Commission Sales commissions are paid to employees or companies that sell merchandise in stores or by calling on customers. The commission is meant to motivate sales persons to sell more. A commission may be paid in addition to a salary or instead of a salary. (In a nut shell: the more you sell, the more money you make!) A commission is generally a percentage of the sales price of an item. For example, if a salesperson receives a 10% commission on their sales and sells $1500 worth of merchandise, they would earn (10% of 1500) $150 in commissions. REMEMBER: change percents to decimals and “of” means multiply. 1. A car salesperson earns a 6.5% commission on every car sold. The salesperson sells a car for $21,800. What is the commission? 2. A real estate salesperson earns a 6% commission on every property they sell. What is their commission on a $128,000 home? 3. The Multi Shoe Company pays its employees a salary plus 9% commission on everything they sell. Last month the top selling employee sold $18,000 worth of shoes. How much was his commission?