Hi
I was'nt sure where to post this, or even if anyone will have any interest in it, but I hope that there will be some kind of discussion about it.

I work in a New York State car dealership, I enjoy my job and work with good people, but one of the topics of discussion at work is " The Draw " , in case anyone is'nt familiar with the draw then let me explain .

I work for commission on sales of vehicles, I earn an hourly rate of $7.15 ( Minimum wage ) so lets say I work a 40 hour week i'll get paid $286 before taxes, but that wage is a Draw Check, which means that the dealership is fronting me the money for the week because i did'nt sell anything, now lets say the next day I sell a vehicle and make a $300 commission on it, i have to PAY BACK the $286 to the dealership out of my $300 commission , so I only take home $14 of that commission, so If I don't sell anything for 3 weeks i'd be in the draw for $858, then sell a vehicle and make an $800 commission then I still owe the dealership $58, so in my eyes I am actually working for free because the hourly wage i'm getting paid is'nt my money, its the dealerships money being lent to me until I sell a car., if you did'nt sell a car for 3 months you could be thousands of dollars in the draw and have to pay that money back !!!!

Does anyone else have any experience with " the Draw ", is it legal to keep rolling that money over week after week, or is there a point where legally they have to cancel it out ?? Is it a nationwide thing or just us here in this part of New York State ??

I'd be interested to hear other peoples opinions on this

Worked the same way in NC. The difference is that if you didn't sell a car for 3 months, you would be out of a job.

Well it's the same way here too, I was just using the 3 month thing as an example of the way it works,
Its bad enough when you dont sell for 2 weeks and have to pay back two weeks worth.

It is perfectly legal.

Sure is.

The fact is that if a person is not slick enough to sell enough cars to avoid a draw, that is a number one idication that car sales are not this person's cup of tea.

It takes a lot of dedication (among other things) to be successful in car sales. It's not a job that just anybody can do. (I worked at a very well known auto dealership briefly. It didn't take me long to figure out that I hated what the job entailed and it was not going to be a long term career.)

i have been doing payroll in the auto industry for over 13 years. yep- that's how they all work and it is legal. you are saying they should keep you standing around selling nothing for $ and when you do you should get it all? can't have it both ways. I will tell you car sales is very hard and if you are going more than 2 weeks with no sales- it's probably not for you.

A car salesperson has to absolutely love the hard sell, have no hesitation in calling people out of the blue to convince them they need new cars, has no shyness, and is unwilling to take no for an answer...even after the answer is "no" and the potential customer has left the lot. At the same time, a good salesperson must be cogniziant of the fact that a person making 22,000/yr is not going to get into a 90,000 car and have a tactful way of steering the person to a realistic car and be able to exude sincerity, honesty, and class. In short, if you can't rate a performance worthy of an Oscar, it's not a job for you. If you are not willing to hustle (and I mean HUSTLE), you are not going to be successful.

My problem was that I felt very uncomfortable cold calling and "pushing". The only cars I sold were sold solely on the basis of pity. I was one of 2 females out of 77 salespeople. ALL of the cars I sold were to elderly couples that repeatedly told me that I needed a new job. I took their advice. :p

Not necessarily, where I am located right now we are having some extreme weather , coupled with the local economy and at the moment a large dealership like us who normally push 300-400 cars a month out on average now is getting about 5 or 6 ups through the door on a saturday afternoon, I don't care how " Slick " a salesperson you are, its tough to sell at the moment.

Not necessarily, where I am located right now we are having some extreme weather , coupled with the local economy and at the moment a large dealership like us who normally push 300-400 cars a month out on average now is getting about 5 or 6 ups through the door on a saturday afternoon, I don't care how " Slick " a salesperson you are, its tough to sell at the moment.


That's why I said it is not for everyone. In order to be successful, reread my post. If you are having to repeatedly pay the draw, you are not in the right industry. I suggest you find a new job.

Luckily I'm not in the Draw very often, but it is a hot topic for some of the sales people I work with, which is why I started this discussion, I was just wondering the commonality / legality of it all.

Oh....okay. It's 100% legal and it is pretty much an industry wide standard. :)

if the salespeople are relying on ups, they are in trouble. that is when you start digging, calling, anything to get in contact with people. heck, we've been sending flyers out from the phone book for about 2 months now. funny thing is, in the 5 different dealerships i've worked in, I've never heard a single salesperson complain about the draw system. it's just a known way of doing things

HI. When I first moved to ny, I went to an employment agency looking for a job. Since I have an HR background, they recruited me to work for them. I was young at the time! After an initial training period, which was paid salary, they informed me about the "draw"...same idea. They front me the money, and then as I place people in jobs, I earn commission. I didn't like the idea of being in debt before I even started something. So, I took what they taught me, and marketed myself to another employer..(back int eh "real" HR business!)_..it sounds like it should be illegal, but I guess it is not...
Good Luck

it sounds like it should be illegal, but I guess it is not...

Companies could pay straight commission. No draw. The draw allows the commissioned employee to have some cash income to meet expenses until the commisions kick in.

Would you rather be paid straight commission with no draw or draw on commission?

An alternative is to pay a base salary (say, minimum wage), but then the commission rate will be reduced considerably to make up for the sales folks who fail, take the base pay but bring in squat.

Good sales reps will opt for the higher commissions.