Can anyone tell me what the norm is for calculating distance pay for mileage?

There really isn't a standard fee across the board since we are all independent business people. Some base their requests strictly on mileage, others on their time while some have elaborate calculations based on a combination of the two. You will also find shoppers content to make $10 or $12 an hour and shoppers who won't leave the house for less than $25 or $30 per hour.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2015 02:21AM by LisaSTL.

Now now Lisa, you know nobody ever makes $30 an hour in this business!

I calculate the distance and time it takes me to drag my trash and recycle bins down the driveway!

Truly the best gauge for each shopper is that balance point where they don't feel abused. And that point has so many, many components. I have been delighted to drive 175 miles, on a beautiful spring day, out through the countryside, to do 2 gas stations at $30 each for a company that always took good care of me. I have been unwilling to drive 25 miles for a $30 gas station for a company where my effort is expected rather than appreciated. I have been willing to drive 40 miles for a $25 gas station because it took me right by a small bakery that makes Key Lime pies to die for. Generally I DO NOT LIKE gas station shops. If we were talking bank shops the conditions would be somewhat different than they would be for gas stations with the same companies because I LIKE bank shops.

I know my area well enough to know the roads into the boonies and which ones are an easy cruise and which ones are nail biters. I also know distances to small towns around me. The phone rings, a scheduler from X company wants me to do a Y shop in Z town for $W. Today the price would be higher than it would have been yesterday because today it is raining. Otherwise X, Y and Z would quickly determine whether $W was enough.

@Myobloc2 To keep it simple I think of 50 cents per km. If a city is 100 km away, the first $100 I earn is for my car. Then I think of my time etc.

$0.575 per mile (the IRS rate) plus money to cover your time. When you are driving, you are not earning money doing other shops. As someone pointed out, if you like driving in the country, then you might choose to value your time at $0 per hour. If an MSC wants me to drive 100 miles each way, and it will take me 2 hours each way, then I ask for 200 x $0.575 = $115 plus 4 x $20 = $80 for a total of $195. I personally will never agree to do it for less than $115 unless I am certain that I can do it as part of a route. For the company which I am aware of which uses the PAD terminology, I get many request to "name my price" for business verifications in remote locations. I have to assume that since they must be scheduled quickly and to suit the client, that I am unlikely to be doing anything else. That being said, I have never had one of these remote PAD requests accepted. That is the experience that many on this Forum have had, but of course every situation is unique. Once in awhile I get $5 or $10 PAD requests approved. Most of the time, I ignore the requests since the time to figure out what the request should be takes time also and is generally non-productive.

myst4au makes a valid point about the time involved in working up a bid for a shop vs. the ratio of accepted bids. Most of the time it's not worth the effort or the hassle. It's important to remember that when you're asked to submit a bid, many other shoppers are also being asked to submit bids. Someone closer will probably bid less, so the greater the distance the less likelihood of being successful.

Another problem with bidding on a peachy job you hope to nail is that, whether or not you know it or admit it, you're holding a slot open and you back off on any aggressive search for work that may go another direction. You shut down part of your options and as a result limit the success of overall efforts.

Know that if an MSC wants you to do a shop, they'll call and offer you a set fee for the shop. When they call and want a price from you, you're just one more possibility in a long string of possibilities and you have absolutely no preference over any other shopper. "Help us out" and "you're such a good shopper" are merely conversational tactics.

Keep a grip on what's happening here. Twenty approved and capable shoppers may be asked to bid. One will get the shop. Nineteen will have worked up a bid and held their time open for nothing. Know this going in and there will be much less self inflicted pain when you're not successful.

When I charge for distance, it is only for the fuel for the given mileage. And, I only do this if it is a last- minute or short notice need (too late for me to budget for this additional fuel cost or to offset it by adding shops to make a small route and some more money).

Some people think I'm cheap.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

When I charge for distance, it is only for the fuel for the given mileage. And, I only do this if it is a last- minute or short notice need (too late for me to budget for this additional fuel cost or to offset it by adding shops to make a small route and some more money).

Some people think I'm cheap.

It really doesn't matter whether you are 'cheap' or not. If you are not feeling abused doing it that way, that is really my point to what makes a working equation. We know as small business people that we are out there to make a profit, but every business has give and take to keep the client happy while continuing to make a profit.

The RARE time I asked for PAD from TS and only asked for $10, it was denied.

I know that at some point I will wear out my car and have to replace it. I know this for sure because I've already worn out one car doing this. If you're in a position to only recoup the gas and to be able to replace the car with non-shopping funds, then getting the gas money is understandable if that's what you consider to be the best approach. I can see where this plan would result in a large number of shops so who am I to say it won't work.

There are lots of ways to look at vehicle expense in this business, but just for fun and grins let's look at it my way.
I realize I must have a car whether shopping or not, but if I shop I will definitely wear the car out sooner. Therefore, there is an element of vehicle expense that is not included in operating expenses, and that element is loss of value due to business use.

When I traded Toyota1 in and bought Toyota2, I paid Toyota 1 plus $12,000. I figure at least $6,000 of that cash cost was attributable to mystery shopping. How did I figure that? It's an educated guess. If I'm anywhere near right, and I am, I should have saved $6,000 from my shopping funds toward the purchase of a new car. Had I not done that, I would have concluded that I should take another look at how I priced my out of town work. That's why I need to get a bonus of more than gas money on long distance isolated work.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2015 03:50PM by MDavisnowell.

This is good for me. It may be good beyond just me.

(Warning: tangent alert.)

I continuously hope that more and more shoppers in the populated and remote areas of my region will work steadily in
this region. If we more-or-less locals will do the work and will control our personal and business costs, we can substantially reduce the amount of money
presently paid for long-distance travel for people who travel long and far to get here. We can reduce quality control costs to the extent that we can control mystery shopping costs in our area.

Reduced quality-control costs should be passed on to us in the form of reduced consumer costs for all who purchase any good or service in our area.

As a consumer, I am attempting to locate my shop-et-al fees, reimbursements, and bonuses in my pop and pos costs. Is there a discrete point at which our shopping
revenues begin to drive up the costs of my personal goods and services?

If there is, can someone share the formula for knowing at what point I cost clients so much that they have to charge me so much more to make up for what I have cost them?




(Many apologies for the tangential context.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2015 04:24PM by Shop-et-al.

Shopping indeed provides wear and tear on vehicles, but a lot of that can be handled with appropriate and timely maintenance (and starting with a good car). My 1999 Ford F150 was bought new and is approaching 200k miles. Oil changes and tire rotations are done on shops regularly. When it is time for a radiator flush or transmission flush, I get it done at a reputable repair shop, which also gets the little repairs needed over time when a plastic or rubber component finally gives way. The truck only gets 14-15mpg so has not been the most efficient shop transportation, but it works. With it I have sheltered over $50k in income from taxation.

When the 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid was no longer needed for daily commute, it was available for shops. Probably $30k of income has been sheltered by using it and it gets 40-60mpg depending on conditions. It has had a couple of repairs to its electronics which have not been cheap but not outrageously expensive.

But realize that $80k of sheltered income is not the same as $80k cash in the pocket. It is an offset to income. If you are in the 15% tax bracket that is worth about $12000, if you are in the 25% tax bracket it is worth $20,000. My goal is frankly to have my mileage offset my taxable income so that Mystery Shopping is approximately a net zero to my taxes. Doing lots of reimbursements provides the value without the taxes. If my fee income is getting well ahead of my mileage deduction, it may well be time to take a road trip.

The way I picture a good day of shopping would be my fees in dollars at least doubling the amount of miles driven. In other words, if I made $30 in fee and drove no more than 15 miles for the route, I'd say that would be pretty decent, depending on the kind of shops I did. I then factor in any reimbursements (if I can save on a meal, stock up on essentials, etc.) and the length of the reports into this to see if a route (or even just a shop) is worth my time and effort.

When the schedulers know I'm shopping out of town, I always squeeze out any bonus / distance pay I can. This benefits me most when I have shops with multiple companies, as the "distance" bonuses starts add up. These kind of routes, out of town, I tend squeeze out around 4 to 5 times in fees in comparison to miles driven. For that reason, I'm able to profit even more by renting out an economical car for these routes.

Back to my original point, I stick with my rule of thumb (twice my fees compared to the miles driven, but depending on the kind of shops involved) when asking for more money. Like I said in my second paragraph, it's nice when you're dealing with a variety of MSC's mainly because you can ask for less "distance" pay, as you can try and obtain it from multiple MSC's you're working for in that route.

Shop-et-al, I would not charge a low fee in the hope the cost of goods and services you purchase will go down sometime in the foreseeable future. In the world of retail, what goes up must come down, never applies. As someone pointed out to me, the price of oil has dropped significantly while all the increased prices remain the same.

Mary, I have to disagree about negotiating while assuming others are being contacted. The key is to have a formula or be so familiar with your geographic area the numbers are second nature. I've gotten quite a few name your price calls and emails with a significant number of bids being accepted. A smart shopper will never forgo other opportunities while waiting on the MSC to make up their mind. When making an offer it should include an expiration date Meanwhile, if they are calling you it is a good bet the number of shoppers being contacted is slim. Unlike blast emails, phone calls take time, time the scheduler may not have to call ten other shoppers in an effort to save $5.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Is there a discrete point at which our shopping
revenues begin to drive up the costs of my personal goods and services?

I am aware that a certain group of gas stations pay a $50 monthly fee to be shopped. It is mandatory from their franchiser and is just a normal cost of doing business to the local station. The shopper is paid $15. A bonus may take the shop to $25. If they get a perfect score the local station is given a $50 bonus. Part of the shop is counting the number of advertising signs in the windows and on the door. More than X signs, they won't get their bonus. As one shop owner pointed out, the signs drive business and that is worth much more to him than the $50 bonus. (These are 'reveal' shops and the local store managers usually say much more than they should, such as complaining that they pay more per gallon for fuel to their franchise than the station across the street so are squeezed already in pricing their fuel to match competition.)

I suspect that shops raise the costs of personal goods and services, but not so much the shopper's share of that. And I suspect it is cheaper to send in a shopper to check cleanliness and courtesy than to have the District Manager make an extra visit to the location, where he would not be able to evaluate courtesy anyway because he is known. And we know from our travels that not every chain or franchise location is clean, well maintained and pleasant--even when they know they are shopped.

I think there is more to this than the gas station examples...

@Shop-et-al wrote:

I think there is more to this than the gas station examples...

It is, of course, an example. My understanding is that in many franchise packages there are provisions for being checked for compliance with the franchiser requirements. There are also the mandatory contributions towards advertising for the brand. There are also requirements of purchasing only from the franchiser. Lots and lots of ways to raise expenses for the local shop and then often they have set prices they must sell the product for. So whether your Subway is in a $2 per square foot location or an $80 per square foot location, when the $5 footlongs come out in the ads, that is what you need to charge.

Myself I use the government standard for mileage which is 58 cents a mile. I calculate exactly what it takes from my house to the shop and back as calculated by MapQuest. This sometimes is more than what the companies wish to pay unless it's the end of the month or the end of the quarter then they will pay without question

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2015 06:39PM by bmttinman.

Myst4au nailed it. GREAT summary, you won't go wrong following that advice. I use a similar model for mileage and charge $11.00 an hour for drive time...guess I have to bump up my drive time to $15.00.

Great direct answer.

It looks like I opened a can of worms here! I recently made a little trip up into the foothills with a string of bank shops (5) adding a grocery store too paid $20.00. I asked for a bonus of $15.00 for each bank & grocery store. The banks were by the same scheduler & the grocery store was by someone else. It was nice to get away for the day. Took me 8 hours including drive time to complete. I drive a 2010 Ford F150 Super Crew cab, get decent hwy mileage only, gas cost me $35.00. Thought I did pretty well for the day. Grossed $200 , netted $165. Would have any of you did that different?

I live in a rural area of SW Idaho near the Oregon border. Many shops up into the foothills are offered with bonus's as they are difficult to fill.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2015 09:11PM by Myobloc2.

All that matters is if you were satisfied and feel you did well. You won't find many here who would consider a net of $20 an hour less than laudable

No, not a can of worms. As you can see, each of us evaluates what 'worth it' is for ourselves. I personally would have enjoyed your day and felt good about it. My offsetting day would have been one recently when I earned $80 in fees and $30 in useful reimbursements. I drove 35 miles (used about 2/3 of a gallon of gas with the hybrid) and from pulling out of my driveway to submitting the final report was about 3 hours plus there was a personal errand done along the way. We are Independent Contractors. We don't have an unlimited amount of decent work available so we need to make deals and schedules that we feel at least okay about if not good about.

you do if you get a gravy shop, they are out there. They get depearte and they will pay

I DO!!

Thank you everyone for all of your comments, suggestions and input. I am disabled due to a progressive brain disease after 30 years in the healthcare field. I found this little gig and so blessed to have it to keep me from going completely insane! lol. All in all, it actually helps me create methods for retaining short term memory-as I have a major displacement with my disease. Ever see Fifty First dates? Yep there you go! just a little bit of my world when my brain gets completely taxed.

Hope you all have a great weekend! Keep cool, enjoy the summer, keep on shopping. Off to the barn to ride my horse.

Myobloc2 -
Enjoy the ride!
Oh, and my distance pay calculation consists of taking an educated guess at the most that the MSC will pay for that location. If that's worth it to me, no matter how close or far, I'll put in the bid.

I stopped putting in bids when I realized they never approve mine. In fact I don't think I've even logged into that MSCs job board in several months. I should perhaps do that sometime.