I am finding that when I go on some of these shops, I'm actually wanting to buy some of the stuff I'm mystery shopping.

I must behave
I must behave
I must behave
I must behave

:-D

I feel your pain. When I first started at the big box stores I was totally lusting after this red washer and dryer combo. I had never even thought about an expense like that before but after a few shops I wanted them so bad! Just have to ignore those impulses but it is hard at times and to be honest I have a new expensive camera that I got sold on. Have to remember that I am in the role of mystery shopper and not consumer - haha - good luck.

We are still consumers too. After all we need stuff just like everybody else. I think it is okay to buy things at the shops or go back after the shops to buy things as long as we do not go "hog wild" and spend way more than we make.
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Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.

I have a 25 year old washer and drier that is made like a tank. It's all mechanical and has no electronics to fail. There are no cheap plastic switches to crack and break. Only thing its needed over the years is a new belt, a safety thermister replaced and a spring. Also a good full interior lint cleaning.

The washer needed similar repairs. I have changed the main timing mechanism behind the main cycle knob and the door latch/switch failed once.

I have heard horror stories about the new electronic washer and driers going out of warranty, and then having the main electronic brain fail and the manufacturer no longer making hte part. This is on several thousand dollar units.

They just dont make things with the same quality as they used to.

I have an Electric GE oven that was made in Kentucky and is 35 years old. I have changed out the elements in the oven and on the range itself as well as the drip pans and the mechanical thermistat and it still cleans up like new. The baked on paint is forever and the oven can still be cleaned to new condition inside. When I went to the parts store to get the oven door gasket replaced, the older guy at the parts counter told me that if I was ever to replace my stove/oven to give him a call and he'd be happy to take my old one off my hands.

Some things don't need to be complicated and computerised. Old fashioned relays and mechanical gears and overbuilt motors on appliances built back then were designed to last forever and not be disposable and made of plastic that will become brittle and break. Appliances made now are meant to start breaking soon after the warranty expires.

I also feel your pain, HeatherB. I remember my first high-end department store shop where I was asked to shop three separate designers, one being Chanel. There was a handbag that I was dying to have, but I was a good girl. I came home and told my husband all about it, thinking he might buy it for my birthday. He didn't. Instead, he gave me a beautiful Maltese puppy.

I only buy what I need, rather than what I want. I have to remember that this is a business and that splurge spending only reduces my profit line.

Haha I feel that! I agree with the others too.. it really depends on your circumstances and business goals.

When I started, I wanted pure profit (still do) but now I try to opt for a mix of profitable shops and shops where a purchase must be made with or without the expenses covered.

I've learned to spend but also create a large profit so even if I buy a new $800 cookware set for $150 (yes that happened last week), I don't feel the pain later on. The shop paid $50 plus 50% of the purchase and some random customer gave me a $25 coupon which the MSC permitted could be used on the shop. I'm still thrilled about how much I saved!

LOL!! I mystery shopped a car dealership and fell in total love with the truck I was shown. I also had the unfortunate luck of having the greatest salesman on Earth!!!! I had to keep saying to myself, "I am just doing a shop, I am just doing a shop". It was soooooo hard!!!

I bought a car I had been shopping...

I started smoking because of doing so many tobacco compliance shops. Took me two years to quit.

Every cell phone I've had for the past ten years has been bought because of a shop.

My last car was bought because of a shop.

I haven't bought a car, but I did buy $200 runners on a $15 shop.

There are so many things I didn't have a clue I wanted or NEEDED until I shopped them. I think our clients are wise for having us shop for the latest/greatest cell phone or whatever. I've learned a lot, too. Thanks to a grocery store shop in which I'm forced to bug the snot out of someone in every department, I now know how to tell when nearly every piece of produce is ripe and ready.

I also got great advice from a pharmacist about a vitamin I could take to help with my hair, and another pharmacist gave me excellent information about Fish Oil. OTOH, I think I know more about checking and savings accounts and rewards visa cards than most bank employees.

It's always an adventure, that's for sure!! Trying not to spend more than I make is tricky.

Guilty here too. Mcerex has bought purses, sunglasses, furniture, cars, spa visits and more because of shopping. Of course, it was over the years...I think the more educated you get about certain items, the more they tend to become attractive and desirable. I've been bad. Most times, I try to contain myself and other times, I just ignore retail shops for the time...

I bought presents from upscale shops where, including the fee, they also reimbursed 50% off the purchase. I have also purchased clothes, designer handbags, glasses, etc. from upper class retail stores where they reimbursed a certain amount. Including the fee, I am happy that I have received a substantial discount with the reimbursement.

Nowadays, the only time I would be willing to do a reimbursement shop only would be if I would purchase an item for my own use or use their service anyway. That of course includes the restaurant shops.

BBird0701 Wrote:
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> I started smoking because of doing so many tobacco
> compliance shops. Took me two years to quit.

Ooh boy. Talk about unintended consequences.

> Every cell phone I've had for the past ten years
> has been bought because of a shop.
>
> My last car was bought because of a shop.

I scored some skin care products and a high-end brand of hair gel from a shop. I ran out of the hair gel some time ago, and temporarily went back to the cheap Target/Walgreens/Family Dollar brands. I ran out of one of the facial cleansers, but still have a mostly full bottle of the other.

I'm a contrarian. Not spending money nearly always feels better to me than spending it.

well at least I know I'm not alone. heh

Keep me out of jewelry stores! Every time I go to Helsberg or Jared on a shop, I know that I am going to spend more than I am going to make. But at least I know that I am going to make two people happy: 1) the salesperson and 2) my gf. I rationalize it by saying that I have gotten a discount and a POV. Luckily, she isn't waiting for me to buy her one of the $20,000 watches. Well ... maybe she is.

I did a shop for Best Buy in which I had to inquire about Fitbits. I'd been curious about them in the past, and the salesperson was so knowledgeable and helpful that I coughed up the $99 to buy one.

I also bought a Tempur-pedic mattress on a mattress shop, but our mattress was 14 years old and in need of replacing.

Both the Fitbit and the mattress have been great purchases and well worth the money spent.

Wow, the worst I've done is a $200 pair of jeans.

Mystery shopping has educated me about a few items that I would have never considered before.

Yeah those ruby red appliances are pretty but my Kenmore washer and dryer are over 30 years old and have needed hardly any repairs over the years. They are workhorses and have been abused by more than one family member and still keep working. So the new, shiny, sparkling stuff is pretty but I doubt if it would last 30 years.

I've done pretty good not to buy after over 10 years of being a regular mystery shopper. Of course, I think most of that is because of my husband. He keeps me in line (LOL. I've started doing video shopping and I believe my weakness is the new home shopping. I have a good house (life isn't about things though). But the first house I looked at was a $300,000.00 home. With a toll road being built directly behind my upgraded home (I've been there almost 2 years), it's making me think of moving. But thank goodness for my husband. Or I'd be signing up for one of those $300,000 plus homes. I guess that says something about the sales representative because the homes she showed me weren't completed (one was framing & the other had sheet rock with flooring and the kitchen appliances). It's too bad that I can't get a free or greatly reduced cost for giving her a good report (LOL. Yes, I was honest. And you can't hide anything on video (LOL...

The candle shops are the hard ones for me. I love good smelling candles and could eaasily drop 5x what I am making on a shop fee in that store. I have to remember that this money paid off my student loans, helped me come up with the down payment for my house and is my safety net.

I must behave.
I must behave.
I must behave.

You can buy, after you finished doing your shop. You are off the "clock". And not have the charges on the same receipt.

My downfall was Chanel cosmetics. But they were worth it.

I don't see a downside to mystery shopping.

My husband and I were in the market for a new car so I did all the negotiation shops I could to get practice - and to negotiate for the car I wanted. Because of my experiences I ended up with a new Lexus and a new Audi. In both cases I finished my shops and went back after the reports were submitted and approved.

In one case I was at the dealership with the salesman and had my husband on the line. I asked the salesman for the CT200h in white (I knew they did not have that color and I really wanted the gray - which was the color they had). I negotiated the best price I could get for the car I SAID I did not want and gave the price to my husband over the telephone. My husband said to take the deal. He was ecstatic over the price. I made a sad face and told the salesmen the price was still $1200 more than my husband would accept and I needed another $900 on the trade-in. A bit more place acting and I got exactly what I wanted and my husband was over the moon!

The second car we purchased was the Audi Q7 TDI - the large deisal SUV. I had done my homework and knew the best price that was paid for the vehicle according to a few websites I checked. Of course we shopped last day of the month and the quarter. This time we beat the best possible price by $1500 and got quite a bit more for our trade-in than we thought it was worth.

I admit I do not shop for a living but I love to get paid to do something I would normally do anyway.

I bought a car too. In reality I only did the car shops because I was in the market for a new one.

ShopIt, my next one will be the Audi Q7 TDI as well. I currently have a Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI and love it, butneed something bigger with this third kid. We picked out the Audi a few months ago. How are you liking it?

I'm glad to know my lusting is not an aberration. I now refuse to do any of the seasonal marketing gigs in the Big Box stores. The event that tripped that trigger was a job in Home Depot putting Christmas decorations together. I made $700+ that week - spent $2600.