Legal Definitions - merchandise

Merchandise refers to tangible goods or products that are bought and sold in commerce. These are physical items that businesses offer for sale to customers, typically involving a transfer of the item from seller to buyer. The term generally applies to movable objects and specifically excludes things like real estate (land and buildings), services (such as legal advice or a haircut), intangible assets (like software licenses or digital music files), and financial instruments (such as stocks, bonds, or currency).

Here are some examples to illustrate the concept of merchandise:

• Imagine a local bookstore. The physical books, magazines, stationery, and small gift items displayed on its shelves are all considered merchandise. The bookstore acquires these items from publishers or distributors and then sells them to customers. Each book or item is a tangible product involved in the store's trade.

• Consider a large supermarket chain. The fresh fruits and vegetables, packaged foods, beverages, household cleaning products, and personal care items that line its aisles are all examples of merchandise. These are the physical goods the supermarket purchases in bulk from various suppliers and then sells to individual consumers for their daily needs.

• Think about an automotive parts supplier that sells components to car repair shops. Items like brake pads, oil filters, spark plugs, and tires, which are stored in the supplier's warehouse and then sold to mechanics, constitute merchandise. These are the tangible products that the supplier deals in as part of its business-to-business trade.