Business that sells periodical subscriptions to the public in return for a commission from the publisher, which is expressed in terms of a percentage of the subscription selling price. There are various types of subscription agents, who earn commissions ranging from 100% to 5% of the selling price, depending upon how badly the publisher needs them and the subscriptions they bring in. Most subscription agents handle more than one publication. Publishers employ subscription agents because the publishers may not have the financial resources to sell as many subscriptions as agents can or as quickly as agents can or because a publisher may not want to spend money up front to sell subscriptions.