I'm doing it! I'm mystery shopping tomorrow!

[harleyquinn]

Thanks so much!

I have been reading a LOT at Volition, but I'm finding it hard to navigate for some reason. I have a feeling that a lot of the companies I signed up with doen't do a lot in my neck of the woods. Wish I could find the ones that do!

Thanks again!

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Thanks to all who have posted this info. I'm doing my first "shop" tomorrow. Actually it is an announced visit - I'm a bit nervous. I have it scheduled to go before I head to my "real" pt job in the morning. I'm hopeful it goes well and from the looks of this board it will.

So far I signed up with about 5 companies but one wants me to accept paypal and I don't have an account (don't want an account either) so we'll see if that is a deterrent. Any tips?

 

[JoiseyMom]

The majority of the Mystery Shopping Companies pay via PayPal. If you don't have a Paypal account, you won't get any shops from them.

 

[akur]

I've been mystery shopping for about 10 years, and really enjoy it. I only do it 2-3 times a month, though.

 

[HappyLawyer]

most of the companies i work with pay via direct deposit

 

[RichNKatHolly]

most of the companies i work with pay via direct deposit

Yes, I didn't have too much trouble signing up even though I don't do paypal. There is one company that had quite a few in my area but they wanted paypal - so I guess it's a toss up. I didn't realize how many companies there were - it's great. I do my first visit today and have signed up for 2 more that are pending approval.

Anyone have any stories to share with a newbie? Also, is the small amount of compensation worth the time, printer ink, mileage, etc.? Just looking for opinions, I will eventually find out for myself I guess

 

[mum of two pirates]

I filled out the ap. yesterday for baidata.com . they have sent me 3 emails already that they have stuff for me. I haven't done my extended profile yet thoe. there is 19 that I could do in one day, if I could get them done. with in the 99 mile radius. Then about 10 others I would not do, becouse I would have to drive to other small towns about an hour away for one shop, not worth it. but 15 of them would be on my way and in the "big city" were I go to shop anyway but then I would not have time to shop. I think I would get tired of going to so many banks in one day. I might get craby and then we would see how good there cust. service really is. lol How many of you take your kids to these things like banks. Don't think I would becouse it would be to distracting. Good luck to everyone

 

[RichNKatHolly]

I filled out the ap. yesterday for baidata.com . they have sent me 3 emails already that they have stuff for me. I haven't done my extended profile yet thoe. there is 19 that I could do in one day, if I could get them done. with in the 99 mile radius. Then about 10 others I would not do, becouse I would have to drive to other small towns about an hour away for one shop, not worth it. but 15 of them would be on my way and in the "big city" were I go to shop anyway but then I would not have time to shop. I think I would get tired of going to so many banks in one day. I might get craby and then we would see how good there cust. service really is. lol How many of you take your kids to these things like banks. Don't think I would becouse it would be to distracting. Good luck to everyone

WOW, do you know anyone who has done that many in one day? This was only my first day (and it went great I might add - an announced merchandising review) and I cannot imagine juggling more than 2 or 3 in a day with a day off in between. Mostly because my kids are young and tend to get into big trouble when mom's on the computer.

Anyway, I've scheduled most of mine through ShopnCheckShopper.com - I've requested jobs on other sites but haven't gotten any yet. Looking to get my free oil change next week

If any pros out there can given a newbie any advice I'd really appreciate it!

 

[JoiseyMom]

I filled out the ap. yesterday for baidata.com . they have sent me 3 emails already that they have stuff for me. I haven't done my extended profile yet thoe. there is 19 that I could do in one day, if I could get them done. with in the 99 mile radius. Then about 10 others I would not do, becouse I would have to drive to other small towns about an hour away for one shop, not worth it. but 15 of them would be on my way and in the "big city" were I go to shop anyway but then I would not have time to shop. I think I would get tired of going to so many banks in one day. I might get craby and then we would see how good there cust. service really is. lol How many of you take your kids to these things like banks. Don't think I would becouse it would be to distracting. Good luck to everyone

You got a mass mailing, what every other signed up shopper gets. Just because they are available, doesn't mean you can get them. You need to apply for these jobs, and get approved for them. You just can't self assign them. There are self assign sites, and most of them have limits of how many you can take and do in a day or on any project.

 

[JoiseyMom]

WOW, do you know anyone who has done that many in one day? This was only my first day (and it went great I might add - an announced merchandising review) and I cannot imagine juggling more than 2 or 3 in a day with a day off in between. Mostly because my kids are young and tend to get into big trouble when mom's on the computer.

Anyway, I've scheduled most of mine through ShopnCheckShopper.com - I've requested jobs on other sites but haven't gotten any yet. Looking to get my free oil change next week

If any pros out there can given a newbie any advice I'd really appreciate it!

Shop N Check, will only let you do two of their shops a day. I have completed as much as 8 shops in one day, for several companies. I will be doing 3 tomorrow. One will take me about 2 - 3 hours to type up the report. Don't feel bad when you apply for shops and don't get them. They usually go to experienced shoppers first, and then certified shoppers. You will get your chance though. Keep applying to as many companies as you can. If you want advice on shopping, your best place to go it www.volition.com.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Shop N Check, will only let you do two of their shops a day. I have completed as much as 8 shops in one day, for several companies. I will be doing 3 tomorrow. One will take me about 2 - 3 hours to type up the report. Don't feel bad when you apply for shops and don't get them. They usually go to experienced shoppers first, and then certified shoppers. You will get your chance though. Keep applying to as many companies as you can. If you want advice on shopping, your best place to go it www.volition.com.

Thanks! I have signed up for several different associations. So far shopncheck has had the most available in my area and I've worked it for 2 a day from them (but not every day). For some others I have to take an online test for the particular stores. Seems like fun so far!

Any tips for memorizing all the times and details associated with a fast food shop? I'm sure I'll be fine but I do one tomorrow and there are A LOT of details to remember without taking notes!

 

[Dizzy4Dizney]

I did the Mystery Shopping thing for a few months and found it wasn't worth it for me. The little money you get for the time and effort didn't work for me. It was too stressful too if I missed a detail or forgot to submitt the paperwork.

Other ways I found to earn extra cash was to do stuff the come off my and DH's hobbies. DH took a night job at a hockey rink (DH loves to play) running the clock for $15-20 a hour. He takes home between $100 & $200 a month and works late at night (when the adults play).

I go to yard sales, but new things real cheap, put them up on e-Bay and ususally double or triple my money. I also sew, knit and make cards and sell those on e-Bay (cards) and the sewing & knitting is more word of mouth stuff. Custom pillows, curtains, scarves, ponches, ect. All this extra money pays for a trip or two to Disney. I found it less stressful to make money on something that I already have a passion for.

 

[Luv2go2WDW]

I just want to thank everyone for the hints and information on mystery shopping. I did my first shop on Tuesday. I have 3 other shops scheduled
(2 today, 1 in two weeks).

I'm so excited to be getting the little bit of extra money (and the free meal
I'll be getting).

As a side note, I'm the not the best writer, so I copy all of write-ups into a Word document to run the spell & grammar checker. Helped me find a lot of my errors.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

I did the Mystery Shopping thing for a few months and found it wasn't worth it for me. The little money you get for the time and effort didn't work for me. It was too stressful too if I missed a detail or forgot to submitt the paperwork.

Other ways I found to earn extra cash was to do stuff the come off my and DH's hobbies. DH took a night job at a hockey rink (DH loves to play) running the clock for $15-20 a hour. He takes home between $100 & $200 a month and works late at night (when the adults play).

I go to yard sales, but new things real cheap, put them up on e-Bay and ususally double or triple my money. I also sew, knit and make cards and sell those on e-Bay (cards) and the sewing & knitting is more word of mouth stuff. Custom pillows, curtains, scarves, ponches, ect. All this extra money pays for a trip or two to Disney. I found it less stressful to make money on something that I already have a passion for.

I too think it's not much $$ but then again I think it's less of a headache than ebay! I've had so much trouble with it lately that it gives me fits. Although I made $200 today on our used items (now lets see how many people will pay) - then I just phone Small World Vacations and put it onto my pending bill for our Nov vacation!

I am soooo envious that you can sew. I have spent so much lately on the little custom numbers for my kids and it kills me that they look so easy.

Glad you've come up with some extra ways to make the $$. We're going to give this mystery shopping thing a try for about a month or 2 then decide if we will continue.

 

[jdk5672]

I checked the BBB and this company (Consumer Research Corporation) has had 78 complaints since Aug. 2004.

Wanted to make sure I hadn't confused myself... Is this the same as retailshopper.com?

 

[jenr812]

Here is some info I wrote up a long time ago in my blog. HTH

OK: mystery shopping - I can't really remember what got me started. Do a search for mystery shopping and you come up with a gazillion things. My biggest advice is never to pay to shop (meaning don't pay a company for leads). The leads are out there free of charge. I have a list of MS companies and some boards I used to frequent for leads. Mostly now I have several companies that I get assignments from regularly.


THIS IS NOT A LUCRATIVE BUSINESS!! Meaning, you cannot really make a living doing this. I do know a FEW people (from MS boards) who do, but they have been doing it for YEARS AND YEARS, and some are hubby-wife teams. So they have established relationships with MS companies and therefore get more shops. It does take some out of pocket cash to start, mostly because most shops require some kind of purchase which you are reimbursed for. Since almost all companies pay once a month, generally pay is received 4-6 weeks after the shop (depending on when in the month you shop...the closer to the end of the month you perform a shop, the sooner you will be paid). That can be frustrating in the beginning, but like I said, now I get checks monthly, and can usually anticipate when they will arrive.


MSing is fun but it *is* work. The forms are generally pretty easy and straightforward. You need major attention to detail and accuracy is important.


You need to be dependable - if you accept a shop, be sure you can do it! There are so many shoppers out there now, that if you screw up, the company won't call you anymore. Unless you are HONEST and give them advance notice that you need to reschedule or cancel. When I was first starting out, I totally screwed myself with a great company that shops lots of MAJOR places. My own fault, and I am pretty mad at myself about it. But what can you do?


I have found that you have to do some shops you don't like to get your "foot in the door" with some companies and prove yourself, before they will assign higher paying jobs to you. For example, I shopped for one company for 9 months, doing a fast food place each month. Finally after 9 months, I got a call to do beer audits which pay VERY VERY VERY well and then with another company... I shop grocery stores each month for them. After several months of that, I was eligible to shop car dealerships for them...those pay great too!



I still haven't shopped any hotels simply because it hasn't been available near me when I was available to do it. Banks are shopped, fast food, fine dining (USUALLY reimbursement only, but that is worth it to me!), grocery, gas/convenience stores, etc. One of the most important things with MSing is confidentiality. Each company has you sign a confidentiality agreement. You cannot give away your identity as a shopper while you shop, obviously, or the establishment will know they are being graded! BUT you also cannot disclose which stores you shop to others (ie "Company X assigns for McDonalds" etc)


Other jobs that are out there include merchandising (going into a store such as Walmart to set up temporary product displays and/or promotional materials), demo-ing (standing at a table in a store to hand out free samples or coupons), focus groups, etc.


You should keep an accurate mileage log for tax purposes. You cannot claim your mileage deduction unless you have a complete written record. You will need to file a Schedule C with ALL (ALL!!!) income you make MSing. I generally get to deduct a huge portion of my MS income because of my mileage deduction. Hope that makes sense. You can get a log for a couple bucks at any office store. Again, referring to schedule C, only fees paid are considered income. Reimbursements are not considered income.


Hope all that helps. If I think of anything else I'll post it Happy shopping!



www.mysteryshops.com
www.secretshopnet.com
www.shopnchek.com
www.trendsource.com
www.bestmark.com
www.speedmarkweb.com
http://www.ambussvcs.com/
http://www.shopperscritique/
www.ssanet.com
www.certifiedreports.com also www.criny.com
http://www.mystiqueshopper.com/Forum/
http://www.sassie.com/mystiqueshopper
http://www.premierservice.ca/
www.beyondhello.com
www.servicecheck.com
www.serviceevaluation.com
http://www.second-to-none.com/
http://www.sassie.com/intellishop
http://www.athpower.com/
http://www.mysteryshop.org./
http://www.volition.com/mystery.html
http://www.palmschedulingservices.com/
http://www.secretshoppercompany.com/
http://www.flexhire.com/
http://www.mercsurveys.com/
http://www.iccds.com/
http://www.infoteljobboard.com/jobpost3/default.cfm
http://www.feedbackplusinc.com/
http://www.shadowshopper.com/
http://www.volition.com/mystery.html
http://www.walmart.com/cservice/ca_...h.gsp?NavMode=8
http://www.second-to-none.com/
http://www.volition.com/mysteryint.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LilaForPSS/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bayareashoppers/
http://www.sparagowski.com/
http://www.infotelinc.com/

 

[jenr812]

PS I am also Silver Certified. But honestly most of the shops I do are from word of mouth due to my schedulers. I am pretty picky about the shops I choose now just because of my schedule (I'm a SAHM to 3 busy kids, plus a nursing student).

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Thanks for the info JenR812! I agree about not being able to make a living on this (I'm an expert you know, 1 week in and 4 shops under my belt ) It's quite a bit of work for not much $$.

I did however get a last minute call today from a service I just signed with yesterday. It was a bonus plus fee plus reimbursement and there were 2 of them! A very nice hour of work I must say!!! Probably once in a ablue moon too .

 

[mum4jenn]

I applied with two companies so I will see what happens. One place actually had a shop in my little town so I figure it is prob. with a grocery store since there is not much else here!! I work full time but have summers off so I hope I will have time to do these.

 

[KATIESMOMMY]

thanks for the info!! I have 4 shops for next week and am so excited!