Mystery shopping?

[kaabost]

Have any of you done this? I would like to do this but evey advertisement that I respond to wants me to pay $50 or so to start off. I always figured that if someone wants you to pay them to make money, it's probably a scam....or at least not a good deal. Any experience and/or advice? Thanks!

 

[ducklite]

There are legitimate mystery shopping companies out there, but I wouldn't pay $50 to get on with one of them.

Anne

 

[floridagirrl2]

Don't pay for the info! Put "mystery shopping" into Google and you will come up with lots of places to sign up for free--that's what I did.

 

[madison66]

.

 

[cinamin27]

http://volition.com/mystery.html

This is a very important site for mystery shoppers.
My best suggestion is to sign up with as many companies (links found A-Z on volition's site) as your fingers will allow you.

You will not get paid big bucks to shop but you are reimbursed for restaurant shops & for small purchases at retail stores (some shops will require a purchase & return with NO reimbursement).

If you want to make slightly more money & dont mind spending the time outside of your home, you might be better off doing merchandising. Merchandising doesnt require you to wait to be reimbursed for money you have spent out of your pocket when doing mystery shopping. Also, merchandising doesnt require long periods of time in front of the computer filling out reports & writing paragraphs describing your interactions. I no longer do either because I got bored with it & found myself wanting to do less & less but keep in mind I did this on top of working a full time job & being a single mom. It started to be a more than part time 2nd job for me & I just didnt want to give it that much time.

 

[NeverBeentoDisney]

I currently do some mystery shopping through Shop n Chek. I never had to pay anything to join them. You do however do the shopping and send in your analysis and your receipt and the next month you receive your money in return with a check or a direct deposit.

Check out their site at www.shopnchekshopper.com

they use stores like Sams Club, Wal Mart, Burger King, Radio Shack, Ihop and other local retailers.

 

[brandip22]

I do mystery shopping as well. The ones I get the most from are:
www.beyondhello.com
www.iccds.com
www.cybershoppers.com

Feel free to sign up! I also do the pincone research and gozing.com, both of which I get money from. And synovate research panel is great because they send me stuff to sample all the time- like cookies, etc.

 

[threeboysmom]

cinamin27 - thanks for that website! Are you sure it's "safe"? I'm always so leary about giving out my social security number on the interest! I'm assuming that you went through those links & never had a problem with security?

Thanks!

 

[cinamin27]

the links from volition take you over to the actual websites for the mystery shopping companies you will contract with. I always provided my ssn but I have read on volition's forums that people have left it blank & gave their # when they actually received their 1st job. The companies will all ask you to fill out a W9 or what ever the gvt. tax form is called before you get your first check.

Most of the companies do not deduct taxes from your check so keep in mind at tax time if you want to be honest you will have to claim your income less reimbursements.

here's a tip, I cant go into detail but a good company to sign up for to do shops when you are in Orlando is shopperscritique.com. Once you are signed up you can search jobs in FL & see what they offer there.

Also, a company that seems to have lots of merchandising jobs is certifiedreports.com.

 

[kfeuer]

I've done mystery shopping in the past but with gas prices being what they are it's just not worth the time and effort for me right now. The common retail jobs pay $10-$15 (of course some pay more, but that's the pay scale I see most often)...by the time I drive somewhere, do the shop, fill out the form, deduct what I paid for gas, etc., the pay per hour is very low.

The best jobs I ever got were restaurant shops (got a few $100 dinners for free) but since I'm trying to lose weight I'm not doing those right now, either!

 

[AMaloy314]

I've started looking into doing mystery shopping, but I have a bunch of questions. Every time I find a new site, I end up with more questions. Would anyone be so kind as to try to answer some of them for me?

1. What is the difference between mystery shopping and merchandising?
2. Is this something that I can do with my kids along?
3. How do you get gold or silver certified? Is it a good thing to be?
4. Is this something that can be done at my convenience, or do they mandate when you go?
5. Who provides the forms and is it a standardized thing or do they each have their own versions?
6. If I sign up with a company but can't do some of the assignments, do they quit using you?
7. How long does it take to fill out these forms?
8. How detailed do you have to be? do you need to get everyone's name? Will they tell you what you need to specifically look for before you take the assignment or do you find that out when you get a form afterwards?

This sounds like it could be fun if it will be at stores or places that I normally would go. I'm just not sure that I want to make it into a second job.

Thanks everyone.

 

[missanita]

The Mystery Shopping Providers Association will be having a mystery shopper convention in Orlando this July. They will also have classes to help prepare shoppers for future assignments. For shoppers who are new to the business this will help you understand the in and outs of mystery shopping.