May I ask, how do you get bonuses? I am a part-time shopper and only hearing this now. Do some companies offer them but others don't? I mainly shop for Best Mark, Intelli-Shop and Coyle. (I have been a long-time hobby shopper and only recently joined the forums) Thanks!

@bgriffin wrote:

I track both taxable and "effective" income and one of the things that is factored in for effective income is how useful the reimbursement is to me.

The thing with assigning a value like 'effective' income is that if you are shopping to improve your lifestyle, the expenses are not always effective, but often desirable.

For instance; If a person makes $120k per year, has a job that allows 6 weeks of vacation per year and lives in an expensive area with high taxes and a high cost of living, there's a good chance they are taking home closer to $82k per year after deductions and their living expenses may be around $72k. That only leaves $10k annually in disposable income. Not very extravagant.

If that person were to take a second part time job on the weekends/evenings that earned them another $24k per year, it would potentially push them into a an even higher tax bracket and possibly only raise the disposable income to under $20k, with very little time to enjoy it. Still not a great lifestyle.

Now if that person were to happen upon mystery shopping, take 2 fine dining meals per month and 6 weeklong vacations per year through MSing, that add in small shops for drycleaning, clothing purchases, groceries, auto work, etc., they could potentially reduce their living expenses by $8k annually, earn another $2k in fees and spend $30k in meals and travel that were fully reimbursed. That would still leave them $20k in disposable income with a much better lifestyle than having a traditional second job, and no need to spend that disposable income on meals and travel. They would effectively be living like someone who made closer to $200k per year and maintain the ability to bank $20 per year in savings.

@wwin wrote:

I don't have a problem talking about my pay so I will share. I'm making about $400 a month and work very part time. I don't include reimbursement since a lot of it is for shipping and things that are of little or no value to me.

if shipping & other things are little or no value to U then Y do them? that doesnt make any sense to me.

@bgriffin wrote:

Then you have to go out and work your ass off.

if U work your ass off then your ass will look better in jeans.

@Tarantado wrote:

But..... This is a forum for mystery shopping and merchandising. The point of this forum is for discussion and education. Part of education is understanding the income potential. I didn't look into the OP's profile and his/her previous posts, but what if they are a prospective shopper learning what can be made in this industry?

U might want 2 read OPs other posts. he likes to stir up trouble in forum on purpose. he is probably sitting back LHAO reading posts.

@MSNinja wrote:

if shipping & other things are little or no value to U then Y do them? that doesnt make any sense to me.

Because I've only been shopping for about 9 months and don't yet get calls from schedulers offering bonuses or great jobs not yet on the boards. I work in a large but highly shopped area and these jobs have been consistent, abundant and predominantly within 20 miles from home. Hopefully, I'm building guanxi with the schedulers (but I have to admit it really doesn't seem like it). I am constantly looking and taking other jobs but right now these are my bread and butter.

I should add, I like these jobs. They area easy and enjoyable. but for the most part the reimbursement isn't included in the value to me.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/08/2016 02:07PM by wwin.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@bgriffin wrote:

I track both taxable and "effective" income and one of the things that is factored in for effective income is how useful the reimbursement is to me.

The thing with assigning a value like 'effective' income is that if you are shopping to improve your lifestyle, the expenses are not always effective, but often desirable.

Absolutely, except that I don't shop to improve my lifestyle. If I did my accounting would obviously be different. I probably have less than $1000 of useful reimbursements per year.

@SteveSoCal I love your analogy on this!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/08/2016 04:15PM by Mbrookes.

@bgriffin wrote:

Absolutely, except that I don't shop to improve my lifestyle.

You shop to maintain your lifestyle...it's a different means to the same end; Using MSing to create the life you want for yourself.

@_shopper wrote:

May I ask, how do you get bonuses? I am a part-time shopper and only hearing this now. Do some companies offer them but others don't? I mainly shop for Best Mark, Intelli-Shop and Coyle. (I have been a long-time hobby shopper and only recently joined the forums) Thanks!

It depends upon the company and how many shoppers are in your area. Many (most?) people who do this full-time rely on bonuses. If you keep track of locations within your driving area, you're likely to see ones that consistently don't get picked up until the last week of the month -- that's a clue that they're bonusing. Intellishop has a reputation for being on the cheap side, so I don't think you're going to find many there. I would suggest signing up with more companies. A few (of many) that have recently bonused shops in my area are Confero, Ipsos, Jancyn, and KSS.

I agree with you, I don't find it rude in the least, it's important information for those trying to figure out what kind of income they can reasonably make in this industry and everyone is free to respond or not respond anyways so it's not like anyone is being put on the spot.

@MSNinja wrote:

@Tarantado wrote:

But..... This is a forum for mystery shopping and merchandising. The point of this forum is for discussion and education. Part of education is understanding the income potential. I didn't look into the OP's profile and his/her previous posts, but what if they are a prospective shopper learning what can be made in this industry?

U might want 2 read OPs other posts. he likes to stir up trouble in forum on purpose. he is probably sitting back LHAO reading posts.

That shouldn't mean we can't take this thread in a good direction to become more of an educational thread to others. Instead, we get the typical snarky remarks and little information.

@Angel wrote:

I agree with you, I don't find it rude in the least, it's important information for those trying to figure out what kind of income they can reasonably make in this industry and everyone is free to respond or not respond anyways so it's not like anyone is being put on the spot.

What is your full time job and salary?

@Tarantado wrote:

That shouldn't mean we can't take this thread in a good direction to become more of an educational thread to others. Instead, we get the typical snarky remarks and little information.

Actually I thought it had taken a turn for the better with the discussion of accounting and usefulness of reimbursements. Then it got derailed by people complaining about people complaining about the rudeness of the original question and those complaining about snark.

@bgriffin wrote:

@Tarantado wrote:

That shouldn't mean we can't take this thread in a good direction to become more of an educational thread to others. Instead, we get the typical snarky remarks and little information.

Actually I thought it had taken a turn for the better with the discussion of accounting and usefulness of reimbursements. Then it got derailed by people complaining about people complaining about the rudeness of the original question and those complaining about snark.

Yeah. Thread was still derailed from the original topic: How much do you make from mystery shopping on an average year(Reim + fees)?

Ok. Let's discuss why that is educational. I don't understand it. I also don't understand what would compel someone to answer it. Sure if this extra income for you then perhaps, but if that is the case then I think the question should be phrased differently. If someone wants to know if they can make xxxx per year then I have no problem with them asking that question either. Can I make xxx per year and if so what would it require. Great question. Very good topic. Asking what someone's yearly income is? Rude.

bgriffin had stated my objection to the OP exactly. One question is educational; the other is rude and intrusive.

Lol you did that earlier, do you think you are making a new point by doing it again? To be honest, if you want to talk about rudeness, I find you quite rude, not because of the question, but your attitude.

As for me, I hardly shop anymore because 1) I don't live in a larger urban area that has lots of opportunities for shops and 2) there are few shops with decent fees in my area of the woods, so my income from shopping at this point is pretty small, I'd say under $100/month most months, at least from the usual mystery shopping companies. I now only bother to shop when there are decent fees offered and otherwise I pursue other ways of making money that are a better use of my time.

@Tarantado wrote:

Yeah. Thread was still derailed from the original topic: How much do you make from mystery shopping on an average year(Reim + fees)?

Many threads on this forum get derailed. If this is your biggest worry in life, congratulations!

@Sybil2 wrote:

@Tarantado wrote:

Yeah. Thread was still derailed from the original topic: How much do you make from mystery shopping on an average year(Reim + fees)?

Many threads on this forum get derailed. If this is your biggest worry in life, congratulations!

Cool.

@bgriffin wrote:

@Angel wrote:

I agree with you, I don't find it rude in the least, it's important information for those trying to figure out what kind of income they can reasonably make in this industry and everyone is free to respond or not respond anyways so it's not like anyone is being put on the spot.

What is your full time job and salary?

This isn't a perfect analogy because this is a Mystery Shopping forum, not a forum for people involved in the kind of work that I do at my full time job. But if I were a participant on a forum like that, I wouldn't be that surprised to see a question about what kinds of salaries people are getting. And I would feel free to ignore the question if I didn't want to answer it.

I make between $400 - $500 a month.

@CaliGirl925 it absolutely is a perfect analogy. You don't find it rude that when a poster chastised me for having a problem with the question she acknowledged the fact that i asked the same question of her and she refused to answer?

Im sorry but i find it hilarious that all these people who want to know how much mystery shoppers make aren't willing to give the same information on their job. Perhaps i would like to change careers and its educational for me to know.

I think this information is incredibly helpful. It helps me gauge whether or not this type of industry works for me in the end. And I see now difference between that and looking up how much you would get paid in a specific job. I don't want to see everyone's paycheck; but I would like to know what is possible by doing mystery shopping.

@bgriffin wrote:

@CaliGirl925 it absolutely is a perfect analogy. You don't find it rude that when a poster chastised me for having a problem with the question she acknowledged the fact that i asked the same question of her and she refused to answer?

Im sorry but i find it hilarious that all these people who want to know how much mystery shoppers make aren't willing to give the same information on their job. Perhaps i would like to change careers and its educational for me to know.

I am curious how much you make then, bgriffin. If you want to know my full-time income and what I do for a living in exchange; OK.

I am a mechanical engineer in midstream oil & gas. I make a base salary of $77,000 per year. I mystery shop on the side. This year, I am on pace to gross a similar amount as last year (~$20,000 revenue and ~$10,000-11,000 in fees).

Happy?

The truth is that it's different for everyone. It all depends on your location, financial status, work ethic, free time and abilities. bgriffin could be my next door neighbor and would probably make more money that me as a shopper because I can't resist an opportunity to shop a fine dining establishment, and he's going to take a few heavily bonused smaller shops while I'm bogged down writing a report for 4 hours....

It's a matter of balancing your financial needs with your work environment, free time, social requirements and such. There's no 9 to 5 option with a set salary if you are MSer. If you need a specific guarantee and this is the industry you choose, I would suggest looking into scheduling or editing.

@schylarsok wrote:

I think this information is incredibly helpful. It helps me gauge whether or not this type of industry works for me in the end. And I see now difference between that and looking up how much you would get paid in a specific job. I don't want to see everyone's paycheck; but I would like to know what is possible by doing mystery shopping.

Haha, this just illustrates the difference in the way people look at something that is said.

I personally do not find the information in this thread helpful at all.

Simply telling "how much do you make MSing in a month" doesn't give any real information unless other qualifiers are added:

1. How many hours a month do you work at MSing to make the $X a month?
2. How many companies are you signed up with? How many companies do you actually work with on a monthly basis?
3. How many actual assignments do you perform in a month to make $X a month?
4. What type of assignments do you do to make the money?
5. What is the specific breakdown between fees and reimbursement of the $X per month earned?
6. What is your general area of the country?
7. Are you in a rural or an urban area?
8. How far do you drive each month to make $X?
9. What is your education/experience level? Do more educated MS-ers or MS-ers with more business acumen make more per month for the hours put in than the average shopper?

A person making $100 a month might be doing excellent if he only logs in once a month to check e-mail and does a maximum of 2 jobs, and spends only 2 hours a month on MSing. A person making $1,500 a month might NOT be actually doing very good if he spends 10 hours a day sitting at the computer contributing to MS forums, checking e-mail, and looking for MS jobs and then spends additional time driving to, performing, and reporting 150-200 shops.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

The truth is that it's different for everyone. It all depends on your location, financial status, work ethic, free time and abilities. bgriffin could be my next door neighbor and would probably make more money that me as a shopper because I can't resist an opportunity to shop a fine dining establishment, and he's going to take a few heavily bonused smaller shops while I'm bogged down writing a report for 4 hours....

It's a matter of balancing your financial needs with your work environment, free time, social requirements and such. There's no 9 to 5 option with a set salary if you are MSer. If you need a specific guarantee and this is the industry you choose, I would suggest looking into scheduling or editing.

The same can be said in any industry. Worker A with the same job position title works in Cali, while Worker B with the same job position for a different company with different job duties works in Montana.

I understand the argument that this industry as Independent Contractors throws in another wrench of variables. As I stated already, how can someone understand how much someone can make doing this kind of work without seeing any numbers? Sure, the numbers will vary whether some rely on this as full-time work, part-time work or less than part-time work. But it's still interesting to see some real numbers.

@Tarantado wrote:

The same can be said in any industry. Worker A with the same job position title works in Cali, while Worker B with the same job position for a different company with different job duties works in Montana.

That's not necessarily industry related. I was paid as a full-time scheduler and editor in the past, and it was not related to my location. The reason why the job did not work for my was partly related to my location, and partly related to my lifestyle.

The question that that people should be asking, rather than an annual salary, is what the hourly average is for PT and FT shoppers. It's been my experience that FT shoppers earn less on average because they don't have the option to be as selective about the assignments they perform. Since I work full time outside of MSing, I can pick and choose my assignments to maximize my profit for the time I put in.