Being paid on commission means that a person is paid a percentage of the sales they make. When a person is paid totally on commission, they are not receiving a salary or an hourly rate, but rather are paid a percentage of the amount of sales dollars they bring in. Being paid on commission has both advantages and disadvantages.

When people are paid on a commission basis, they have more of an incentive to try harder to make sales since they only earn money if they make sales. However, some people say that some workers paid on commission may take advantage of the situation so that they can earn more. For example, some mechanics may be paid on commission and some customers may feel they have been charged for the mechanic to fix things that may have not needed repairing. Although many mechanics are trustworthy and not all mechanics are paid on commission, many people feel that a paid on commission basis invites dishonesty in order to earn more pay.

Some real estate agents are paid on commission and usually earn good pay when a house is sold. Other real estate agents paid on a salary basis may earn more or less than an agent paid on commission. The commission rates vary widely as they must be negotiated with the seller when the home is listed.

Financial advisers are also often paid on commission. Financial advisers who work on commission do not bill clients for consulting time. Instead, they make a commission on any financial products their clients purchase such as insurance, annuities, stocks or mutual funds. Commission amounts differ, but variable annuities usually provide a fairly highly paid commission for financial advisers. Some financial advisers negotiate their commission rates while others have a set commission percentage they accept.

Affiliate marketing programs are often a paid on commission opportunity for webmasters. Affiliate marketing programs involve a webmaster running an advertiser's banner advertisement on their website to receive a commission, or referral fee, each time a site visitor clicks on the ad. The visitor may be clicking on the ad to buy the product or service or to opt-in for more information such as receiving a newsletter.