on commission

Idioms  

1. Making money based on sales or services rendered, as in Real estate agents rarely get a salary; they work largely on commission. This use of the noun commission, which generally refers to a percentage of the total price, dates from the early 1700s.

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Example Sentences

By contrast, the simple annuity products that convert your savings into a guaranteed income for life, so-called life annuities, accounted for a tiny fraction of the total — even though they are the only kind of annuity widely recommended by retirement experts who aren’t working on commission.

From MarketWatch

Financial advisers who aren’t on commission almost always recommend that investors buy low-cost financial products.

From MarketWatch

In the current climate, we could all learn to think more like people who work on commission.

From The Wall Street Journal

Other advisers, including many at firms such as Morgan Stanley, UBS and Merrill, are paid on commission, and get what is known as a “trailing fee.”

From The Wall Street Journal

"But I'm paid only on commission, and the idea of no longer being able to afford to stay here -- that, yes, that scares me."

From Barron's