Merchant facts for kids

A merchant is someone who buys and sells goods to make a profit. They don't make the products themselves. Instead, they get items from people who produce them and then sell them to others.

What Kinds of Merchants Are There?

There are two main types of merchants:

• A wholesale merchant buys large amounts of goods directly from the people who make them. They then sell these goods to other businesses, like shops, rather than to individual customers. Think of them as the middle-person between the factory and the store.
• A retail merchant sells goods directly to customers. These are the people you usually think of when you hear "merchant." A shop owner, for example, is a retail merchant. They sell things like clothes, food, or toys to you and your family.

Merchants and the Law

In places like the United States, a merchant is seen as anyone who regularly sells goods as part of their job or business. Because they are experts in what they sell, merchants are often expected to meet a higher standard than someone who just sells something occasionally.

For example, when a merchant sells a product, they are usually expected to provide a warranty. This is like a promise that the product is good enough to be sold and will work as expected. This promise is often true even if it's not written down anywhere.

Related pages

• capitalism

Images for kids

• 

  Merchants from Holland and the Middle East trading.

• 

  A scale or balance is often used to symbolise a merchant.

• 

  Costumes of merchants from Brabant and Antwerp, engraving by Abraham de Bruyn, 1577.

• 

  Phoenician merchants traded across the entire Mediterranean region.

• 

  Wall painting from Pompeii showing everyday activities at a market-place.

• 

  Mosaic showing a garum container, from the house of Umbricius Scaurus of Pompeii. The writing says "The flower of garum, made of the mackerel, a product of Scaurus, from the shop of Scaurus."

• 

  Marco Polo was one of the first European merchants to travel to the East, helping to open up trade in the 13th century.

• 

  Mediterranean port with Turkish merchants by Adriaen van der Kabel, 1682.

• 

  A merchant making up the account by Katsushika Hokusai.

• 

  Merchants involved in international trade started to think more broadly.

• 

  A Jewish merchant and his family by Paolo Uccello, 1465-1469.

• 

  The Arnolfini Portrait, believed to be of Italian merchant, Giovanni Arnolfini with his wife, by Jan van Eyck, around 1434.

• 

  Lorenzo de' Medici, a merchant, Florentine bust, 14th or 15th century.

• 

  Mathias Mulich (1470-1528), Merchant in Lübeck, by Jacob van Utrecht, around 1522.

• 

  Portrait of Anton Fugger by Hans Maler zu Schwaz, around 1525.

• 

  Portrait of Georg Giese, the merchant, by Hans Holbein the Younger, around 1532.

• 

  Portrait of a member of the Wedigh merchant family by Hans Holbein the Younger, around 1532.

• 

  The Hanseatic merchant, Cyriacus Kale, by Hans Holbein the Younger, around 1533.

• 

  A Hanseatic merchant, by Hans Holbein the Younger, around 1538.

• 

  Portrait of a Merchant by Corneille de Lyon, around 1541.

• 

  Sir Thomas Gresham by Antonis Mor, around 1560.

• 

  Cornelis van der Geest, merchant of Antwerp, by Anthony van Dyck, around 1620.

• 

  Portrait of Nicolaes van der Borght, merchant of Antwerp by Anthony van Dyck, 1625–35.

• 

  Portrait of the cloth merchant, Abraham del Court and his wife Maria de Keerssegieter by Bartholomeus van der Helst, around 1654.

• 

  Frederick Rihel, a merchant on horseback by Rembrandt, around 1663.

• 

  Portrait of Amsterdam merchant, Cornelis Nuyts (1574-1661) by Jürgen Ovens.

• 

  Portrait of Joshua van Belle, merchant in Spain by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, around 1670.

• 

  Portrait of Pieter Cnoll, senior merchant of Batavia, with family, by Jacob Jansz. Coeman, around 1655.

• 

  The Merchant by Abraham van Strij, around 1800.

• 

  Caspar Voght, German merchant, 1801 by Jean-Laurent Mosnier.

• 

  Joshua Watson, English wine merchant, 1863.

• 

  The Carpet Merchant by Jean-Léon Gérôme, around 1887.

• 

  Merchant Sytov by anonymous (Rybinsk museum), mid-19th century.

• 

  Governors of the Wine Merchant's Guild by Ferdinand Bol, around 1680.

• 

  The Syndics of the Drapers' Guild by Rembrandt, around 1662.

• 

  Four officers of the Amsterdam Coopers and wine-rackers Guild by Gerbrand Jansz van den Eeckhout, around 1660.

• 

  Reception of Jan Karel de Cordes at the guild hall by Balthasar van den Bossche, around 1711.

• 

  The Merchant's House, Kirkcaldy, Scotland.

• 

  Merchant Tower, Kentucky, USA.

• 

  Medieval merchant's house, Southampton, England.

• 

  Tudor Merchant's Hall, Southampton, England.

• 

  Drapers' Hall, Coventry, England.

• 

  The Blacksmiths' Guild Hall, Venice, Italy.

• 

  Shoemakers' Guild Hall, Venice, Italy.

• 

  Brodhaus, Bakers' Guild, Einbeck, Germany.

• 

  Knochenhaueramtshaus, Butcher's guild hall, Hildesheim, Germany.

• 

  The Butcher's Hall, Antwerp, Belgium.

• 

  The Hanseatic League Building, Antwerp, 16th century.

See also

In Spanish: Comerciante para niños