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It seems payments for shops are dropping.

April 08, 2015 03:28PM
Last month I did several Western Union shops for $20 each, now they are only paying $12. I did a tire shop for $9, now they want you to do 2 tire shops for $9. I won't do these shops at these prices, not worth it.
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More About Payment
April 08, 2015 03:31PM
This is a new month. You may have done those shops near the end of March, when fees were higher because they were trying to get the last shops done by the end of the month. Now this is a new month, they've got another 23 days to get the shops done, so they offer them for less. If nobody takes the shop, the price may go up in a week or two.

This is a pure marketplace here. We are the sellers -- we sell our time for what it's worth to us. The MSCs are the buyers -- they want our time for the least they can get it for. When our needs and their needs intersect, a shop gets done. If your needs aren't intersecting with their offer, either ask for more money or do something else with your time this week.

Time to build a bigger bridge.
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April 08, 2015 03:36PM
So do fewer shops at the start of the month and wait until they offer more?
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April 08, 2015 03:49PM
@johnb974 wrote:

So do fewer shops at the start of the month and wait until they offer more?

Yes.

______________________________________________________________________
Seriously, nobody cares that you're offended.
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April 08, 2015 05:42PM
It is really a personal decision for the shopper. I will sometimes take the lower fees to get the hang of a shop and then wait until the end of the month. This was the same frustration that I had when I first started about 3 years ago. I could not believe that the rates were going down when the economy was starting to revive again. Left me very frustrated and feeling that I was being "taken advantage of". My solution was to sign up for more companies. This morning I just found a MSC that shops the Indian Casinos in my area. It took me 3 years but I found them! More companies gives you more options and I know that it is a PITA to sign up.
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April 08, 2015 10:13PM
I usually shop very little before about the 12th or 13th of the month. Then the bonuses start to creep in and by the end of the month they're desperate.

Time to build a bigger bridge.
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April 08, 2015 10:31PM
I have found some of the fast food shops never change. I like to do Carl's Jr. They always pay the same and you get reimbursed for your food.
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April 08, 2015 10:45PM
Yup, I have done gas stations in the previous months and my usual ones Have gone from 10$ to 8$ I haven't taken any, I'm waiting to see if they go up at all. Or if a bonus will be offered by the end of the month.

www.Facebook.com/oatsandgrins
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April 08, 2015 11:42PM
Not every city or region has the luxury of waiting until later in the month for bonuses to hit. Many areas are saturated with shoppers who snatch up shops as they hit the board. I have special projects that are never bonused so I always perform those in the first half of the month. I make good money on those special projects so no bonus is needed.
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April 13, 2015 07:37AM
Welcome to MS at its finest. A lot of these MS companies are like vultures, waiting for the next wave of newbies that will accept $4 shops. Pay has been crap for the past couple of years and it's only going to get worse.
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April 13, 2015 05:20PM
Convenience store shops right now are $7. Plus, one must make a purchase. Not for me. I have to drive too far.
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April 14, 2015 01:15AM
Base prices are dropping. This don't mean that you need to shop for that price. I did a shop today that was on the job board for $6 and nobody would touch it. It paid me $18 at lunch. I asked and received $20 for that location at rush hour last time.

To offer so little as the base pay can really backfire when they are forced to start calling people like me due to people flaking or not doing the job correctly.
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April 14, 2015 03:53AM
Not only the end of the month, but the end of the quarter, and then year. Around Christmas I picked up some seriously insane bonues due to the end of the year - I almost felt guilty the bonuses were so high (almost - heh heh heh).

Where are we going... and why are we in a hand basket?
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