The economic justification of the middleman - jobber, commission merchant, broker - is less evident, though even he renders a service which the business world would find it inconvenient, if not impossible, to abolish. His chief function, as marketing is now organized, is to serve, as it were, as the agent of retailers; to collect for them and have ready on call supplies of goods from which they can replenish their stocks; to assist them in anticipating demand; and finally, to extend credit to the retailers, to give them the benefit of his experience and judgment, and to secure them against loss resulting from inferior goods.

The middleman, unlike the retailer, who comes in contact with the consumer, renders his greatest marketing service to the producer. A wholesale grocer, for example, deals more or less directly with meat-packers, canners, millers, and importers. He furnishes them a market which he has already made, or undertakes to make, among retailers, thereby relieving them of heavy selling expense. Moreover, his advance purchases, by rendering it easier to make production conform to consumption, tend to stabilize industry. The commission merchant, particularly if he deals in agricultural products, occupies an important place in marketing, which farmers, despite their contention to the contrary, would find it difficult to fill by dealing directly with packers or retailers.