Mystery shopping

[luvMickey72]

I would like to begin doing mystery shops for some extra money. Does anyone know a good company to use? There are so many and don't want to waste money on the fees.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Traveliz]

I would like to begin doing mystery shops for some extra money. Does anyone know a good company to use? There are so many and don't want to waste money on the fees.

Thanks for any help!

You need to sign up for every single company and see what they have - I work for many many different companies and have never paid a fee to work.

If you go to volition.com they have the lists of companies there and you can apply off of there.

It would be no good to tell you what a good company is because some of the companies one person considers great may not have a single thing in your area, another great company is considered great because they don't take on too many mystery shoppers so their shoppers get pretty steady work. That said still apply to them all because accounts change hands. I have done one grocery store for ten years for four different companies.

Alot of people will come along telling you it isn't worth your time but I have found it to be very lucrative. I also don't mind working for reimbursements - if I don't have to buy something that is one less thing I have to pay for in life. I get groceries, gas, Christmas gifts, glasses, drugstore items and more all for free ... oh and lots of sit down, casual and fast food meals.

Liz

 

[PinkRhombus]

volition.com IS the place to start.

Also...you are going to have to type up ALL kinds of long-form answers on these applications, so cut and paste every one in a document somewhere because you'll probably have to use it again in another application. Will save you a lot of time.

 

[Purseval]

My wife does Mystery Shopping. She has never paid a fee. She also doesn't make very much money, if you think you can Mystery Shop as a new career think again.

 

[luvMickey72]

Thanks, I will check out that website. Just wanted to make a little extra money for vacations!

 

[leahjade]

Not much money to be made mystery shopping - you'll get reimbursed for a meal or buying an item but if you're looking for cash, forget it.

 

[mom2faith]

You stated you do not want to waste money on fees...


NEVER NEVER NEVER pay for Mystery Shopping lists or anything to sign up!! There should be NO FEES!!!

The only costs you may incur are ones that you will be reimbursed for (ie a meal at a restaurant shop).

I have made well over $2000 over 5 years (I really do not do that much, just the odd "good" job that comes up) and I have NEVER paid to do it.

Stay away from Consumer Connection (if they are even still around). They still owe me money (over $200!!).

Other than that, I always got paid, unless I made an error - read the instructions carefully!!!!

Volition is your best place to start.

Have fun shopping!!

Amy

 

[Avonlady1001]

https://www.marketforceshopper.com/XP2/ is one I found here on the Dis a while ago. I've actually not done any yet, but my girlfriend has been doing them. They reimburse you for anything they tell you to buy, and also pay you for your time. My girlfriend lives in a different area than me, and what they're paying her per job is more than the ones listed in my area...so I guess it depends. She says it's pretty easy though...

Never pay a fee for that...those are the scams.

 

[leslie826]

I have signed up with corporate research international. www.mysteryshops.com I haven't actually tried it yet but they came recommended to me. They send me job offers in my area daily. Most pay about $10 each.

 

[Purseval]

I just asked my wife how much she made last year. She did 16 jobs in about 6 months and made $172 plus she got a few items like a 1lb bag of rice, a photocopy, $6 worth of gas, etc. Most jobs that she turned down were turned down because travel back and forth would have cost as much as she would have made. One job she turned down, for example, was one where she would have had to sit in a waiting room and see how many tvs there were and what chanels were on. They wanted to pay her $4. Unless it was across the street and she could walk to it there was no way you could make money off of it.

She also does jobs where she has to hand in reports then the reports come back with "grades" on her sentence length, punctuation, grammar, etc. You have to get a certain grade to get other jobs.

Bottom line is unglamorous work for little money but at least they actually pay you and you aren't tied down to any set hours.

 

[Traveliz]

Tonight I did 12 shops -- I started at 2:30 and was home by 8:30, got everything on in about 2 hours - so roughly worked 8-9 hours. I didn't work every minute of the above time - I messed around online awhile before I started in on my reports.

I did 4 grocery stores - 36 in merchandise and 20 in fees

1 dept store 10 in merchandise/10 in fees

3 gas stations 15 in gas or merchandise/24 in fees

4 billboard photo checks - 80.00 in fees

So tonight in fees it was 124 and the merchandise - which is all stuff I would be buying anyway (only I didn't have to pay for it)

I have done this ten years and you can do well.

Tomorrow I am doing three more grocery stores, my husband is getting a haircut, and two more billboard photo checks.

Over the weekend I have an eyeglass shop, a hardware store, a clothing store, two more grocery stores, a breakfast, a dinner ... I am not going to type it all out but I want to make the point that if you treat this like a job where you want to make money it is possible. Yes, I do use more gas than if I didn't go out but I more than make up for it. Plus its a business deduction.

Liz

 

[leahjade]

I worked for 3 or 4 different companies for several years. If you treat it more as a hobby, it's fine but it was not significant enough to be considered a part-time job.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Tonight I did 12 shops -- I started at 2:30 and was home by 8:30, got everything on in about 2 hours - so roughly worked 8-9 hours. I didn't work every minute of the above time - I messed around online awhile before I started in on my reports.

I did 4 grocery stores - 36 in merchandise and 20 in fees

1 dept store 10 in merchandise/10 in fees

3 gas stations 15 in gas or merchandise/24 in fees

4 billboard photo checks - 80.00 in fees

So tonight in fees it was 124 and the merchandise - which is all stuff I would be buying anyway (only I didn't have to pay for it)

I have done this ten years and you can do well.

Tomorrow I am doing three more grocery stores, my husband is getting a haircut, and two more billboard photo checks.

Over the weekend I have an eyeglass shop, a hardware store, a clothing store, two more grocery stores, a breakfast, a dinner ... I am not going to type it all out but I want to make the point that if you treat this like a job where you want to make money it is possible. Yes, I do use more gas than if I didn't go out but I more than make up for it. Plus its a business deduction.

Liz

This really depends on what area you live, what is available, and how many other shoppers are in competition for the jobs you are applying for. This is not the norm for MS'ing.

When I was doing it I also tried to group my shops to make it worth my while. But I eventually stopped due to gas prices etc. I did do some very nice fine dining ones, but decided the reports for some of them and the time taken to do it, was not worth it for me.

Alot of shops are NOT worth the money if you do then one at a time.

As previous posters said, you need to sign up for just about every company on volition and it is work, some lots of writing, others are really easy. You need to be very specific, dot your i's cross your t's. One wrong thing and you will not be paid!!

 

[Traveliz]

This really depends on what area you live, what is available, and how many other shoppers are in competition for the jobs you are applying for. This is not the norm for MS'ing.

When I was doing it I also tried to group my shops to make it worth my while. But I eventually stopped due to gas prices etc. I did do some very nice fine dining ones, but decided the reports for some of them and the time taken to do it, was not worth it for me.

Alot of shops are NOT worth the money if you do then one at a time.

As previous posters said, you need to sign up for just about every company on volition and it is work, some lots of writing, others are really easy. You need to be very specific, dot your i's cross your t's. One wrong thing and you will not be paid!!

I totally agree which is why I earlier mentioned that it is what you make of it - I live in a city of about 30,000, have grown children (now) and have been working at this ten years. I am willing to do some travel and as you say grouping is what its all about - and that is why I posted what I did last night.

I work at this like a job (even just a part time job) but I do work at it. This morning I applied for a half dozen more shops that are on the way to my eyeglass shop on Sat. Looks like this is going to be a good week.

Now I am working on getting more hotel shops. Not motel, but hotel and resort shopping. It's been good to me and its hard to hear time and again its not worth it. Sure it isn't for everyone but for many of the posters who are complaining about not being able to pay their bills (not on this thread) its a great way to get what you need without paying out of pocket.

Ok off to submit two more billboard photos for $40.00.

Liz

 

[caribear]

I have done mystery shops on and off for several years. I have found that most people will not give out the name of the company they work for because they do not want the jobs taken away for them. I only use marketforce as mentioned in a post above. There are a ton of companies listed on Volition.com, but it's hard to figure out which companies have the lucrative shops. I am looking for restaurant shops....not fastfood...and can never find anyone who will recommend a company who has these shops. I live in a more rural area so there aren't as many opportunities as those who live near larger cities.

 

[Purseval]

As previous posters said, you need to sign up for just about every company on volition and it is work, some lots of writing, others are really easy. You need to be very specific, dot your i's cross your t's. One wrong thing and you will not be paid!!

My wife has never worked a job where they wouldn't pay her if the paperwork wasn't exactly right, that sounds more like a scam operation (and there are plenty of those). However she does get "graded" and they tell here where she needs improvement. If she doesn't get a high enough grade she isn't elegible for better jobs or they drop you from consideration entirely. The jobs she does are all within a few miles, any further and it isn't worth it. She has never had enough offers to bundle jobs.

BTW her daughter who lives in England does mystery shopping for the same company we use in America and her jobs are more frequent and pay higher. Location figures a lot into how well you can do.

 

[JoiseyMom]

My wife has never worked a job where they wouldn't pay her if the paperwork wasn't exactly right, that sounds more like a scam operation (and there are plenty of those). However she does get "graded" and they tell here where she needs improvement. If she doesn't get a high enough grade she isn't elegible for better jobs or they drop you from consideration entirely. The jobs she does are all within a few miles, any further and it isn't worth it. She has never had enough offers to bundle jobs.

BTW her daughter who lives in England does mystery shopping for the same company we use in America and her jobs are more frequent and pay higher. Location figures a lot into how well you can do.

I am a MSPA Gold certified shopper. I have never been scammed or not been paid by a company. I did have to chase a merchandising company check though. There are companies that if you are spotted as a shopper, or you mess up the times for fast foods, the client will not pay. This has never happened to me, but it has happened to many shoppers. Yes, some companies do grade your work. But again some clients will not pay if the instructions weren't followed as specifically stated. The instructions will always tell you that you need to do the shop the way they want it, and only that way.

 

[Traveliz]

I don't think its so much one wrong thing and you won't be paid but you do have to be careful to follow instructions and some things that may seem small to the shopper are really important to the client.

An example might be shop times - by that I mean the shop has to be performed between the hours of 1-3 and you arrive at 12:55 and start - that might (likely) keep you from being paid.

You are to be in a store 30 minutes but you finish up everything and leave in 15 - that might keep you from being paid.

The clients have alot of particular requests.

Other items like you must get all names might be negotiable - I tried a zillion ways (well about three) to get a salespersons name once and they were not going to give it to me and were very clear about that... they didn't work on comission, anyone could help me, they made it a practice to not give out their name to people they didn't know for safety reasons. I put that all on my form and was paid.

Other times the client just needs clarification on items.

I have never not been paid either (although knock on wood -- talking about it isn't good luck!) and I have had to chase a couple of payments over the course of ten years.

Liz

 

[mom2faith]

My wife has never worked a job where they wouldn't pay her if the paperwork wasn't exactly right, that sounds more like a scam operation (and there are plenty of those). However she does get "graded" and they tell here where she needs improvement. If she doesn't get a high enough grade she isn't elegible for better jobs or they drop you from consideration entirely. The jobs she does are all within a few miles, any further and it isn't worth it. She has never had enough offers to bundle jobs.

BTW her daughter who lives in England does mystery shopping for the same company we use in America and her jobs are more frequent and pay higher. Location figures a lot into how well you can do.

You are incorrect. You will not be paid if the shop is not done exactly as requested.

You must go in at a certain time and ask certain questions - the client is expecting certain answers. And, if you have not asked the right questions, you cannot provide those answers.

It is not a scam, it is a contract job and if your end of the contract is not filled you are not paid. This is clearly outlined several times throughout the application and job selection process.

Many companies will allow you to shop again if there is a small discrepancy. I had this happen last month - I went to do a gas station shop and there are 2 of this particular companies gas stations directly across the street from each other (yes weird), anyways despite thinking I had double checked the addresses (darn google maps!) I of course shopped the wrong one. I had to go and complete the other one.

Amy