The Simple English Wiktionary has a definition for: merchant.

Merchants deal with trade. That means they deal goods that they do not produce themselves, in order to get profit.

Merchants can be two types:

1. A wholesale merchant works between producer and retail merchant. Some wholesale merchants only organise the movement of goods rather than move the goods themselves.
2. A retail merchant sells goods to consumers (including businesses), commonly known as retailers. A shop owner is a retail merchant.

In the US, "merchant" is any person while engaged in a business or profession or a seller who deals regularly in the type of goods sold. Under the common law in the United States, merchants are held to a higher standard in the selling of products than those who are not engaged in the sale of goods as a profession. For example, when a merchant sells something, he or she is expected to give a warranty, guaranteeing that the product is fit to be sold, even if there is nothing in writing to this effect.

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