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Vendor vs. supplier

Question
Vendor vs. supplier
Answer

Louise asked, "What is the difference between a vendor and a supplier?"

 

Both of these words can be used to talk about a person or business that sells a particular type of product, as in these examples:

  • They are the biggest supplier of books in the area.
  • There were many more software vendors at the trade show this year.

 

However, vendor can also be used to refer to a person selling something from a cart on the street, such as hot dogs or sunglasses:

  • The hotdog vendor on the corner sells soda and pretzels, too.

 

Supplier would be very odd in this context.

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