There are some very basic things that you need or should arrange before you get started signing up to do mystery shopping.

First and foremost, if you are in the United States you will need a social security number. While you might choose not to give it when you first register with companies, more and more companies are requiring that you provide a valid social security to do any shops for them and all of them require it if you are going to receive $600 or more in fees from them during the year.

Second, you need an email account. It is strongly recommended that you set up a separate email account for mystery shopping that you check daily. It is also strongly recommended that you use a web based email provider such as gmail or hotmail so that you can check your email from any internet connected computer worldwide. Free internet based email accounts are available at gmail.com, hotmail.com, yahoo.com etc. If you use the free email that is provided by your ISP, realize that if you change your ISP you lose the privilege of a free email account with them and will need to change your email address with every company you have signed up with. Remember to use a professional sounding name because this is your 'professional' email.

Third is not a requirement but will make you eligible for more jobs. This is a Paypal account. Many mystery shopping companies already only pay by Paypal and their numbers are increasing. It costs you nothing for a Paypal basic account. What many of us do is link a Paypal account to a savings or checking account and just transfer the money on from Paypal to our bank. There are also options for a debit card to spend Paypal balances etc. For a Paypal account, go to Paypal.com. Easiest is to use the same email address for a Paypal account as you are using for mystery shopping.

Fourth, you need a computer with an internet connection. Most shops are advertised on line, most shop materials you can download on line, most shops are reported on line. The better your internet connection the easier the process will be for you. Some folks use their computer at work, but be cautious about this. I know of two shoppers who got in trouble because they were using the company computers. Both got warnings, one persisted and got fired. Public libraries often have computers with internet connections. If you are going this route be aware that many shops require you report in 6 to 24 hours after a shop and if the library is not open to report, you could have shops rejected because you didn’t get the reports in on time.

Fifth, you need transportation. There are very few mystery shops that are just computer based, there are a few more that are telephone shops, but most shops you need to travel to. In some areas of the country public transportation may be enough to allow you to do some shops, but mostly you will need a vehicle you can independently schedule to get your work done.

Sixth, you need a watch with a sweep second hand or a digital watch. As a shopper you will often be measuring times in seconds, so a digital watch is by far easier. Many digital watches also have a stop watch feature which is indispensable for some shops. Cheap digital watches are available from places like Walmart or Kmart for around $10.

Seventh, you need some way to get digital images of your receipts. Many companies require you to upload a jpg image of the receipt with the shop or to email it separately. Very few companies allow you to mail in receipts any more, though a few will allow you to fax them in. An inexpensive all-in-one printer that can print, scan and fax is a good investment. They show up sometimes at places like Big Lots or the clearance racks of retailers and office supply places. Just make sure that if you are using the Windows Vista operating system on your computer that the equipment is “Vista Ready”. While you can take a picture of your receipt with a digital camera to upload, it has to be legible so requires usually a few photos to find one that can be read.

Eighth, you need to have some available cash and generally a credit card. Some shops are specific that the small purchases to be made must be paid with cash, while others specify that you must use a credit card. Most shops require some small expenditure. There several reasons for required purchases. First, a receipt provides proof that you were at the right place at the right time; second, a small purchase allows you to evaluate the cashier; third, a receipt shows that you purchased what you were instructed to purchase and evaluate.

Finally, it would be extremely difficult to do shops without a printer. There are documents you need to download, print, sign and send back. There are shop instructions and questionnaires that often are easier to keep track of in print form. There are occasionally certificates and such that you also need to print.

While there are many other things that will make being a shopper easier and expand the range of shops you can perform, these are the basics that not having or having available to you would make most mystery shopping difficult or impossible to do.

Good luck and happy shopping!

Excellent advice!

I would like to comment that it might be wise to invest in a stop watch, or make sure your digital watch has a stop watch feature. I have seen shop guidelines that will not allow a watch with a second hand or allow a cell phone stop watch feature.


I also did not see a digital camera mentioned here, and it's certainly not a requirement, but it is helpful. Some shops want you to take a picture of a storefront, or sign.

MSPA Silver Certified!
Chicagoland

www.mysteryshopaholic.blogspot.com

Yes, these were just the basics. Once you get rolling there are a lot of things that will make shopping easier and things that will enable you to do more shops. Examples of these are:

Digital voice recorder (DVR)
External lapel microphone for your DVR
Digital camera
Laptop computer (with car recharger if you are going to take it on the road)
Cell phone
Thermos (for too many coffee shops)
Cooler (or thermal bag, for distant or many grocery shops)
Console organizer for your vehicle
Thumb (jump) USB drive
Rechargeable batteries and a charger (for digital camera, DVR)

Extra button batteries for the lapel mike (if applicable). I found that out the hard way.

Joan
[www.premiershoppers.com]
[www.sendearnings.com]
[www.inboxdollars.com]

Somewhere in my house, I have a small handheld tape recorder that people used to use to dictate tapes for their secretaries. Is that what Flash is referring to re digital voice recorder (DVR) Somehow I feel a long way off from starting. Will go create g-mail acct. How do I do this? Go Gmail.com???
Bfriend.

Bfriend

Yes, Gmail.com will get you started with a Gmail account.

The small handheld tape recorder you have may work. Put it in your pocket and carry on a conversation with a family member. Then go back and listen to the tape. If it is sensitive enough to pick up the conversation while out of sight, it should work well for recording information while you are on shops. Many of these, however, were designed to speaking directly into the microphone on the unit while dictating. Since a recorder MUST stay out of sight on a shop, the necessary sensitivity of the microphone may not be there. Certainly worth a try, though.

She says she feels a long way from starting. Don't scare her with all this stuff at once. If she doesn't have a laptop, she can still do shops and report them at night. That's a $600 investment.

Don't let them overwhelm you, bfriend. I started with a pen and slips of paper clipped into my appointment book, and did a whole month of shops before I bought a DVR. I also took notes in mail order catalogues and newspapers.

You can buy the other stuff as you need them. If you don't have a camera, wait till you see if you need it. Not everyone does the same type of shops. I would say the recorder is the first priority when you start. If it works out, carry extra batteries and have a tote bag or purse to plop on the counter at the stores.

The original list is the basics you need. Subsequent posts are looking more at the extras to consider once you get rolling. Definitely a laptop or DVR or those kinds of things are NOT a requirement to shop but they make things easier.

Although a credit card was mentioned in the "basics" list, there are many shops you can perform without one. Cameras came up in the non-basic list and there are many shops you can perform without one of those either.

I figure that if a person has arrived at this forum they have at least some minimal computer skills and access to a computer and the internet. Many folks will have the printer that came as part of the package with their computer and this may or may not be adequate for minimal shop use. But once you are doing shops, upgrades or extra equipment becomes a business expense.

Dear MS friends. Thx for replies. Will probably go to Best Buy to actually see what a Digital Voice Recorder looks like, how much, then cost around. Wow, I have home pc, 3-in one printer fax scanner copier and I thought I had finally joined the tech community! Still working on a digital camera for family use. Sometimes buy the digital disposables for special occassions.
So ---how important is a laptop? Digital Voice Recorder? Digital watch?
Don't think I've even seen a digital watch. Would wearing a digital watch be a give away for a woman that you are a MS? I have other questions and will try to find the threads and your replies to those. Such good advise --still trying to figure out how to file the best postings in a forum folder????
Since I am on early medical retirement, extra cash flow is low, hence thought about mystery shopping to earn money. Just for starters, how much cash should one plan on taking with them? Do you folks usually apply for separate small line credit card just for MS????

Bfriend

The digital watch if you can find one is the most important of those items. Walmart and Kmart generally carry cheap ones $10 that have a plastic band. Gorgeous they aren't but clunky is in :) These little guys have stopwatch in them as well. Trying to read a sweep second hand at a quick glance with any accuracy can be really really tough.

I wouldn't bother with a DVR until you have been shopping a while and have some sense you are going to stay with it.

My laptop goes with me when I do hotel and resort shops but mostly it stays home. I wander around and sometimes work in a comfortable chair while watching TV, sometimes work on it in the backyard while keeping an eye on a goat being allowed to graze the backyard but not the flower beds, often work on it out on the porch because the day or evening is too nice to be inside. It is a convenience, not a requirement until and unless you start doing hotel and resort shops.

For MSing a really cheap working digital camera from eBay or Craigslist should do nicely to start. You don't need a gazillion megapixels, especially when the file you can upload in most cases is restricted to about a 1 megapixel photo.

bfriend-- You don't need a lot of cash. The shop directions tell you in advance what you have to lay out, and sometimes it's nothing at all, or $1 just to get a receipt. Groceries you can usually put on a credit card or use cash, gas shops require a credit card. Most of the MSP's are just interested in the receipt as proof that you were there at a certain time. When I do Best Buy, I just buy a $1 pack of cookies. Bank shops require no layout.

Digital watches were quite popular for about 30 years, till many people chose to switch back to analog. Digitals are the one with the LCD display instead of the hands.

There are several kinds of DVR's. Some can upload files onto your computer, others can't. The first kind allows you to save the files.

I wouldn't buy ANY equipment until I started shopping.

I am very new to this. All i have is an interest in doing this type of work. Where do i go from here?

Keep reading through the 4 threads at the top of this section of the forum. It should give you a pretty good idea. "Nuts and Bolts . . ." is the most basic of how it works and the rest have to do with things that can make it easier for you.

Hi Flash,

What is the usual timeframe for payment of shops?

Thanks,

Cristi

It varies a lot. Some companies (very few) pay in 2-3 weeks. Most pay in 4-6 weeks. Some pay in 60-90 days and some you have to chase across the landscape to get paid. Most of the ones mentioned in the forum are in the 2-6 week category. Service Sleuth and Ath Power I am still waiting for payment for April shops. Many of the companies post on their website how long it takes for payment.

Yes! A pronter is a necesary item, but so far I have written instructions before going to a shop and make a computer file of the reports I remit. Digital camera is great and easy too.

pinecone,
What is a pronter???
I have only been msing for about a month, and my biggest problem is how do we do the timing with out being obvious. You can't pick up a stop watch and look at it to see how long, record that time, retime the next time. Can't be obvious looking at your wrist 4 times to start,stop,start,stop and record those times. This is a real boogerboo for me. I am loving doing this just need help.

I'm pretty sure it is a typo and what was intended was "printer"

My digital watch has a stop watch function. Very few shops require more than a few time points. Figure out before you go what one piece you will use the stopwatch for and how you will deal with other time points.

I note entry time on the watch function by using my left hand to push open the door. I then touch the button that changes the watch to a stopwatch, again without looking at my wrist. A third button starts the stopwatch and this I do at the appropriate moment, again without looking at the watch but by using my right middle finger as I am innocently standing with my hands comfortably in front of me with my right hand casually holding my left wrist. I can then stop it again with my right middle finger when the time period is over. If there is one further piece of the timing to do I am likely to do a silent count starting when I stop the watch. It often is necessary to count off 30-60 seconds with some accuracy, so it pays to practice it a bit. I always practice my counting as the microwave is doing its thing in the kitchen so I've gotten reasonably good at multi-tasking while doing the count. I don't think I've raised my arm to specifically look at my watch while on a shop in the past year and a half. You glance while reaching for something with your left hand or pushing a door open, etc.

Alternatively you can use a DVR to record the shop and give yourself small noise clues as to the start or stop of timings--a cough, a sniff, clicking my fingernail, the sound of the zipper on my purse, the snap on my billfold, the click of a ballpoint pen. Any little unusual noise that your recorder is sensitive enough to pick up can be used to mark time points and later you can use your stopwatch at home to measure between them or used the elapsed time on your recorder to figure it out.

thank you all for the advise, my only handicap is I am unemployed right now without any money bills are backed up and I am scared no credit card to use they are maxed out and behind on payment. How do I start without these items I needed is it possible. thank you

Devi, this may not be the time for you to start. It may make more sense to find some regular employment, even if it is not in your field or to your normal salary requirements. Payments from mystery shopping are generally small and take a while to be paid (2 weeks to 3 months). Most shops DO require some outlay of cash, most usually in the range of $1-$10. While most often you will be reimbursed, that reimbursement comes with your fee for the job (i.e. in 2 weeks to 3 months). In a standard month I expect that about half of the $ that come into the house are fees and the other half is reimbursements for money I paid out to do what was required for the job.

Shops that do not require out of pocket money are generally bank shops and cell phone inquiry shops. Some bank shops require that you have an account at the bank you are shopping, some require that you do NOT have an account at that bank. Both types of shops require that you report your results on line and generally require that you scan and upload a picture of the business card (or transaction receipt if you are an account holder).

You can try merchandising, which is actual employment, not self-employment, and is steadier work. MSFreedom.org has a forum on merchandising.

Hi 7 years ago Iworked with a local company and can't find them or remember the name really. So I have to start over agian. I ran into Corporate Intelligence Group and was giong to pay for the express membership for 16.00. I'm really scared on who to trust. I thought I read one of you stating sevice intelligence was a good company is that the same company?

I have never heard of "Corporate Intelligence Group". You do not need to pay anyone anything in order to shop. Keep your money in your pocket to pay out on shop requirements for which you will be reimbursed.

Service Intelligence is an excellent company to work with. You can sign up with them at [www.experienceexchange.com] And there is a long list of companies in the next forum up at [www.mysteryshopforum.com] where you will find many more legitimate companies to work with.

thanks for the great information

How can I find a free mystery shop web site that pays more than $5.00 a shop?

You need to sign up with a number of different companies because then you will see what shops are available in your area and with what kind of fees/reimbursements. Let me encourage you to start with Jobslinger.com to find companies that are shopping your area (free signup, free use--never got spam or any other noxious stuff from there). Look at the companies that have posted jobs in your area in the past month to six weeks and make sure you are signed up with them (specific jobs listed on Jobslinger are likely to be gone already. You are using them simply to identify companies that are currently or recently shopping in your area).

Keep a list of those companies you are signed up with. Identify those that are most active in your area with jobs that pay fairly. Check the job boards of those companies regularly while you figure out when in the month's cycle they are most likely to post new jobs. Some companies I check 2-3 times per day when we are in the sector of the cycle where they post new jobs. For self-assign jobs, it is the early bird who gets the worm. For jobs you must apply for, your best bet in getting accepted was a good application and good performance on jobs you have been awarded.

Can anyone tell me how important a spreadsheet is and what it is supposed to look like?

Whether you keep track of your information on a spreadsheet or some other method, you need to have some systematic, organized way to quickly access the following information:

Date(s) you need to do a job
Who the client is and where
What company you are doing the job for
What fee and/or bonus was agreed to and what reimbursement
When you reported the job
(the job number is often useful)
When you got paid and how much you got paid.

Some folks keep track of it on a calendar, some in a spiral notebook, but many of us use a spreadsheet because it is easy to sort and resort for whatever purposes you may have.

The spreadsheet I use includes the job mileage, includes my own internal job number so I can re-sort my spreadsheet back to its original state easily, includes notes such as time of day or purchase requirements etc., I separate the fee and the bonus so it is real clear what the base is and what bonus I was promised, I also list the amount spent that is to be reimbursed and any overage as "unreimbursed business expense" where it was not possible to complete the job requirements within the reimbursement amount. I keep notes if an invoice is required and when it was sent and the other expenses of the job, for example costs for faxing in materials or postage for mailing in stuff.

If you are comfortable at all with Excel, it is a really handy way to keep track of it all. The spreadsheet is one of the first things I open on the computer in the morning and the last I close. Any time I make changes, I save the file. I have already started my sheet for 2009 because a few days ago I picked up my first job for January.

When I go to the job boards looking for work, I can toggle to my spreadsheet to see what will fit with existing jobs if the jobs I see don't look good enough to stand on their own but might work to help flesh out a route. When I accept a job I immediately COPY and PASTE the relevant information onto the spreadsheet so that I know that the information there is accurate and not the result of a typo. When I REQUEST a job I put a minimum amount of information onto my spreadsheet and highlight it (with green in my case) so I can identify that this is a job I have not confirmed but have requested. If the day of the job arrives and I haven't heard back, it is time to cancel my request because I don't want to come home from the route only to find that a few minutes after I left the house I was given the job and now have to run right out and immediately do the job or be a "flake".

When jobs get paid, I highlight them in blue, so when a month's page is all blue I know I have been paid for everything. When a company refuses to pay (like Datatron which went bankrupt) or does not pay what was agreed and it is obvious they are not going to pay the promised reimbursement or the $2 bridge toll agreed to, they are highlighted in red to act as a reminder that I need to be super careful if/when I deal with them in the future.

The more information I can put on the spreadsheet, the less I have to keep between my ears. This in turn frees me up to do other things.

As for what a spreadsheet looks like, I just use one row per job and enter the relevant information in the appropriate columns. My personal preference is a separate sheet for each month, but always what lands in a particular column is the same type of information month after month so the sheets can be combined or manipulated in any other way needed to pull out the information I want.