I noticed on some sites the shop prices dropping. Cell phone shops dropping from $8 to $7.50. Gas station mystery shops dropping to $4.75 for reimbursements. I use to grabbed all these shops I could. I won't do them for the pay they now offer.

Yes, I observed this same issue. I just wait for the shops to be bonused now. I may do less shops, but get paid more overall.

I had a scheduler act incredulous with me when I said $10.50 was ridiculous for a gas station audit and I won't take them without a sizeable incentive. Oh, yea, she wanted me to drive 230 miles each way. (I've done the station before . . . As part of a heavily bonused route. Think I made about $450 in three days.) She finally said, "Well these shops aren't for everyone" and hung up on me. True statement. Some of us do this to make a living.

@TInaMarie wrote:

Yes, I observed this same issue. I just wait for the shops to be bonused now. I may do less shops, but get paid more overall.

Fewer shops, more pay = excellent business strategy!

@whiterosie wrote:

. . . I said $10.50 was ridiculous for a gas station audit and I won't take them without a sizeable incentive. Oh, yea, she wanted me to drive 230 miles each way.

I agree with you that $10.50 for the audit with a drive of 460 miles is out of reason. However, that shop done locally is not bad if it's the one I sometimes do at base rate. In addition to $10.50, the shop pays for two gallons of gas and a $2.00 inside purchase, so that adds about $6.50 to the shop right now in my area, a total of $17.00. I can do that shop in about twenty minutes on site and twenty minutes on report/pictures, or an hourly rate of $25.50 not counting drive time. On that particular shop, the size of the store/lot is not a factor as I am not shooting all pumps.

Anything with a long drive involved is always part of a route, and at least part of that route will be bonused with some solid money. I understand and I agree with your decision not to make a long drive for a $10.50 shop, but sometimes that $10.50 shop is not a bad deal at all. Additionally, taking some of them at base puts you in line for phone calls that sometimes result in desperation deals in your favor.

It takes a while to learn to get in and out on this audit without getting bogged down. As more and more of these are done, the auditor becomes more and more skilled provided the auditor is paying attention and constantly refining the process. I've found after a few years doing this that I can always do better, and the cheat sheet can always be simpler and more comprehensive. New shoppers shouldn't be afraid of these station audits. It's a learning process, but like the lady at Maritz said, they're not for everybody.