Signing up with all my MSC last year I remember seeing time and again the phrase, "Mystery Shopping is not a full time job."

Yet I see many people wanting to turn it into one and not being as successful as they wish. Then the complaints come.

I also read that some people are successful with this as a full time career. Their message is often, "It takes a long time to build up to a full time career."

I guess, in my headache induced typing frenzy here, I am trying to say that one should not "expect" a career in MS. If one falls into a sustainable career, congratulations.

PS, I'm off to Las Vegas on business next week!! I've emptied my MS bank account for the casinos and shows...will need a lot of work in September.....

Too bad I didn't read your post five years ago. If I had known then I could just "fall into" a sustainable career in mystery shopping, it would have saved me all the hours and all the money I have invested in equipment and technology.

While mystery shopping can be a profession, there are factors that need to be considered and make it too restrictive for most. The level of competition in a shopper's geographic area is critical as is the shopper's willingness to travel. I do not know of any mystery shopper making the equivalent of a full-time salary within a 10 mile radius of their own home.

Miketsfe.....you should consider getting your Nevada work card and picking up a few jobs while in town, especially if you
go a couple times a year, this will offset your losing.

I've been mystery shopping for 5 years now, I notice year after year my income steadily growing and of course my mileage has gone over the hook as well as my car maintenance costs but the experience and adventure I get from it ..Priceless...!

I just celebrated my one-year anniversary on August 1st. It's becoming a full time job, and it's also giving me knowledge and information for a new novel. I consider it a win-win.

The shopping itself can be fun even though I wouldn't be doing it if it weren't for the money. It's the reports that are wearing me out. Why they expect you to repeat yourself several times and find creative ways to say the same things is very annoying. The tediousness (and time) of the reports can feel excruciating. I'm starting to dislike lying to people for money too. At first, it felt like a fun acting job. In some cases, especially where cars and expensive watches are concerned, the sales people must get very excited to think they're going to be making a sale, and then it falls flat. They probably start planning how to spend the commissions they'll not be getting. And after you slave over every word of a report only to be told you should've offered more details is annoying. Waiting long periods of time to get paid is always annoying. I'm thinking it's not worth the time right now to do much more mystery shopping, but maybe I just need a break to recover. It's nice to know the opportunities are available if you want them. But I might rather rejoin the corporate world soon because making $35 an hour with benefits vs. making less than minimum wage with no benefits is sounding like a no brainer right now. Guess I'll sleep on it awhile.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2013 02:21PM by nycrocks.

I started MSing in March of this year. As most newbies, I took the crappy low paying ones. You don't know what you don't know, right. Through the months I have learned a great deal and I won't take a shop for less than $15 and that is for short reports. I fortunately can afford to be pickier with my selection, as I am not putting food on the table with my money. I am pretty much down to 2 days a week and mostly have schedulers calling me with bonused shops (today I got a call to do 2 shops next week at the same place for $40 each that usually pays $6).

I think the main point I have seen is everybody on here has different goals and requirements with MSing. For those like myself who only do it part time for fun money and only take the higher paying jobs it is a great gig! I love it! I would have an entirely different mindset if it was a full time job that was required to pay the bills. To each his own, and we all do what works for us.

I think the answer to that depends entirely on what the individual's goal is. Is it to make a "big" profit? Is it to get stuff for free, or nearly so, that you would be doing or buying anyway? Is it for fun money or food money? Is it to improve one's writing skills and food knowledge in order to become a paid restaurant critic? Some combination of those?

I think it takes time, too, to figure out what shops and what pay level allow you to meet whatever those goals are. I'm still working on that end of it! Haven't done enough shops yet to get the full "lay of the land."

I don't do any shops for less than $15 unless I can walk to them within a few minutes and I know they're easy. I live in NYC, don't own a car, and every trip on public transportation costs $5 so I have to get $25-$30 for most shops to go outside my immediate vicinity. Shops are far too competitive in Manhattan for MSCs to need to offer the high bonuses I keep reading about here but never see offered (and likely never will). Of course, most shops paying over $15 have massive reports. I've been offered $5 and $10 bonuses a few times. Zzzzzzzzz If I were being offered $40 bonuses I'd be much happier. Lucky you, Bearclaw!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2013 06:18AM by nycrocks.

Two hundred responses later....

I've about come to the conclusion mystery shopping isn't worth it. It seems to me that schedulers don't have a clue about the shops they are trying to fill. Every scheduler contacting me any more has the opinion that because I did a shop for them at that location once before, that I should be willing to drop everything and drive an hour one way for a $7 plus $1.25 reimbursement.

Hello? Anybody home?

The more experience I get shopping, the more I realize that schedulers are so far removed from shoppers and shopper issues.... they just don't have a clue. Schedulers come across to me as ungrateful and uncaring people who are only saying whatever they have to say to get a commitment on a job.

It's getting harder and harder to make money with the lowering fees and increasing costs in my area...


Time is money .... and I can't work for free. As a scheduler told me via email this week, "We aren't asking you to work for free." No... you aren't. You changed the date when I could do the shop, so therefore, that will be the only shop on that day in that city, and I will be losing money doing your shop.

See? Ungrateful and uncaring people who think you should just drop everything and meet their realigned schedules again and again for a minimal price... and be happy.

I'm not happy doing this any more... I lost a McD bonused shop this week because the order taker put a large tea on my combo. It didn't cost extra because this McD has 99 cent tea, but it cost me $40 plus reimbursement because my receipt said a large tea. Pity.... that scheduler needs to be doing these shops, so they might understand that when your drink is bumped up without your request to do so, it isn't your fault.

Do you think I will do another McD for that company... not in this lifetime.


As I stated, I just think it's not worth the pay any more.

nycrocks Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I live in NYC, don't own a car, and
> every trip on public transportation costs $5

If you are paying per trip then you will have a difficult time making MSing profitable.

The best idea would be to take enough shops to pay the cost of a weekly or monthly pass. That way you get free personal transport around the city as well.

SteveSoCal, thank you. When I can line up enough shops in advance for a week I always buy a $30 weekly pass. The numbers of shops I can possibly get are too unpredictable to spend the $112 on a monthly pass. If I were working full time I'd buy a monthly pass anyway and then it wouldn't cost extra to travel for the shops, but I am not working full time right now. I get some monthly benefits due to a back problem but it's not enough to pay the bills. Mystery shopping has definitely been a nice addition to my bank account but there's no way I could make a living out of it living here in this ridiculously expensive city that I love. I'm sure in Southern CA it's competitive too!

I've been enjoying mystery shopping and within about 4 months was making an extra 700 dollars a month. It's so important to do routes and my goal is at least 50 dollars + a day if I go somewhere within 25 miles. Sometimes I will go out of my way to do a 20 dollar shop for a scheduler who is desperate to make a deadline. I will happily do it because the can count on me and I can count on them to get offered some bonuses once in a while. I keep excell spreadsheets and a daily calendar near my computer so I can jot down where I've applied to so I can apply for more in the same area. It's not too much time and I also add one mystery shopping company per day and not on the weekends...so I add about 5 new companies a week..

It never hurts to be proactive and reach out to schedulers and say, "Hey I see you're looking for 4 shoppers. I can do all 4 for xx amount." They work on one offs because they usually can't tell by anything other than a zip code. And even a zip code can have miles of coverage!

Ms.Baker, I don't think that is a fair statement as none of us are required to accept anything. We approve to be ICs and being in their database, we are just that. We are informed of what's available and what they see in "our area" is based on our profile and the client's needs. I was annoyed at one time but things have turned around and I'm now grateful to be getting notified.

There are some schedulers who never reply and those shops just go by the wayside as I can't reschedule or cancel them. But there are some fabulous ones that work with me and vice versa. It's a service industry and they depend on us to make clients happy and we depend on them for great shops!

ljw5432 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've been enjoying mystery shopping and within
> about 4 months was making an extra 700 dollars a
> month. It's so important to do routes and my goal
> is at least 50 dollars + a day if I go somewhere
> within 25 miles.

Just curious, are you MS'ing full time?

nycrocks Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SteveSoCal, thank you. When I can line up enough
> shops in advance for a week I always buy a $30
> weekly pass. The numbers of shops I can possibly
> get are too unpredictable to spend the $112 on a
> monthly pass. If I were working full time I'd buy
> a monthly pass anyway and then it wouldn't cost
> extra to travel for the shops, but I am not
> working full time right now. I get some monthly
> benefits due to a back problem but it's not enough
> to pay the bills. Mystery shopping has definitely
> been a nice addition to my bank account but
> there's no way I could make a living out of it
> living here in this ridiculously expensive city
> that I love. I'm sure in Southern CA it's
> competitive too!

Little did I know that So Cal is actually less expensive than some other cities in so many ways...My son who lives in Boston now is home for a week so we have been discussing cost differences. I was amazed at how much a monthly transit pass costs there and he said it is similar in NYC. He is jealous of the prices of liquor here as well compared to the Boston area. And don't get him started on Mexican food. He cannot even find good Mexican food let alone at the dirt cheap prices for it here in LA. And housing...he does not own but for renting he had to pay a realtor one month's rent to even get a place and it is the same in nyc I have heard...not the policy here at all. Just look in the paper or where ever ads are and deal directly with the owner. I am sure there are a few places that charge commissions to rent a place but mostly not. And of course you east coasters do not have the 99c store. I have been in so many other knock offs and they do not compare in the least.
But as for shops...and bonuses i think we are alike. I got offered a $3 bonus to drive 20 miles each way to a shop which was reimbursement only. Today a week later I see the bonus has gone up to $4. In my area that is $8 in gas and well over an hour to get there and back just driving time. I average 16 miles per hour driving in LA.
Worth it? For me it is reimbursements that make sense...the cash pay is far too little usually to make the job worthwhile for the time involved, even when they throw in an extra $3 to go to another town.

Agreed, Sandy,

So Cal is surprisingly affordable compared to many other large cities. While we have expensive outlets, it's also possible to live 'on the cheap' here.

For urban shoppers, I think it's touch to make a FT living with MSing. We do have the option of more shops and generally higher reimbursements, though. It's easy for me to schedule a $200 reimbursed meal, but I need to head to the airport (and actually get a plane) to get a shop that pays me $200 as a fee. Trying to pick up the jobs all around the city that pay a few $$ doesn't make sense with the cost of travel, and there is competition for those jobs and they rarely get bonused. In a sense, I would say that is a good example of MSing actually working, since the MSCs can get locals who don't need to travel to do a job for a low wage.

Only if you are willing to put in the work.

I went from making a few extra dollars a month to a full time MS career. I lost my job and needed income now! I took the low paying jobs to build up the cash flow at first. I found out what companies pay in two seeks and what pay in two months. I might take a job at a lower fee if they pay quicker and I know I am going to need the money. I took everything from the first jobs and rolled it into the next and so on.

It took about three months of non stop work, signing up for new companies, checking job boards, figuring out routes and then there was actually doing the shops and the reports. Now the work finds me and I turn down more than I accept. I work in 8 states and have a blast doing it.

The main thing is to communicate, communicate, communicate with the schedulers. I very often let them know that I will be in an area a day or two after the date a shop is due. It is amazing how often they extend the date because they know I will get it done. This helps me fill in routes and keeps the money flowing.

I still pay attention to when jobs pay and I have an amount of money that I always want to be outstanding. This way I know that I will have the income in two weeks, 30 or 60 days. I try to level it out so that I do not get it all in at once. While big checks or direct deposits are great, it sucks to see that that is it. Nothing else coming in! Keeping the cash flow is probably the hardest thing to maintain now.

I also let people know that I am willing to travel. Now I have schedulers calling and asking if I can go somewhere "Between now and Christmas?" I let them know if I can make that work and then I contact other schedulers and fill out the route. I know when I go that I will have plenty of work and I get some flexibility with the due dates. The scheduler knows to within a few days when the job will be done and that is when they schedule them due. I keep in contact when on these runs and update them as to my progress so they know not to worry.

In the end, I get a lot of bonuses because I am willing to travel and they can give me 8 or 20 jobs and they know they will be covered. They help with the gas and I get to see the country and meet new people. Is it worth it? I will gross about $65,000. Net is looking like about $48,000 and I don't have to work for anyone or take any job. OI love the freedom and independence. I am not always happy with the amount of discipline it takes but that is my issue and so far, I have managed quite nicely.

tgihvaa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Only if you are willing to put in the work.
> They help
>. Is it worth it? I will gross about
> $65,000. Net is looking like about $48,000 and I
> don't have to work for anyone or take any job. OI
> love the freedom and independence. I am not always
> happy with the amount of discipline it takes but
> that is my issue and so far, I have managed quite
> nicely.

This is fabulous to hear but as you say, you really needed to work hard for that $48,000 net. But at least it gives some hope for others wanting to make a living at this. (If you do and you missed the rest of tgihvaa's reply that I did not copy just scroll up a few). Hats off to you tgihvaa.

I really appreciate the he or she provides a complete picture. With just the gross alone newbies might not realize that tgihvaa had to float $17,000 in expenses and also travels to at least 8 states on a regular basis. These are important considerations before anyone considers trying to make a living in this business.

I think the hardest thing about mystery shopping is finding the jobs and scheduling them. That is where the time can really get eaten up. We think that we are getting $15-$20 for a job that takes less than an hour to complete after the report. But how much actual time went into finding that particular job? If you have signed up with 100 or more companies, having to search them for jobs can be tedious, at least until you get to know which companies shop who and where.

I try not to think about the time finding & arranging the schedule. Heh. Because... I need this money. I refuse to do the really low-paying ones, (think $4 enormous hardware stores) but my threshold seems to be a bit lower than some of you. For instance, depending on what job it is, I will do $10 and $15 ones. I know some of you won't. But then, some of you live in areas with a much higher cost of living, I'm sure; so your threshold *should* be higher.

Although I'm starting to not like the $10 ones, either; unless the shop *and* report are only about a half-hour total... *AND* they're along a route with better-paying shops, so that the gas/drive-time is already accounted for. I also won't do certain $15 cell phone shops anymore, because the report is loaded with redundant required narrative and I *hate* it.

Also, when I'm doing the looking & schedule-arranging... It's usually late at night, and I'm usually just watching TV or listening to talk-radio anyway... and waiting for my different groups of doggies to go potty for bed-time. If I wasn't looking for and scheduling jobs, I'd just be sitting in my La-Z-Boy watching TV or listening to the radio during that time. And maybe folding laundry. Which is probably why my 'to-fold' pile is so large. Heh.

Although I do check emails during the day, and apply for any good jobs as they come in, too.

For me, I still factor in the reporting time. I also consider the working time. Meaning, a report can take only 30 minutes, but with traffic, it can take me 30 minutes to start my next shop at the earlier (drive, parking, walking, etc...and in some cases finding parking can take 20 minutes!). I can choose the next hour to finish my report or complete another shop. These are the things I wish I knew but of course no one tells you. You have to learn on your own and decide for yourself. Work til 2 am or.....????

Okay, here's a good question: what's a realistic starting expense bankroll for, say, two months of full-time or near-full-time mystery shopping? Assume most travel is within 50 miles of home, or at least no overnight stays for the occasional shop that's farther away than that.

Or, looking at it another way: How long should I expect $500 to $1,000 of expense bankroll to last if I have that much? (FWIW, sometime early next year will be my first real attempt to MS full time, and that's about how much I might be able to save up by then, counting what is coming back from part-time shopping before then.)

DrS, that kind of expense money won't last long.

First of all, let's talk about what you're including. Are you including only the expense outlay during the actual shop, or are you including vehicle expenses to get where you're going? Are you including lunches on the days you'll shop all day and not have a food shop, or do you plan to take your lunch or get by on convenience store purchases during shops? All this makes a difference.

I don't do expensive shops. Here's an example of cash I might need to pull off a day's shopping with 150 miles driving and a few shops. Let mix up some convenience stores, post office shops, and a couple of fast food.

First of all, I need six gallons of gas. That's $21.00.
Let's do six gas stations, with $1.00 inside and $1.00 at the pump. That's $12.00 in all, but $6.00 of that is gas I can include in the $21.00 gas expense, so the stations only cost me $6.00 total above the gas. Now I'm up to $27.00 for the day.
Let's say I do two post offices, at about $8.00 each, $16.00 total, now I'm up to $43.00 for the day.
Let's do a couple fast food, say I spend $7.00 each, that's $14.00, now I'm up to $57.00 cash outlay for the day.
Adjust this number downward for less gas and upward for more shop expense.

See how it goes?

Of course, I'm talking about paying cash every day and not putting any of this on a card. Shopping on a credit card can be asking for trouble. Pretty soon I'd be extending myself by saying, well, I've got all this money coming back so it doesn't hurt to rack up the cards. The thing is, at the rate of pay we're getting, we absolutely cannot afford to pay interest on seed money for mystery shopping. And we all know that we get paid when we get it, and sometimes we don't get it because we screw up the shop. It would be really easy to sink like a rock doing this.

And we haven't even talked about shopping a really nice eating establishment or a hotel. Those jobs can pull hundreds of dollars out of your pocket.

I don't mean to be discouraging but I do think we need to be realistic about how much money it takes to do some of these shops.

There are some shops you can do which don't require an outlay; banks come to mind. But I've done some banks where I made substantial deposits opening new accounts, including business accounts, where I had money tied up at the bank for a couple of months. No, it wasn't actually spent, but no, it wasn't actually available either because I needed to keep the balance up so as not to fall into paying a monthly fee for a checking account.

I'm afraid I haven't been very helpful. A lot of the answer depends on what kind of shops you intend to do. You may have to ramp up your shopping bit by bit until you're sure you can handle the expense of a full time operation.

Mary makes some excellent points about getting started. I'd like to add that some of the shops that get a lot of negative posts on the forums, can be great ones for getting started with relatively little cash outlay. Specifically, EPMS apartment shops, which, in my area, start at $40. For a beginner, with more time than money, those tiresome reports can be done at night, after a day containing 3-4 such shops, if they are as thick on the ground in your area as in mine. Even 1-2 per week will help to raise a newbie's early average pay. Yes, it takes time (maybe 4-5 1 minute calls plus one 10 minute call to reach the target and make an appointment. But you can make those calls while out on your daily shop route. Invest in a digital voice recirder and get a $5 bonus on their recoreded shops!

Banks are quick and very easy shops in most cases. No cash outlay. And, they are also so thick on the ground that you can spend very little in fuel to do 5-6 in a day without breaking a report writing sweat. Same deal with cell phone shops. Grocery store shops vary widely, but rack up as many as possible in the beginning becasue you will be saving on your household budget. Never pay for an oil change or tire rotation again. Better yet, grab those at the end of the calendar quarter when they have bonuses of from $5 to $50. Forget the time wasters like purchase and return (P&R). Watch for end of month and end of quarter bouses.

Yes, pack a lunch if you can't get or don't want a fast food lunch on a full day. Take a cooler for water or soft drinks, or to bring home carry-out foods. Keep your eyes open for short phoe shops. My sister did 80 $5, three minute phone shops, with 10 multiple choice questions each last week. She made some of them while on other shops or enroute. The same scheduler offered her 80 more, but she has a family trip planned. Once you make a rep with some MSCs and schedulers, the shops will come to you. Her phone shops were by invitation, based on work she did for that company 3 years ago.

Great suggestion on the apartment shops. I haven't done any of those yet and the possibility there escaped my notice. When I crank back up, I'll probably try the apartment shops and also the new home shops. I had passed on those up until now because I thought my car didn't look good enough to pull it off. I was driving a '99 Corolla that had been totaled in a hail storm. Later as I was driving down the road minding my own business, a passing truck hauling derelict vehicles and trash lost its load on top of me. Of course, I collected on each occurrence but I was too tight to replace a car that was dependable and economical so I did selective repairs and kept on driving. Now that my vehicle is more presentable I think I'd be comfortable with these shops.

On the Volition forum approx. 5 yrs. ago, a gal shared her experience. I don't recall the exact details, but you'll get my point.

The prior yr., she had grossed in excess of $100,000. This, though, required extensive travel and a mate that submitted the reports while she was shopping. If I remember correctly, she was on-the-road 28 dys. a month and her net, after paying her mate, was slightly less than $40,000.

Folks, my lifestyle choices contributed to my failure as a full-timer. I've zero interest in sleeping in motels, little in restaurants and factor $.50 a mile and $20 an hour when driving. Amplifying on that last point, you dare not lose sight of the considerable expense of operating your auto. If, in scheduler speak, it were only the "few dollars for gas," that would be the IRS deduction.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2013 09:00PM by shopperbob.

To original question.
Being new to this in my 2nd month I can see where organization is vital to keep records straight. Being new takes a lot of time , printing , supplies , research ,but that time spent will be less as weeks go on. In my first two weeks of shopping while working another job I earned $87.00 in fees and $23.00 in reimbursements. That is $110 back to me this month without really going at it full strength.
Most is personal preference but of course it is worth it me or I wouldn't do it. Being retired and only working a brief part time job , it allows me to work at my own pace and bring in supplemental income.
The amount of knowledge I gain will also be passed onto my spouse who will retire fairly soon. It will then be a joint effort and double the amounts for us. Yes it is worth it to me : )

I must mention (in my case) I grab up shops the first two weeks, as waiting for an end of month bonus doesn't exist.
This means I work two weeks out of the month, give or take a couple shops or flakes later. Doing a couple EPMS Apt's here in my town bring me 80.00 and a Medicare seminar another 34.00, so, for me 114.00 for a days work (5 hours) not counting phone time makes it duable. I'm refusing to drive as they have been in constant rebuilding of the freeway. I went to breakfast with a shopper recently at a fancy Beverly Hills hotel, and it should have been a drive of 40 minutes, took
me 2 1/2 hours plus 7.00 valet parking, yes I really enjoyed meeting the shopper, but spent almost a day on breakfast and driving. Making money, no, but loving the reimbursement's yes, I'll take the grocery stores, oil changes, eating out, etc.
You have to know your location, L.A. has tons of shoppers, but doing routes is rough as gas costs a fortune and everything is spread out. The cost of living is not included in this industry, and waiting for your reimbursement is difficult. The clients should (all of them) shorten this, but hey, nothing will change as I see it, prices have been going down...that old supply in demand and L.A. has a supply of shoppers.
Live with it or don't, find the best and lose the rest!!