A recurring commission affiliate program pays out again every billing cycle a referred customer stays active, instead of paying once and moving on. That distinction matters more than the headline percentage. A program advertising a large one-time payout can still earn an affiliate less over three years than a smaller recurring cut that keeps paying every month. Here is the actual math behind the Bear Grips recurring model: 10% of a referred vendor's subscription for as long as they stay subscribed, plus $1 for every unit that vendor sells.
A one-time commission pays once, on the first sale or the first subscription payment, and stops there even if the customer keeps paying the brand for years. A recurring commission keeps paying every cycle the customer stays active. The Bear Grips program is built entirely around the second model: 10% of a referred vendor's subscription, every month, for as long as that vendor stays subscribed, stacked with a $1 bonus on every unit the vendor ships. Full mechanics are in our affiliate program overview.
| Referred vendor's plan | Monthly subscription cut (10%) | Annual subscription commission | Unit bonus at 40 units/year | Total year-one income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-Service VIP ($59/mo) | $5.90 | $70.80 | $40 | $110.80 |
| Done-For-You VIP ($105/mo) | $10.50 | $126.00 | $40 | $166.00 |
Those numbers assume a modest 40 units sold across the year. A referred vendor who sells more only raises the affiliate's total, since there is no stated cap on the $1 bonus.
Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.The recurring structure means every prior referral keeps paying while new referrals stack on top, as long as each referred vendor stays active:
| Year | Active referred vendors | Subscription commission (annual) | Unit bonus (annual, ~40 units/vendor) | Total annual affiliate income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | $354 | $200 | $554 |
| 2 | 10 | $708 | $400 | $1,108 |
| 3 | 15 | $1,062 | $600 | $1,662 |
This example assumes five new Self-Service VIP referrals per year and no cancellations. Real retention will vary, but the shape holds: a recurring model keeps paying on every referral made in a prior year, not just the newest one.
A one-time affiliate payout is fixed the day it pays. A recurring one keeps adding. On a single Self-Service VIP referral, a one-time program might pay a flat bonus once and stop. The recurring Bear Grips structure pays roughly $110.80 in year one and continues at the same rate in year two, year three, and beyond, as long as the referred vendor stays subscribed. See a direct comparison against high-ticket one-time programs in our high-paying affiliate programs breakdown.
Payouts run on a bi-weekly cycle, tracked automatically through the same account the vendor already uses to run their shop. There is no separate invoice to submit and no manual reconciliation. Every vendor also gets a customizable affiliate code, so the link used to generate these numbers can be personalized to a gym or coaching brand name.
10% of every referred subscription, forever, plus $1 per unit sold. Sign up free and get your affiliate link today.
Start FreeThe 10% commission is tied to the referred vendor's active subscription. If they cancel, that portion of the payout stops for the months they are inactive.
No cap is stated on the number of referrals or the total commission earned across all referred vendors.
Yes. Both apply at the same time on every referred vendor, regardless of which plan they are on.
Bi-weekly, on a fixed cycle that applies to every affiliate.
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