from suppliers who typically are external) but is perhaps more formal and more common outside of the retail sector (companies that buy inputs for manufacturing or furnishings and equipment for their businesses have "purchasing departments"). Yet another option is "procurment" but this tends to be more common in government and military organizations.

Now, when talking about consumers, they are usually buyers who buy when they the goods and services bought are commodity, bulk or mass-market items. They are purchasers who purchase when the item is a luxury item or perceived as one. You might buy a Kia but purchase a Lexus, buy Thunderbird but purchase Veuve Cliquot, buy the World News but purchase the Financial Times. Likewise, in marketing materials, customers tend to buy and clients tend to purchase.

I hope this helps.
Selected response from:

Deborah Workman
United States
Local time: 18:39
Grading comment
Thank you very much, Deborah! I had the same distinction as has been mentioned by all our answerers, but your answer was specially clear and made a lot of sense.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +6More question of tone...
Tony M
4 +3No, there is no actual difference but there are customs of usage
Deborah Workman
5see explantion
Vittorio Ferretti


  

Answers


24 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
see explantion


Explanation:
"buy" = to acquire by payment or in exchange of something"; "purchase = to acquire (real estate) by means other than descent or inheritance, can be by money but also by labor, danger, sacrifice, donation...
"purchase" can be synonymous to "buy" but its meaning can also be more generic.



Vittorio Ferretti
Local time: 00:39
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
More question of tone...


Explanation:
I would say that, apart form obsolete / archaic meanings, both words are to a great extent synonyms — and NS OED concifrms this in several of the 'ordinary' senses. Both words may refer to the procurement of something, either by paying for it with money, or expending something more figurative.

As is so often the case, it seems to me that the Romance-rooted word 'purchase' tend to be used in more formal language, whereas the Germanic-roted 'buy' is used in mor everyday contexts / registers.

In my experience of business, 'purchasing' often refers to a specialist department dealing with procurement of all supplies for an organization, whereas a smaller firm might employ one or more 'buyers' for sourcing their merchandize (but possibly not other infrastructure items).

Tony M
France
Local time: 00:39
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 20

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  orientalhorizon
1 min
  -> Thanks, O/H! Happy Christmas!
agree  cmwilliams (X)
6 mins
  -> Thanks, CMW! Happy Christmas!
agree  Expialidocio (X)
51 mins
  -> Thanks, C/P! Merry Christmas to you too!
agree  tazdog (X)
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, Cindy!
agree  Shirley Lao
4 hrs
  -> Thanks Shirley!
agree  Sheila Wilson: same meaning, different contexts or register
10 hrs
  -> Thanks, Sheila!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

16 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
No, there is no actual difference but there are customs of usage


Explanation:
"Buying" seems to be a term that is used more in merchandise retailing (stores have buyers who buy merchandise for the store to sell at retail). "Purchasing" is the same function (buying from suppliers who typically are external) but is perhaps more formal and more common outside of the retail sector (companies that buy inputs for manufacturing or furnishings and equipment for their businesses have "purchasing departments"). Yet another option is "procurment" but this tends to be more common in government and military organizations.

Now, when talking about consumers, they are usually buyers who buy when they the goods and services bought are commodity, bulk or mass-market items. They are purchasers who purchase when the item is a luxury item or perceived as one. You might buy a Kia but purchase a Lexus, buy Thunderbird but purchase Veuve Cliquot, buy the World News but purchase the Financial Times. Likewise, in marketing materials, customers tend to buy and clients tend to purchase.

I hope this helps.

Deborah Workman
United States
Local time: 18:39
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thank you very much, Deborah! I had the same distinction as has been mentioned by all our answerers, but your answer was specially clear and made a lot of sense.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  orientalhorizon
35 mins
  -> Thanks!
agree  Tony M
7 hrs
  -> Thanks! Seems we were all on a similar wavelength and just finding different ways to explain ourselves.
agree  Alfa Trans (X)
9 hrs
  -> Thanks!
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