The syntax of SUMIF is =SUMIF(criteria_range, criteria, sum_range)
The last argument is not needed if the same as the first - this is not your
case
We need to sum the B values for all records having C values equal to E2
=SUMIF(C:C, E2, B:B)
best wishes
--
Bernard Liengme
Microsoft Excel MVP
http://people.stfx.ca/bliengme

"Jeremy" <jeremiah.a.reynolds @ gmail.com wrote in message
...
Hello, I have an easy one here that I cannot seem to figure out. I have a
simple list

A:A = Vendor
B:B = Amount
C:C = Category (from dropdown list)

What is the formula to get the sum of only the items in a specific
category?
E2 to E9 is the list of the categories. I tried =SUMIF(B:B,$E$2=C2) and
it
comes back as zero when B2=1000 and E2 and C2 are the same.

Please help.