Payment for accepted shops.

I have been shopping for about 2 years and, in general, I have not had any problems until recently. I completed a shop that was accepted 10/10. The MSC's guidelines state I should get paid within 45 days after the shop is accepted. I have never had to wait so long for the payment to be posted to my PayPal account. The MSC is very specific about the timing for completing a shop and If I don't comply with their guidelines, I can expect my shop to be rejected. My opinion is the shopper should get paid within a reasonable time period after the shop is accepted, not months after.
I would like to know how others feel about this matter and what they feel a reasonable payment time frame is. Thank you.

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While there are some very big companies doing mystery shopping, there are also some very small, poorly capitalized companies. While it is not possible in most cases for shoppers to determine the financial condition of the companies we work with, my sense is that too many companies need to be paid by the client before they can pay shoppers. Of course that is not a good situation for shoppers.

In my practice, the longer a company takes to pay, the higher fees and reimbursements I expect. I don't generally worry much about a company being a week or two late on payments, especially if I have a long working relationship with them. I know that payment by check is much more prone to problems beyond the control of the MSC. We just replaced a check from one MSC that was evidently lost by USPS and has now been in USPS 'limbo' for about 6 weeks.

I just do not consider a 45 day payment schedule to be a big deal. Once a shopper has a steady pace of shops the payments begin to flow regularly and it's up to me to keep track of when they are due and budget accordingly.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

A lot of companies pay after 45 days, and it's not a big deal to me. I work for companies that pay at 60 days. I think 45 days and 60 days are reasonable. If I didn't think they were reasonable, I would not accept their jobs.

Important to me: Do they pay when they SAY they are going to pay? If the payment period is too long, I don't have to take assignments with the company. That's the beauty of being an independent contractor. If I accept an assignment with an MSC, then it means I am agreeing to their payment terms. I have a right to expect that they will live up to their stated payment terms just as they have a right to expect that I will live up to the specific timing and guidelines for a shop I have accepted.

I have no problem with a company who pays when they say they will, regardless of how long or how short that payment period is. I have a problem with any company that does not live up to their own payment terms.

Reasonable to me is anything I agree to. If I thought the payment time period was unreasonable, it would be unreasonable of me to accept it.

I agree with roflwofl,
Reasonable to me is anything I agree to. If I thought the payment time period was unreasonable, it would be unreasonable of me to accept it.

If there is a significant amount of cash outlay and there is a considerable risk of being reimbursed, I tend to stay away from those companies, especially if they have a history of late payments. I found that some companies who promised payment 60 days or more, are actually paying sooner, which is a pleasant surprise.

@Flash wrote:

In my practice, the longer a company takes to pay, the higher fees and reimbursements I expect.

^^this^^. There's a desperate scheduler needing someone for a casino trip near me I like her, I could rearrange to have the three days free, and the job pays well. HOWEVER, I had to chase payment with them last time, and the money was more than a month later than promised. She's going to have to bonus another $100 before I'll bite. There is NO reason a larger company (and many smaller ones) need to hold back reimbursement for such a long time.

Now scheduling travel shops for the day after Christmas through mid-January.

I agree 100%.

I would never do a shop then wait 60 days to get paid. When they say Within 45 days, I am looking for a payment way before the 45th day.

We have no choice but to go by their guidelines if we expect the report to be accepted. Once it is accepted, the MSC should pay me ASAP.

If their payment terms don't work for you, don't work for them.

@alparslan

Your report was submitted 45 days ago, when was it accepted? What is the current status of your payment? Please explain why this is a problem?

Your expectations are not realistic. As Flash stated, don't work for a company that does not meet your payment expectations, rather than have false expectations.

My posts are solely based on my opinions and for my entertainment, contact a professional if you need real advice.

When you get in debt you become a slave. - Andrew Jackson

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2016 04:07AM by isaiah58.

I work for about 8-10 different MSCs. About 7 pay within 45 days, 2 within 30 days, and then there's Trendsource, which pays twice a month. I know this before I accept a job. So far it's worked great for me.

I don't think 45 days is unreasonable, but if you do then you don't have to work for them. It certainly is annoying when MSCs don't pay on time while they expect us to submit reports by a specific time but we have the decision on whether or not we want to work with them. I love that about mystery shopping.

@isaiah58 wrote:

@alparslan

Your report was submitted 45 days ago, when was it accepted? What is the current status of your payment? Please explain why this is a problem?

Your expectations are not realistic. As Flash stated, don't work for a company that does not meet your payment expectations, rather than have false expectations.

I agree with Flash and Isaiah. The OP is being quite unrealistic regarding MS'ing payments. MS'ing as an IC is not the same as being an employee for one company where you receive a paycheck every week or two weeks. There are pros and cons to both types of work environments. I actually have the best of both worlds since I have a steady paycheck and benefits with my FT job and the flexibility to pick and choose along with staggered payments for my MS'ing jobs.

@alparslan wrote:

My opinion is the shopper should get paid within a reasonable time period after the shop is accepted, not months after.
I would like to know how others feel about this matter and what they feel a reasonable payment time frame is. Thank you.

To answer your question, yes I agree with you that we should get paid within a reasonable time. But that standard is different for everyone. If all jobs paid within a week or two I would be delirious. Not only would I have my money but I could close out each job quickly without keeping it hanging for months. Book keeping would be easy. The truth is though that if I see a job that I would like to do I will accept it and accept the payment timing that goes along with it. Timing of payment should be part of the basic things you look at when deciding to accept a job alongside the fees and reimbursements, distance and difficulty of the report.

It would be really nice (and easier to keep records straight) if all MSCs paid at the 30 day mark, or at least by the end of the next month, but alas such is not the case. I like to "stuff the pipeline" as it were and after a few months of doing that you get your regular payments and sometimes you get a pop of cash when the laggards come in. I think this is hardest on the newbies, but I like it when I open the mailbox and there are multiple checks!

I'm having the same problem. Has anyone had a problem with Strategic (through Gigspot)? It's been two months since I did the shop.

This works very well. If one has signed up with several companies, one does see some payment every week. That is a good thing.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/04/2016 04:11AM by klike5421.

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