Sellers can set commission for affiliates in multiples places. Some commission types take effect over others. This article describes the commission types and the commission hierarchy on ClickBank. In all commission events, the set rate that is the highest in the hierarchy takes effect.

This article contains the following sections:

If you a product is in an upsell flow with a relevant upsell joint venture contract, the rate set for this takes precedence over all other commission rates.

The following table shows the hierarchy of commission rates used when a product is sold within an upsell flow. If you have provided commission rates in multiple locations, the rate that is highest in the hierarchy is used.

The following table shows the hierarchy of commission rates used when a product is sold outside of an upsell flow (including products that are followed by an upsell flow, but are not within the flow). If you have provided commission rates in multiple locations, the rate that is highest in the hierarchy is used.
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If your affiliate is in a Commission Group that is enabled, those rates apply before product editor or default rates.

CPA (cost per action) commission is set on an affiliate basis. CPA commission is never offered for upsells--only for initial sales. For more information about how CPA commission works, check out this article.

Q: Do Commission Group rates always apply?

A: Commission Groups must be configured and enabled before their commission rates are applied. If an affiliate is not included in a group, the rate does not apply to them, and if commission groups are paused, their rates cease to apply to any sales and the default rate is enacted.

Q: Why can't I set recurring commissions in the product editor?

A: You can set recurring commissions during product creation. However, once a recurring product has been approved and sold, its commission rates cannot be edited, since affiliates are already receiving that commission rate.