For all of you who are interested in learning more about mystery shopping, I guest posted this weekend on Never Pay Retail Again.
I wrote: While most people have heard the term “mystery shopping” many do not fully understand what it means or automatically think it is a scam. I have been mystery shopping for a year now and can honestly tell you that it is NOT a scam. In fact, it’s how I have supplemented my income with an additional $300 per month approximately.
First of all, there are some scams out there claiming to be mystery shopping companies. NEVER pay to join a mystery shopping company. The company should be completely FREE to join. There is no class to take or kit to buy. You can start mystery shopping right away. You should have access to a computer, the Internet, and a scanner to facilitate the sending of your reports
To read the rest of my post, head over to Never Pay Retail Again!
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great! thanks so much for the info…i always wanted to get into Mystery Shopping :O) i can’t believe you make about $300 a month..sweet!!
Sounds like a pretty good extra money maker. I have done mystery shopping in the past but not any recently.
Stefani @ Mommy Enterprises
I am a stay-at-home mom now and really need the extra income. I looked at the “Closer Look” website and was somewhat confused regarding payment. From what I read, it seems like they only reimburse for what you pay at the restaraunt or store you are “inspecting”. How do you make additional income?
Nicole,
I was wondering if you are a certified mystery shopper, and if yes, can you tell me how to become one.
No, I am not certified. You can find out more about mystery shopping certification athttp://www.mysteryshop.org/shoppers/certification.php
There are 3 kinds of shops: fee only, reimbursement only and fee plus reimbursement. A typical shop is fee plus reimbursement which says, for example, you will be reimbursed $10 for your purchase and get a fee of $8 for the shop. A fee only shop would be like test driving a car where you would just be paid a fee for your time. A reimbursement only is the one you mentioned. It depends on the shop you look at, there are a variety and the website you mentioned does have all 3 kinds of shops, just maybe not at this very moment. Hope that answered your question!
To follow up on the question from anonymous, I am looking to make extra money, not just get free stuff. So, when you sign up with a mystery shopper website, can you choose the shops you visit? Is there a requirement to visit x-number of shops per week or month? Do they ask you to spend a certain amount or buy a certain item? Thanks!
Yes, you can choose the shops you visit. There is no obligation to even complete ANY shops. I am signed up with many companies that don’t have shops in my area since they don’t release the name of their clients prior to you signing up. No, there is no requirement to visit a certain number of shops per week or month. The last question, it depends on the particular shop. For some, they may tell you to buy anything and give a reimbursement limit, while others may say “order 2 different entrees” or something along those lines. Basically, it depends on the shop!
Hello, Is it okay to give these companies your ss # …? I am not sure about that.
Thanks,
Gina
I do give them my social security number. They ask for it since you are acting as an independent contractor and they have to keep track of your earnings for tax purposes. They have to issue a W-9 if you earn more than $600 per year on their site. If you earn under it will be your responsibility to report your own income. Some companies will let you enter in all 0’s if you promise to give them your social if you approach $600, it just depends on the company.
What are your average fees per visit, now that you have a year worth of experience? It seems like a lot of $10 one place, and $5 at another place.
If anyone was wanting to use mystery shoping as a 2nd income, I think they would be better off getting a part time job, just for transportation sakes, instead of driving to all of the individual locations for $5 or $10. That doesn’t even include time for all of the filling out the review.
Am I missing something on this, or would you agree? I’m genuinely trying to understand the concept, but it does seem to burn up a lot of time and personal resources.
Thank you!
David: I really can’t say what my average fee per shop is, it really depends on the shop. You could do a restaurant shop with a $250 reimbursement or a gas station where you get $5 in gas, just depends. In this economy, it’s very hard to find employment but there are always mystery shops open. You set your own hours and pick the assignments you want to do. I think that’s better than a part time job with set hours, set pay and no choices! Certainly it won’t make you rich but you can do well mystery shopping. For the smaller assignments I take, they are almost always at a store I was going to anyway so I’m not going out of my way. As with anything in life, you need to be smart about it and you’ll be rewarded! If you have any other questions, let me know.
I think it would benefit everyone to know that most of the jobs require "training" that I was not aware of. Before doing a job you have to take a test and pass. I've done a few hours of testing already but no shopping yet. The tests are not all easy to say the least.
I guess I have never considered these tests difficult – usually you just read about the jobs and then answer some questions about what you read, with most of it being common sense. They don't take much time. Each company is different, and the purpose of the "tests" is to make sure you perform the job correctly and get paid for your work! Some companies don't do this at all, it just depends.
Nicole, I was wondering if you have ever done some of the mystery shops that doesn't involve buying anything but doing something in the store such as a safety check at a restaurant. One of the companies that you talk about has something like this and I wondered if it was worth it.
I don't do "revealed" shops or audit where they know I am a mystery shopper. This is just something personal to me and I know many people who enjoy doing these other kind of shops. I'm sure the job would be worth it – just look at the report and figure out how much time you think it would take and weigh it against the fee!
Nicole: I was wondering if you heard of the company Shadow Shoppers> can you please advise of your experience with them, if any?
BTW thank you for all of your posts they have been so helpful.
Dear Anonymous: I am not signed up with Shadow Shoppers and a quick google search of the company ensures that I NEVER will sign up with them. I won't comment on companies I am not a member of on a public blog but just google them yourselves and you'll see what many, many others are saying about them. I stick with companies that are members of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association and they are not members of this organization. Hope that helps.
Hi Nicole, thanks for the info. and the guest post on hip2save. I just signed up to do a Longhorn mystery shop. I am very interested in doing more of these. Can you recommend a couple/few additional specific sites that you work with that are trustworthy? I am interested in restaurant and retail shops. Thanks!
Hi Jen: Click “mystery shopping” at the top of my blog and you will see the other companies I have written about. I only post about mystery shopping companies that I have personally completed (and been paid) shops for.
Hi Nicole,
I enjoyed your guest blog on hiptosave.com. Have you done bigger mystery shopping things such as staying in Hotels? If so do you have any advice or recommended websites? Thanks again!
I have not done a hotel shop but I do see them on many sites. Most of the time they want a very experienced mystery shopper for the bigger shops. I recommend signing up for the ones I have posted about – there are some hotel shops on there if that’s what you are interested in.
Hi Nicole,
Nice website, happened on it by accident. Service Performance Group is the name of my mystery shopping company. I know you only blog about companies you have worked with, but do want to encourage you and your readers to sign up with us. We have a variety of shops, some which pay, some which are more of a barter arrangement. We are always willing to work with newbies.
I have to say though ( and I don’t mean to badmouth a competitor) that I was surprised about your comments in regards to Corporate Research Int’l. I was just on the MSPA site and saw some of the shops they are advertising and what they are paying. I don’t know what shopper in their right mind who would shop for $4.00, and I don’t care how easy it is… You still have to drive some where to get there. As a former HR manager, I find it somewhat questionable that they can even get away with this…I don’t think I have a single shop right now that pays less than $15.00!
Hi Melissa: I am signed up with Service Performance but haven’t ever done a shop. Do you post shops on a certain day or send emails out when you have available shops?