The commonly quoted range, what the percentage applies to, when it is paid, and the terms that actually decide the money.
Independent reps are paid commission on what ships, and the commonly quoted range in most consumer categories is ten to fifteen percent of the wholesale price, with twenty at the high end for hard categories and small lines. The rate is the least important number in the agreement. What it is paid on, when, and on which accounts is where the money actually goes.
Ten to fifteen percent is the range most brands and reps quote; gift and apparel sit in the middle of it, food and grocery often lower because volumes are higher, and a new line with no accounts pays more than an established one because the rep is doing the opening. A rep with a showroom in a mart may add a showroom fee or a monthly retainer on top of commission.
Net of discounts and freight is the usual base: commission on the goods the retailer actually paid for, not on the shipping or a promotion the brand funded. A rate agreed without the base is two different numbers to two different people.
On shipment, on invoice or on payment. Paying on payment protects the brand from paying commission on an order that never gets paid; paying on shipment protects the rep from a slow brand. On the protocol commission is computed at settlement, the moment the buyer's money is collected and split, so both sides see the same figure on the same day.
The disputes are never about the rate. They are about the account the brand already had, the account the rep opened and then handed to the brand's own team, and what happens in the six months after a rep leaves. Write the residual down: a rep paid on accounts they opened for a period after they stop writing orders is standard, and it only exists where the originator is recorded.