Hello!

I am not a complete newbie because I've done several shops already with some more popular companies. My question is geared towards how often and when I should check job boards. I have signed up with up to 30+ companies and some offer pretty great shops around my area. The thing I still don't understand is how often do these companies post shops or if the 1 or 2 shops in my area are all they can provide?
In short, how often should I be checking their job boards? Is there some days a ton of mystery shops come out and people grab them up or is it just dry from the few of jobs that are offered? Are those jobs that no one picked up? Sorry for the narrative, just don't want to waste my time checking back with a bunch of MSP's that won't offer anything.

Thank you so much!

I try to start at the first and end of the week, although some shops are just on certain days. I have my "top" companies which include 5 of my favorites... Best Mark, MSI/Trendsource, MarketForce, and MartizCKX, and Intellishop that I will check almost daily or at least every 36-48 hours because in my area, those are the popular posters.

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

If you choose to be a mystery shopper it is up to you to develop your business. If this is just a 'waste of time' you perhaps should choose some other endeavor.

You are asking at the end of the month/end of the quarter. You need to monitor the boards over time as was suggested in response to your first inquiry.

As Flash mentioned its up to you to develop your own business. Also, as Flash mentioned it is the end of the month and quarter; bonused jobs are more plentiful right now.

The beauty of this business is you can take on as little or as much as you feel is profitable. It is your decision and only yours.

Personally, I check my favorite companies every few days, every month. I'm a day route shopper, so If I can find some fillers...I sign up.

I reiterate, it is totally up to you.

Will you need to sift through some shops that are never worth your time?; Probably. Then again, you might find shops that you can easily schedule around the rest of your day, And they might become bread and butter shops that you can count on, depending on rotation and schedulers.

I can't tell you how to schedule your life. I only know how I need to schedule my life. If I need to look at boards because a route is sad, I do it. Do I like doing it, not so much.


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I agree entirely with the last two responses and would add this... If you really want to see more assignments that suit your needs, you will have to sign up with far more than 30 MS companies and learn, by experience, when your favorites tend to post jobs, and when they tend to add a bonus. Some MSCs began posting October jobs on September 18, or so, and more than half of those are already assigned. Others do not start until October 2-7, will have new jobs posting throughout the month. Others have a lot of shops that only happen on a quarterly basis and, if the scheduler is very good, those will almost all be completed during the first 2 months of the quarter!

It is up to you to discover which types of jobs you wish to pursue, who has them, when they typically post jobs. Everyone has different needs and different favorites, so no one can advise you except to tell you how to approach your search, which we have done.

@rebeahr wrote:

The thing I still don't understand is how often do these companies post shops or if the 1 or 2 shops in my area are all they can provide?
In short, how often should I be checking their job boards? Is there some days a ton of mystery shops come out and people grab them up or is it just dry from the few of jobs that are offered? Are those jobs that no one picked up? Sorry for the narrative, just don't want to waste my time checking back with a bunch of MSP's that won't offer anything.

I totally get what you are saying. When I first started working, I checked the boards about twice a week, which wasn't really enough. If you wait and log in when you get the e-mail, the best shops are gone. Some shops are gone so quickly when they are posted that there isn't an e-mail sent.

The problem is that no one can tell you what days a ton of shops come out or whether it is only a few days. All the companies are different. Some companies throw everything out there for all their clients within a 3 or 4 day period. Others post all month long. Some post particular client shops on the same day(s) every month. For example, my favorite movie shops post between the 27th and 28th every month, for shops that will be done the following month between the 1st and the 7th. They are self assign and are usually taken instantly.To get that particular shop, I check the Job Board multiple times when I am expecting them to post.

My best advice would be to check the Job Boards daily for a month or two. Keep notes on what posts and when. Many companies post their shops on a schedule so once you know their schedule, you will need to spend less time checking. This doesn't guarantee that you will see everything, because some companies deviate from their schedules and others don't really follow a schedule. Be sure to check e-mail a couple times a day in case you get e-mails about shops.

After you have been doing this a while and keeping recorfds, you will probably see a pattern for most of the companies you work for. You will know when your favorite shops are due to post and will be able to pay special attention to the MSC at the right time. And there will be some companies that you will check daily.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2016 01:26PM by roflwofl.

Once you become established with many MSC, you no longer need or have time to rely on the job boards.

@COMystery wrote:

Once you become established with many MSC, you no longer need or have time to rely on the job boards.

I am soooo glad that I reached that milestone in my MS'ing business years ago.

So much helpful info! Thank you all so much!

Here's my tip: take it for what it's worth....

On my spreadsheet (that I created on my own before I found the one posted here in the new shoppers section, but that I updated once I found that one... if you're not using it, I'd recommend it), there is a notes section where I can make notes to myself about the job either before, during or after I've completed it. For example I sometimes write "next door to the grocery store that is shopped by XYZ Mystery Shopping Company". That way when I sign up for it again, I can check XYZ company's job board to see if the grocery store is available since I'll be down there.

Anyway, I make note of the date that the job was assigned to me in that notes section (though you could add a separate column for it too if you wanted). After I'd done my favorite shops a few times I started to notice a pattern: for example, the jobs were all assigned to me between the 8th-10th of the month. Seems like that's when they start posting them. Then I had an idea of when to start looking for those jobs, or to reach out to the scheduler if I had a good relationship with him or her and wanted to try to get the shop assigned to me early to make a route or something.

You have to do the shops a few times to get a sense of the pattern and to build a relationship with the scheduler, but if you start tracking the assignment dates now you'll be able to see patterns soon. Good luck!

Great post response, CaliGirl925. In my notes section, I also write the negative stuff like... bad neighborhood; don't do after dark / paid parking only (with no reimbursement from the MSC) / Not worth the $ even with a decent bonus / etc.

I would have never thought of doing a spreadsheet. Thank you for the idea CaliGirl925!

It all depends on your personality. Normally, probably once or twice a day. If you are like me, whenever you have down time, like right after finishing reports for the day. If you are an obsessive person, like I have been in the not so recent past, a lot, like constantly, especially when I'm making plans for the next month.

My question is: when did it get cool and okay to admit to being a newbie? When I was a newbie, we had to lay low and keep quiet so nobody would find out we were one. If discovered, we were promptly treated rudely and then rejected.

Edited to say, it's sort of like someone making their daily rounds.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2016 12:37AM by Robin2.

@Robin2 wrote:

My question is: when did it get cool and okay to admit to being a newbie? When I was a newbie, we had to lay low and keep quiet so nobody would find out we were one. If discovered, we were promptly treated rudely and then rejected.

Edited to say, it's sort of like someone making their daily rounds.

What are you talking about?

We have always welcomed newbies; we all were newbies once!

Yes, we were all newbies once, but not all n00bs.

It was a _____ question. How often do ppl check the job boards...

Why doesn't the moderator make a separate space for newbies to ask their _____ questions?

It is true that newbies weren't treated very well on the other website. Maybe it's changed by now.

Watch the flock come out now to defend the conference recruiters.

@August 2016 wrote:

Why doesn't the moderator make a separate space for newbies to ask their _____ questions?

There is a whole section of the forum dedicated to New Mystery Shoppers so I'm not sure what else you want from them.
[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

@August 2016 wrote:

Watch the flock come out now to defend the conference recruiters.

What or who are these "conference recruiters?"

@August 2016 wrote:

Why doesn't the moderator make a separate space for newbies to ask their _____ questions?

There has been a 'New Mystery Shopper' area here for years. The OP asked the same question there and was getting responses there when they chose to post it again in this thread a day or so later. Perhaps the OP did not like the answer that a new shopper DOES need to check the job boards and accept jobs in order to start building their reputation so that they will get awarded jobs they request. They also need to figure out what jobs the companies they are registered with perform in their area so they will know (after a month or two cycle) whether the companies offer any jobs they are interested in performing. And they also need to figure out who shops whom so that they can build comfortable local routes by taking add on shops to a shop selected.

There are downsides to this business in that it DOES take some time to do the footwork. If someone sees the very basics of registering, checking the job boards, reviewing emails, reading guidelines, performing the work conscientiously, writing reports in a timely fashion, following up as needed with editors, keeping track of shops, payments due, payments made, mileage and business documentation as a waste of time, they are unlikely last long in this business.

I've never been to the new shopper part, and realize it was nasty of me to make the comment, and I'm sorry and will try to be nicer (lol I love the word nicer), but I do get tired of hearing that sort of stuff.

It's almost like..."duh...here I am in the workplace, how many times a day should I attempt to work...? (( << Now everybody is going to be really sickeningly sweet and I'm going to feel the love heehee)).

I mean, good grief! How many times? When I was a newbie it was so exciting and it was thrilling every time I found a new company with shops that were actually available to me. I would seriously be jazzed for the entire day!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2016 10:12AM by Robin2.

@Robin2 wrote:

I've never been to the new shopper part, and realize it was nasty of me to make the comment, and I'm sorry and will try to be nicer (lol I love the word nicer), but I do get tired of hearing that sort of stuff.

It's almost like..."duh...here I am in the workplace, how many times a day should I attempt to work...? (( << Now everybody is going to be really sickeningly sweet and I'm going to feel the love heehee)).

I mean, good grief! How many times? When I was a newbie it was so exciting and it was thrilling every time I found a new company with shops that were actually available to me. I would seriously be jazzed for the entire day!

It actually was pretty nasty. I registered here years before I started to post, not because I was afraid of being mistreated but because I didn't feel I had any valuable MS information to share. I didn't ask questions because I read what was already posted here and it answered my questions. There's a LOT of free information available here for the newbie who takes the time and makes the effort to read it for himself. When I felt I knew enough to answer questions, I started to post. I don't think anyone is going to be sickenly sweet to you or that you will feel any love, although nicer might make more friends.

What you're misinterpreting is that posting on the forum is not work for anyone and no one is here to excite or thrill new mystery shoppers. We are not getting paid to do it. Many posters who post here are not here for the newbies. They are here for themselves, to network with other mystery shoppers. Those forum members who choose to help newbies do so out of the goodness of their hearts, not because they are getting any reward for it. I can see that it gets pretty irritating when they spend unpaid time to train their newbie competitors, usually with no thank you and frequently with the newbie asking the same question multiple times because they don't like the answer.

@roflwofl wrote:

I can see that it gets pretty irritating when they spend unpaid time to train their newbie competitors, usually with no thank you and frequently with the newbie asking the same question multiple times because they don't like the answer.

Soooo true! And with the amount of trolls who frequent this forum and stir the pot just for the fun of it...

Some boards I check on almost an hourly basis when I know it is about time to post a shop I want but that goes so fast I sometimes miss them even checking that often. Other boards I wait til the e-mail comes and and then go look - I can usually get what I want even then (but not always). Some I e-mail the scheduler and ask if I can have the next one. It all depends on how you want to build your business.

Well considering I'm new to the forum and I did not think I worded myself well in my first post I re-worded it, I had no idea that I posted it somewhere else. I was able to do some great shops in my area already.
Really, all I was trying to figure out is if some of the MSPs I was checking every day just did not have that many jobs or if there were WAVES of shops that came in and were quickly snatched up and I did not see them. That's why I asked if people checked all of them, or just some. There have been real GREAT and helpful replies, thank you SO much!!!
I am in no way trying to be lazy like some people implied. I just had some questions and I figured who not better to ask than the community itself. Some people replying here are acting as if I asked for a list of MSPs and their clients... Really I'm just trying to figure out the logistics of it all. Why have a forum if you can't ask questions?
I'm just trying to get comfortable with this whole thing guys and if you don't want to "train newbies" why are you even looking at this post? Again, I am so thankful for the people who overlooked my bad-worded questions and answered it helpfully. Real MVPs!!!!