I am new at Mystery Shopping. How many of these companies do I need to sign up for in order to make a thousand $ a month? Does anyone make that much? Does anyone routinely travel more than 40 miles to do a shopping experience?

I think everyone has their own limit as to how many companies one has to sign up with, but most members here say 200. I cannot do that. I am signed up with about 50 now and work primarily for 6 and I am making $1000 a month. I do this part time, which means usually the last two weeks of the month.

I'm signed up with 150, primarily work for about 10 and if I make $1000 in a month then it's a bad month for me.

I'm signed up with about 50, work primarily for 7 and make around $500 a month. I'm part time though, i'm an 8-5er and mystery shopping is part time for me.

I am one of the 200. I work primarily for 10 (give or take) and make over $1000 a month. I will travel anywhere for the right amount of money.

Let's keep in mind that signing with 200 companies doesn't mean you are working for 200 companies. I probably have half of those in my "out of area" or "seasonal" folders.

Great replies!

At least 300 companies

I'm so tired of signing of my mystery shop companies and they don't even shop my area! errr. Wish we had a list for locations but that's just too easy.

Yea every so often I add another 10 places and check them for new assignments. I started off with like 6-10 companies and I may be at 100 now. Of course we don't use them all at the same time, just depends on what they have available

I'm on a 750 mile road trip right now, so yeah, I routinely travel more than 40 miles.

I'm signed up with more than 200 and each year there are between 15 and 20 of those that I work with and each year it is not the same 15 to 20 as clients change. I used to routinely make more than $1000 per month just in my local area but I have cut waaaaay back because I just don't need to bust my hump for the money and can focus more on lifestyle shops. The money has to be very attractive for me to put more than 30 or 40 miles total on my car per day. I don't do video shops and have very little interest in the road trips they generally entail.

LisaSTL Wrote:
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> I'm on a 750 mile road trip right now, so yeah, I
> routinely travel more than 40 miles.

750 miles by broom is equivalent to how many miles by car?

If I make $1000 in a month, it is a good month. I can usually do $400 to $500 in a month (if I do not subtract for gas) or add the reimbusements for stuff I needed anyway. Whether I am full or part time-I am not sure. I multi-task and take breaks and get distracted while at the computer.
I am registered with about 50 companies. I find it boring to register with new ones, but try to find one a week to sign up with. I travel up to 40 miles a couple of days a week. On those days, I try to get 2 or 3 shops either in the same area or on the way home on the same day. I am busier on the first and second weeks of the months. I think there a quite a few other mystery shoppers in my area, because most of the shops close to me go first as opposed to further from me. I can find quite a few shops within a 10 minute drive, so the other days of the week I do those shops. I rarely find a bonused shop I can get to easily.
When I read posts, I can understand it can be a whole different animal mystery shopping in a rural area or a large city. I live in a huge metro area.
Also, I do road trips occasionally and I try to find places where a relative or friend lives close. So far, I have not found companies who do a lot of hotel shops, but I have done one-and a few casino shops that required a night in the casino hotel.
I think if you shop smart and learn as you go, you can increase your profit, but it takes time to learn what will work for you.

If you look at Jobslinger, it will at least tell you the SASSIE companies that are in your area, msjobboard.com is another good one. That's how I found my "regular" MSC's. I also got a good friend and co-worker into mystery shopping with me and she and I share information. She lives North of our City and I live West. So far its worked out really well that we aren't fighting each other for shops. We seem to like the opposite types, so getting info from each other has been helpful.

Well I did leave a tornado behind yesterday.

bgriffin Wrote:
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> 750 miles by broom is equivalent to how many miles
> by car?

LisaSTL Wrote:
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> I'm on a 750 mile road trip right now, so yeah, I
> routinely travel more than 40 miles.


Stop posting and hurry up already. I've been
waiting 6 hours!

bgriffin Wrote:
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> LisaSTL Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I'm on a 750 mile road trip right now, so yeah,
> I
> > routinely travel more than 40 miles.
>
> 750 miles by broom is equivalent to how many miles
> by car?

It depends on how the crow flies

I am signed up with about 30 mystery companies but really only work for one right now. I can make an extra $400/month without too much effort. I only do this part time however. I live in a large metropolis and routinely drive 40 miles for shops. I only do that when I can bundle 3 or 4 together because of gas prices. Good luck on your new venture!

Sign up with as many as you can or interested in. I depend mostly on public transportation and I am signed up with a lot. If your city has a dependable public transportation (at least most of the time), which covers the whole metropolitan area and connecting suburbs, you can do a lot of shopping. All you need is time, organization and interest, in my case, as I am very choosy. I found I could never shop efficiently downtown unless I use the public transportation because of parking availability and expenses.

Good luck! Organization is a must.

mshoulders Wrote:
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> I'm so tired of signing of my mystery shop
> companies and they don't even shop my area! errr.
> Wish we had a list for locations but that's just
> too easy.
>
> Yea every so often I add another 10 places and
> check them for new assignments. I started off with
> like 6-10 companies and I may be at 100 now. Of
> course we don't use them all at the same time,
> just depends on what they have available

The benefit of signing with companies that are out of your area are many.

1. If you travel you can make some extra money.

2. If the company picks up a client that is in your area you will know because you are signed with them.

I routinely check these folders twice a month. That way I am less likely to miss a new client or even seasonal shops. When I first started signing with companies I dedicated a block of time each week to continue on the "MSC List" and just signed with each company in order.

I can not tell you how many times I have been traveling and have checked the folders with the zip code I am in and found money to make.