Important and daily used English vocabulary words for purchases and sales

Vocabulary

Explanation

Example

A (sales) pitch

The arguments for the product to be highlighted and bought.

When you have a new product, first work on its pitch before anything else.

A bid

Refers to a specific offer or  amount of money for something that is on sale.

I made a bid of $150 for the painting.

A brand new design

A totally new concept or styling.

To attract new customers, they will have a brand new design soon.

A charter plane

Refers to a plane which is hired for use by a particular person or group and which is not part of a regular service.

The company decided to arrange for a charter plane to transfer its employees from one place to another for all official purposes.

A consignment

Refers to an amount of goods that is sent somewhere.

The most recent consignment of cloth was faulty.

A consumer

A person who consumes.

What kind of customers would you like to target?

A coupon

A voucher with a discount on it.

Jennifer hates queuing behind someone who has coupons to give to the cashier.

A dealer

A person who trades in something.

Belinda has always been interested in antiques therefore she became a dealer five years ago.

A discount

Refers to a reduction on the original price.

They usually give you a discount if you buy multiple copies.

A discount

A reduction.

Thanks to these leaflets, you’ll get a 30% discount on the company’s product.

A display

To put something or a collection of things in a prominent place so that it can be seen by the public.

The company had a good display of its items on sale.

A draft

Refers to prepare a preliminary version of a document.

This is only a rough draft of the items the company plans to introduce next month.

A lorry

Refers to a large truck.

Ken got a job driving lorries across the country.

A malfunction

When a product doesn’t work properly or even not at all.

The product I bought malfunctions.

A marketing vehicle

An agent/medium to advertise or promote a service/product.

The director chose a different marketing vehicle to have a higher impact.

A package

An item or set of items packed in a box, usually for orders to be shipped.

The courier facility has just delivered a package for you.

A parcel

An item or collection of items wrapped in paper to be carried or sent by post.

I had to sign for the parcel when I collected it from the post office.

A point of purchase

A place where you can buy.

All the points of purchase of the brand will be evaluated.

A preview

An advance showing before the official one.

Shane loves this movie so much that he went to the preview.

A promotional code

A code thanks to which you can benefit from a special offer.

Thanks to the promotional code, she paid 20% less than the original price.

A purchasing state of mind

The mentality to buy.

The environment and music can put clients into a purchasing state of mind.

A quotation /  an estimate

Refers to a formal statement setting out the estimated or approximate cost for a particular job or service.

The company made a quotation worth 1 million for the new services to be offered.

A rebate

Refers to the discount or reduction offered during a purchase.

The salesman offered Karen a rebate on her new car.

A receipt

Refers to a small piece of paper that shows that payment has been made for the goods and services bought.

Make sure you are given a receipt for everything you buy.

A registered mail / certified letter

Postal service in which a receipt is issued to the sender of a mail and the mail’s destination address is recorded in a register.

We recommend that valuable items be sent by registered mail.

A retailer

Refers to a person, shop, or a business that sells goods to the public.

Retailers have reported that consumer spending fell over the last 12 months.

A sales policy

Refers to a set of ideas or a plan of what to do in particular situations of sales that has been agreed to officially, by a group of people, a business organization, a government, or a political party.

The sales policy demanded brands to pay a certain percentage of profits to the government.

A shipment

Goods sent in large amount or in bulk from one place to another.

A shipment of urgent medical supplies is expected to arrive very soon.

A shopping  mall / shopping center

A group of stores with a common area for parking.

There’s a little shopping center next door with a bank and a dry-cleaning place.

A showcase

A window to display samples or attractive merchandise.

The showcase seduced many clients.

A subscription

A registration, when someone gets a legal opening of a service for a dedicated time.

I took a monthly subscription to find out after a month if I wanted to renew it.

A takeover bid

An offer or attempt to take control of a company by buying enough of its shares, or the maximum amount of money quoted to buy an item on sale.

The company said it would consider a takeover bid.

A valued customer

A valuable client.

Valued customers are cherished by the sales department.

A wholesaler

Someone who buys and sells goods in large amounts to shops and businesses.

The store manager called the wholesaler to complain about the damaged goods that had been delivered.

A fleet of vehicles

A group of motor vehicles owned or leased by a business.

Ex: car rental companies, taxi cab companies etc.

Added value

Additional worth.

A new product’s added value is important in order to survive on the market.

An ad campaign

A promotion with commercials.

What do you think of the new ad campaign?

An auction

A sale with bids.

There are many good deals at auctions.

An input

Datum, power to a machine, contribution.

The electrical input is too low for our consumption.

An intake

Quantity taken in.

Calcim intakes are important for children and older people.

An invoice

Refers to a detailed statement of charges on items bought or sold.

The invoice covered all sales during the month of November.

An item

Refers to one unit / one piece.

He intended to do a lot of shopping but eventually ended up buying just one item.

An order

Request to buy something.

I am still waiting for an order that I made last week with Amazon.

An order form

Refers to a printed form on which a customer writes the details of a product or service he wishes to order.

If you want to buy the car, you would have to quickly fill  the order form online.

Billing

The process of sending people bills demanding them to pay the money owed.

The responsibilities for this job include communication with clients, billing, and filing documents.

Charges

The amount of money that you have to pay for something, especially for an activity or service.

The rent was inclusive of all charges.

Commodity

A substance or product that can be traded, bought, or sold.

The country’s most valuable commodities include diamonds.

Delivery

The act of taking goods, letters, parcels, etc. to people’s houses or places of work.

We get two deliveries of mail a day.

For sale

Means available for purchase.

I refurbished my entire apartment, so it will be ready for sale in the month of March.

Free shipping

Delivery with no charge.

Many online companies advertise on their free shipping feature.

Handling

The way that someone deals with a situation or person.

Handling of customers in a right away is also a tricky strategy that companies need to develop in order to rise.

In bulk

Something in large quantity.

The brand decided to sell the items in bulk and finish the old stock.

Mail order (sale)

The sale and ordering of goods by post, generally involving selection from a catalogue.

I often buy clothes by mail order.

On sale

Refers to available for purchase. “On sale” means that items for sale are being sold at a price lower than normal.

This weekend, all laptops are on sale at 20% off.

Out of stock

Products that are out of stock are not available to buy in a store because they have all been already sold.

You will be notified by email if any part of your order is out of stock.

Packaging

The business or process of packing goods.

Packaging is one of the key step during the process of order processing.

Purchases

Refer to the number of items bought.

There were 100 purchases made today of the new product launched on the market.

Sales /sellings

Refer to the number of items sold.

US car sales got off to a hot start in January.

Sales representative (sales rep)

Person in charge of selling a product or service.

The sales representatives have to improve their sales every month.

Selling price

The price at which an item is sold.

The government tends to charge a percentage of the selling price.

Spending power / purchasing power

Refers to the degree to which people can afford to spend money to buy products and services.

The wage increment scheme gave employees an added spending power that hereby, increased sales of various brands.

The amount

Refers to a particular figure or sum of money.

The amount due that they had to pay was huge.

The mailman (US) / postman (GB)

A man whose job is to deliver and collect letters, etc. that are sent by post.

Leave a note for the mailman that we’ll be away next week.

The retail sales

Refers to the sales of goods to the public rather than to businesses, stores, etc., often considered in relation to the economic activity as a whole.

Retail sales fell 0.3% in January.

The storage room

Refers to a place to put something.

The company keeps all of its excess and unsold stock in the storage room of the delivery center.

To buy / to purchase

To acquire the possession of, or the right to something, by paying or promising to pay an equivalent, especially in money.

I want to buy this shirt but its too small for me.

To buy in bulk

To purchase or give money for something in large quantities.

During the sale, he decided to buy the t-shirts in bulk.

To catch the customer’s attention

To grasp the client’s mental focus.

Marketing analyzes and improves the way to catch the customers’ attention.

To charge

To ask an amount of money for something, especially a service or activity.

The bank charged commission to change my traveller’s cheques.

To charge for

To ask an amount of money for something, especially a service or activity.

The bank charged commission to change my traveller’s cheques.

To charter

Refers to hire or to rent a vehicle such as an aircraft, ship or a motor cycle.

They decided to charter an aircraft to carry the foreign delegates from one city to another.

To convert into purchasing

To transform into a buying act.

A good sales representative manages to convert the client’s visit into purchasing.

To deliver

To take goods, letters, parcels, etc. to people’s houses or places of work.

Mails are delivered to our office twice a day.

To dispatch (a parcel / an  order)

to send something, especially goods or a message, somewhere for a particular purpose.

Two loads of cloth were dispatched to the factory on 12 December.

To get / receive (a letter, parcel)

To obtain, buy, or earn something.

He went to the shop to get some milk.