Commission & Payout Terms
How Edition Ambassador commissions are calculated, tracked, and paid across each tier.
1. Ambassador Tiers
Edition Unlocked is an art-centered Ambassador program that turns genuine collectors and supporters into paid advocates for the artists and editions they choose to share. Your tier is assigned when you activate your Ambassador account and determines your direct commission rate.
Collector/Ambassador — granted automatically and for life when you purchase a numbered print. No monthly fee.
Free Ambassador — a no-cost entry path. Anyone can activate a Free Ambassador account without purchasing a print. Free Ambassadors earn a flat 10% direct commission with no tier scaling and can compete for the original artwork performance award.
2. Direct Commission Rates
Collector/Ambassadors earn between 20% and 40% on qualifying print sales completed through their personal link. Your direct rate increases as you reach verified personal-sales milestones:
Verified personal qualifying sales 1-40: 20% direct, 10% upline.
Verified personal qualifying sales 41-80: 25% direct, 12.5% upline.
Verified personal qualifying sales 81-120: 30% direct, 15% upline.
Verified personal qualifying sales 121-180: 35% direct, 17.5% upline.
Verified personal qualifying sales 181+: 40% direct, 20% upline.
The rate you have earned at the moment a sale becomes commission-eligible applies to that sale. Earlier sales are not recalculated. Commissions are paid only on direct, personally generated sales, never on your own purchases.
3. One-Level Upline Commission
When someone joins through your Ambassador link and generates a qualifying sale, you may earn an upline commission equal to 50% of that Ambassador's direct rate on the sale (for example, 20% direct produces a 10% upline; a Free Ambassador's 10% produces 5%).
Only one upline level is paid. No second-level or deeper commissions exist. An Ambassador can have one sponsoring Ambassador, created through a valid sponsoring Ambassador link or an approved administrator assignment, and cannot be their own upline. A sponsor is not changed on completed or pending sales.
An upline commission is paid only when the direct Ambassador earns a commission on that qualifying sale. If no eligible upline exists, the unused upline share stays with Guardswell Enterprises Inc. and never increases the direct Ambassador's rate.
Combined ceiling: direct plus upline commissions on a sale never exceed 60% of the Commissionable Print Subtotal.
4. Commissionable Print Subtotal
Commissions are calculated on the Commissionable Print Subtotal only: the base price paid for the numbered print, after approved print discounts and before taxes.
Taxes, shipping, handling, matting, framing (the optional professional mat and frame, currently $500, a separate checkout line item) and all other optional add-ons are excluded and earn no commission.
5. What Counts as a Qualifying Sale
A qualifying sale is a completed, paid, properly attributed print order placed through your personal Ambassador link that is not refunded, reversed, fraudulent or self-referred. Sales are verified server-side. Earnings are not guaranteed.
6. Tier Upgrades
If a Free Ambassador later purchases a numbered print, their account is upgraded to the Collector/Ambassador tier for future qualifying sales.
7. Payout Schedule and Reporting
Earned commissions accrue in your Ambassador account. Your dashboard shows direct and upline earnings as separate lines, along with pending, approved, reversed and paid amounts. Commissions on a qualifying sale become payable once the order's payment is confirmed and the return window has closed.
Payouts are issued on a regular schedule determined by the Developer. Ambassadors must provide a valid payout method and any information required for tax reporting before a payout can be issued.
8. Reversals and Clawbacks
If a qualifying sale is refunded, charged back, or otherwise reversed, both the direct commission and the related upline commission on that sale are reversed, and the change is recorded in an audit history. Reversed commissions may reduce a future payout or create a negative balance applied against future earnings.
9. Tax Responsibilities
Ambassadors are responsible for any taxes owed on commissions earned. Where required by law, the Developer may collect tax identification information and issue applicable tax documents. Commissions are reported based on the year they are paid, not the year they are earned.