A merchant may reward a publisher for introducing or influencing an eligible sale. That reward is affiliate commission. The merchant or its network sets the rate, attribution window, eligible products, exclusions, and validation process.
Who funds it?
The commission is funded under the merchant’s affiliate arrangement. It may be expressed as a percentage of an eligible order, a fixed amount, or another rule. The shopper ordinarily pays the price shown at checkout; the commission is accounted for separately between commercial parties.
Why the first number is only an estimate
At checkout, an extension may know the cart value and a catalogue rate, but it does not yet know whether the merchant will accept the attribution, whether excluded items are present, or whether the order will be returned. That makes the first number a forecast.
From gross commission to net commission
The gross report can change through reversals, adjustments, network fees, currency treatment, or merchant corrections. A defensible allocation is based on the amount actually collected and reconciled under the published method.
How SaveKindly handles this
SaveKindly labels checkout figures as estimates. Reported orders remain pending until cash is received and matched. After reconciliation, 80% of collected net affiliate commission is allocated to the selected charity and the remaining 20% is SaveKindly revenue. Reversals create compensating records so history is not rewritten.