how far are you willing to travel for $15 and under fees?

@Tarantado wrote:

@parkcitybrian wrote:

I drive new Mini Cooper which requires premium gas. All the MF red & white gas shops require a purchase of at least 2 gallons of gas + in store purchase for a reimbursement of a maximum of $5.00 and the job fee was $9.00. So, today I drove 4 miles to do the shop. Since I live in a popular touristy mountain town everything is more costly. My gas purchase of 2 gallons @ $3.45 per gallon = $6.70. My in store purchase (the absolute cheapest item I could find = $.26 making a total outlay of $6.96 (gas + in store purchase). Since I will only be reimbursed by MF for $5.00 I wind up negative $1.96. Bottom line: $9.00 shop fee less $1.96 = $7.04.

Hmmm...me thinks that I should have bought a different car or...don't do MF gas shops. The car is too much of a total blast to drive therefore the second option is the one that I'm sticking with.

$1.96 less fee, but 2 gallons of gas, where $5 of it was reimbursed. Assuming this is just the mystery shop variation of the shop, not the one that includes a photo audit, I'd say those gas station shops are worth it, depending on how you fit them into your route and schedule.

yep

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

@parkcitybrian wrote:

I drive new Mini Cooper which requires premium gas.

Mine only requires mid-grade.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

@bgriffin wrote:

@parkcitybrian wrote:

I drive new Mini Cooper which requires premium gas.

Mine only requires mid-grade.

hmmm.,.,my owners manual says to use "at least 91 octane". It's brand new (2 weeks old) and am going to check with the service dept at Mini, but thanks.

I think mine says the same. Here 91 is midgrade in *most* places and premium is 93.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

@bgriffin wrote:

I think mine says the same. Here 91 is midgrade in *most* places and premium is 93.

Here, in wacky Utah, 91 is premium...ugh

for 15 dollars I would drive zero miles and stay in bed til noon instead.

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +
There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==
When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody

Today I conducted a shop that paid $6 plus a small reimbursement about 100 miles away from home. I was doing a route of bonused shops and this shop happened to be next door to one of my bonused shops. The $6 shop took 4 minutes in store and 2 minutes to report. I also will be reimbursed for the cost of my favorite chocolate bar.

To some this choice may sound ridiculous. But the truth is that this shop was along my route, I know that the shop and report are both super quick, and I enjoy getting a free candy bar.

The bottom line is that we all have to decide what works for us as far as fees and distance. What works for me may not work for you. My advice to anyone who wants to make money in this industry is to learn how to route shops.

I would not drive very far. Some of these msc pay very poorly. When the shop is $15 I try to add on other shops which will provide a profit. If I head to Houston I try to shop on the way there or back. I would not shop in Houston for $15. That is 200 miles r/t. Of course one can write off mileage at .55 per mile. Nevertheless - it needs to pay. I don't work msc to go into the red.

The IRS deduction includes a major amount for depreciation, which will happen whether you drive the car or not. MapQuest has a feature where you can build your route, enter your vehicle's MPG and type of gas to give you the cost of fuel for the job; I use that formula to calculate my actual profitability. Oil changes too, are based on number of months whether you drive the car or not. Obviously maintenance fees such as tires are a factor, but I prefer to focus on the fact that if I were not driving the car it is still aging and costing me money that would not be a tax deduction if driving to a regular job. (Accountant in my previous life.)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/2015 06:30PM by MeloShopper.

I don't spend anything to do shops at the moment. I will do $10 shops if it doesn't require too much. I only do shops that I can ride my bike to (10 miles or less) but, I'm pretty lucky to be able to do it because I live in Miami Beach. I can work with up to 30+ companies in my area. I just let it roll in.

$1 a mile one way. ie: if the shop is 15 miles from my home its got to pay $15 or more. It may not be ":profitable" enough for some people, but it is paying for another week in the condo at the beach this summer and that's enough for me.

I will go 10 to 15 minutes away for a $15 shop, the only problem is those same shops that pay $15 or $10 paid that same rate 5 years ago, the gas goes up but the rate stays the same. I will go a little further for $20 and anywhere for $35.

We have an electric car (Chevy Volt) and can go about 60 km (36 or so miles) on a charge. (We can go farther with the gas engine that powers the battery for 300-400 more km.) I take jobs that are 30 km or less away from home, unless they pay really well. That way we aren't using any gas. I also try to schedule at least 2 jobs in the same general area on the same day. Since I'm fairly new, I'm pretty much taking any jobs I can get so I can get in with a company and see what it's like.

I wouldn't leave my house for that

I agree, you answered your own question. Most Mystery Shops simply aren't worth the hassle. Once in a great while you'll get one worth doing but these companies want to pay us a measly $10 - $15 to drive using our own gas not to mention all the papers they want you to print out using your own paper and ink and all the time spent memorizing every little tiny detail they want and then having to perform the shop and come back immediately to input all of the data into their 100 questionnaire. No Thanks!

I'll go 10 miles for a $15 shop, depending on how long the report is. I can usually get much more than that much closer to home if I just wait for the bonus offers.

proudly shopping in the D.

There is some really good advice here - I wanted to add MY two cents worth. For me, I only do the shops I find interesting. This makes it more about fun and less about the money - don't get me wrong, I am a capitalist, but doing something I enjoy for a little cash is better than doing something I don't want to for $Big. Anyway, I am willing to drive up to 15 to 20 minutes for a $10 fee. Keeping in mind I have to drive back too. There is a shop about 40 minutes from my house that I routinely do for $25. The drive is pleasant and I try to find a second shop nearby to soften the gas blow. I think that you should do as many shops as you can, and after another 60 to 90 days you will have enough information to make a judgement of what is best for you. Good Luck and Best Wishes!!

For me, 5 miles if it's near something I want or need. 20 miles if I can pick up 1 or more shops in the same direction/area. Otherwise I don't get in the car for less than $20 for any shop.

It's $10 you didn't have

Hey Crickett -I could tell you were from Arkansas with that " dang ! " I'm an Arky too !

so true I also wonder about the fact that when a shop is first posted for work it is at $15.00 then when the date draws near and they cannot get anyone then they up it to $25.00 To me they would not have so much trouble if they raised their rates. We have to spend time studying for the shop drive to do the shop and then drive home and then spend more time filling in the forms. I am wondering if the $15.00 is worth it.

@TerryJane wrote:

so true I also wonder about the fact that when a shop is first posted for work it is at $15.00 then when the date draws near and they cannot get anyone then they up it to $25.00 To me they would not have so much trouble if they raised their rates. We have to spend time studying for the shop drive to do the shop and then drive home and then spend more time filling in the forms. I am wondering if the $15.00 is worth it.

yep, i do agree with you however there are wayyy tooo many shoppers who do bite at and snap up the low-hanging fruit and then when people like you and/or me make these kinds of comments we get back things like "so happy you won't take these low-paying shops cuz it just means more for me" and similar comments (to assuage their reason for taking the low paying stuff).

maybe at some-point-in-time more people will insist that they are fairly compensated for time/trouble/expense of doing a well-done/reported job?

Pensey's spices????? I love that place. And I never knew they were shopped!!! We have one store in the Phoenix area....need to figure out who the MS company is.

I don't think they are shopped, but if I'm wrong please tell me so I can hunt down the company.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

This is a very interesting thread. Honestly, this forum should be accredited, I've learned so much here! In calculating my costs to make money, lol, I have to say that it would cost me $1.50 per mile in gas. There are other costs such as the very expensive ink it takes to print all the paperwork. And you really also have to factor in IRS prep time. Then I have to calculate the time of the shop and the time for the paperwork. I just can't see any profit in doing $6 or even $8 shops. I just don't understand why anyone would do them. But I guess if you are going to a place you would generally go and purchase something you would generally purchase, the $6 is like a coupon - even though the value of the coupon is not really actual value due to the time, work, and ink invested. In my particular case I also have to factor in that I have another job I can do that pays me $35 an hour. So I have to manage my time in order not to schedule shops during the time I can schedule the other jobs.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2015 11:23PM by martica.

Holy cow, what kind of car do you drive that only gets 2 or 3 miles to the gallon?!

When I was new at this, I printed out all the instructions, but I hope you will find that is not usually necessary. Many elements are typical for all shops; I simply note differences or specifics in a notebook before I leave. I have learned to size people up and time everything whether it is necessary or not; it becomes a habit.

I don't print the instructions either... just download a copy and read them on my monitor. There are occasional things that have to be printed though, like receipt forms and sometimes forms for audits (which I do very infrequently).

Shopper in California's Bay Area

I have shops that withing 8 miles of me so I am good with that. Usually I combine shops close together to make it worth it. I got a call from one MSC wanting me to do a shop in the next county, I had them up the bonus to where i could make a profit. One area I won';t go to for under $50 and the MSC understands that and finds me enough shops to make it.

The good news is that this morning I passed a gas station with $2.33/gallon regular. They apparently just got their shipment as other stations in the area were still at $2.37-2.45 for regular. For July-September both Discover and Chase Freedom are doing 5% cash back on gas. So that knocks off another 11 cents or so per gallon. I didn't fill up today because gas prices are expected to continue to decline.

The bad news is that with gas rates as low as they are likely to get over the next few months we can expect our IRS deduction to go down for 2016.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

how far are you willing to travel for $15 and under fees?

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine