A call from your agent

The Australian Trade Commission - which is where I need to take advice from when considering such ventures - goes to pains to explain the difference between an agent and a distributor. It's a very helpful site; managing to explain that whole Redback/Altronics thing, that distributors deal with other wholesalers and sell theirs and their own goods.

So what about agents? They're the ones who promote your wares but don't take carriage of the goods like distributors do. Try going large with agents and you end up with advertising agencies

1. WPP Group
2. Omnicom Group
3. Publicis Groupe
4. Interpublic Group
5. Dentsu

which, though promotional in nature, is not the same thing as an agent acting for an exporter. 

Then there are travel agencies and talent agencies and model agencies

but we're not getting closer to the agents of trade