What the model gets frequently depends on the agent, who will be paid a lump sum from the production company.
Most agents were unwilling to reveal what percentage of the money they received from the production company went to the model, although Huang said typically agents would keep 30 percent to 50 percent. She said she got only 10 percent.
However, getting paid on time can be a problem. Even though Tai, who takes care of 15 models, says he trusts the production company he works with -- he has been with them four years -- getting money out of them can be tricky.
"The production company will always pay late," he said. "They will say, `I will pay you next week.' So I tell the model, `I will pay you next week.' Then they [the production company] say `I can't pay you. Is that OK, that I pay you later?'"
He says this kind of delay can destroy trust between the model and the agent. "The foreigner will always think that the Chinese will always take advantage of them. They don't trust Taiwanese people," he said.
Steven Yu, who deals with 40 to 50 models for Hwli agency, also said he gets frustrated with foreign models who don't understand what it's like for the agent.
"They only want cash, not a check," Yu said, "and they want it straight away, whereas I have to wait a month."
He also complained that foreign models are unreliable and can become awkward when the shoot runs longer than expected, which frequently happens.
"Chinese models are OK to do overtime," he said. "If a foreign model cares about money too much it becomes a problem. If they have to work overtime for 20 to 30 minutes it's OK for the Chinese models but not for the foreign models.
"The foreign models don't keep their promises very well. If you make an appointment one day then they won't turn up. They are always on vacation," he said.
Huang advises would-be models to ask a lot of questions before agreeing to do anything.
"Only do the commercial that you think will be really safe," she said. "Before you go to the agency you should make it clear what kind of commercial you want to do because once you do it everything is so complicated and it's not very easy to solve if there's a problem."
Despite the pitfalls, many foreigners appreciate the chance to do something they probably couldn't in their home countries.
Even though she doesn't plan to do any more commercials, Mitchell was happy to do something a bit unusual.
"Each set is different, each shoot is different, each commercial is different," Mitchell said. "It's not boring work."
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