I recently got a job as a merchandiser as some of you may know...


I enjoy being able to work from home and having freedom and the hours seem very nice compared to my last internship workin 58 hour weeks.


However, it seems like A LOT of driving. I'm calculating somewhere near 2,500 miles a month or about 750 miles a week or something.


This seems like so much driving. The gas reimbursement seems like barely enough and I have to use my own car.


Any insight from other merchandisers would be great.

I am a merchandiser for a large retailer but we have company cars, it would be too expensive for the company to pay our mileage. My Region includes El Paso, New Mexico, South Texas, Southern LA, and Greater Houston so I get around quite a bit.

Once you get some experience you can move over to the client side, the pay and benefits will be much better.

ah yeah see my territory is not that large


it seems like pretty easy work... just gotta get some experience doing it and then it doesn't seem too difficult. just the driving really

What is your reimbursement rate?

There are tax implications.

I don't think my gas card is taxed.. I am limited to somewhere around $165 a month


The vehicle reimbursement may be taxed, I am not sure... But that is something like $170 every 2 weeks

Your vehcle allowance should be taxed as regular income. If you are getting an allowance and a gas card it sounds like a fair deal to me.

Yeah I can't complain yet... I think it'll cover all my gas


But vehicle reimbursement is supposed to be maintenance, payments, etc...

should be separate from gas but whatever

If you are limited to $165/month on that gas card it looks like you will be dipping into your own pockets to cover fuel based on your mileage of 750 miles a week. I hope you have a little car that gets great mileage.

funny enough, i do. I have a honda accord coupe


well its like $167 for gas but then the other $330 or so is "vehicle reimbursement"

So, with that, it basically covers gas.... for the most part

Well...if you get at least the govt tax mileage rate there's nothing to complain about. If you drive 750 miles and get in excell of $500 a month you're doing ok.

what does a merchandiser do, if you don't mind me asking?

Merchandisers that work for third party companies like Andy represent a manufacturer and travel to stores to make sure their products are displayed correctly and that the store is ordering the correct items. They may reset merchandise on the stores shelves if a manufacturer has a new product introduced.

I am a merchandiser that works for a retail chain, I basically manage all of the products in our stores, which means I decide what items we carry, how they are displayed, pricing, store layouts, etc. I also manage the vendors like Budweiser, Pepsi, Frito Lay, etc to make sure they do what they are supposed to do.

[This message has been edited by bonfarr (edited 7/7/2009 4:59p).]

Thanks bonfarr. What are the typical requirements to get a job?

I graduated last may with a BBA in management, and haven't had luck finding anything more than a little temporary work.

You are getting hosed on the car deal. Factor in insurance and repair to realize what I mean. Do you get to take the mileage deduction on your taxes?

The more days that pass... the more I realize how screwed I'm getting on gas...


Bleh let's see how long this lasts

I don't know about other companies but for the one I work for you typically have to move up through Operations and then get promoted into our Merchandising Dept. That is what I did, I worked at one of our stores in College Station when I was in school then when I graduated they asked me to take an Area Manager position where I managed 10 of our stores in Houston. After a few years I interviewed for a Merchandiser position.

Andy, If you are still interested in a sales job you may want to try Glazer Distributing. They are a large liquor and wine distributor and there are quite a few Aggies in upper management in their Sales department in Houston. I don't know if they are hiring but it would be worth a look.

I applied online and got called back. Went through 3 interviews and was offered a position within a week and a half or so.


I'm on a fast track developmental program to becoming a supervisor of a particular area... I think bring in the program is because of my college degree.


The job does seem very nice though in the sense that it is work at your own pace. No one is breathing down your neck. It is just you, your accounts (stores), and the road.

So yeah very cool in that sense