This is not for everyone, if my income is above 70k a year i would prefer sleep in and rest. But I earn less than 40k and i'm happy with the 700/900 dollars a month this gives me. Plus free things that i have to pay for anyways.

Thanks Wales. I don't have any intentions on doing shops in Nevada, I was just curious because I thought I had read it somewhere.

A slightly different perspective: I started shopping years ago when I had more time than money, and paid a lot of what money I DID have in taxes. Somehow I fell into an opportunity to do some restaurant shops at lunchtime. No fee, just reimbursement. At that time I was spending about $5/day to have lunch out - mostly b/c I was too lazy to pack lunch and take it with me. As I saw it, I was driving and paying for gas anyway, and now I could at least get reimbursed for my lunch and not have any liability. I also saw it as fun, like I was an insider, and had a chance to give some realtime feedback that might help improve service over the long haul. Now, almost two decades later my situation has changed, but I still shop for the same basic reasons, but most of all it is like a hobby that is fun and better for me then hanging out at a local watering hole. The scope of opportunities is more vast now then ever and even includes occasionally going to a movie at the theater.

I have no agenda here and make no profit if you shop or not, just wanted to add my viewpoint.

: D

I am pretty new to mystery shopping but it is hard work! I have mainly done restaurants and don't get paid any extra, just food reimbursement. The reports are long and tedius and have taken me 2 hours to do. I hope to get better and will keep trying, seems I am not there yet. I haven't had a report rejected but I do still get questions after even when I think I have answered every ? right with long narratives and descriptions. If it wasnt for mystery shopping, I would never get my husband out to do anything with me, so it is worth the effort to do dining shops for me. We would never spend the kind of money at a restaurant that we do on mystery shops so that is nice. I generally am watching/observing so much when I do a shop that I don't enjoy the dinner much so I take it home and enjoy later. I do believe mystery shops are a great opportunity for people but for some it may be too much work. Mystery shopping sounds easier than it is. Every job you have though requires work and a learning experience and this does too. I have always strived to do any jobs that I have had the best I can and usually I get there at some point so I am anxious to keep going with this! Would love to do hotel shops and grocery shops. Just can't figure out who does them around me. Got to start somewhere to get somewhere! We are 50 so this would be great to do when we retire.

To the above poster:
It does get a lot easier. During restaurant shops, I am almost on an autopilot since I know what to look for and can enjoy my dinner and a conversation with my guest.

Hey Lauren, since no one has given any client names, here ya go: Regal Hospitality, Coyle, and A-Closer-Look are a couple of restaurant/hotel MSCs.

I've been doing display/store audits for a couple years now, but with a major life change in the last 5 months (my dh passed away and I'm not feeling up to finding a full time job at this point), I have opted to try MS. It is true that there are jobs that aren't cost efficient. I do take into consideration the time it takes to study the materials, travel/gas to/from the location, execute the MS and then complete the report. I don't print all the materials, because that will eat into your budget. I do upload the material to my iBooks and save in my DropBox account to reference. I will print the first page of a job to write down initial information and add notes. I always record my MS using Voice Recorder on my phone to refer back to while writing reports.

So far I am averaging about $500/month and anywhere from $15-$30 an hour - that's better than getting a minimum wage job! Yesterday was the first day, I was suppose to make $60 for completing two of the same MS at a bank - a new MS to add to my experience for future MSing. Unfortunately, at the first bank the person wasn't there (a wasted 30 minutes) and the second one I had to get an appoint for an hour and half later (the company paid me an incentive for the first bank for my initial visit and also to return to the second bank). After gas, travel time, meeting with banker and completing the report, with a $44 pay for the one shop, I calculated it paid me $10 an hour including the travel and gas. Win some - lose some.

Overall, I enjoy the varying challenges, learning new things about each shop, interacting with people I don't have to deal with on a daily basis, the flexibility in my time, being able to be home for kids when they are here and need me for rides etc., and the ability to be my own boss.

I have also set short and long term goals for myself (in writing). I hope to be able to make $2000/month by the fall. This will help cover all my budget needs and help me and the kids to stay in our current home.

Finally, as someone else said, I am paying estimated taxes quarterly this tax year to cover my MS income goals and not to be penalized at a higher tax rate come next tax season.

Thanks to the MS Forum for your excellent comments, suggestions and leads, as I branch out in my Mystery Shopping experience!

hello,

how do you cultivate relationships with schedulers when they don't want you to contact them?

shopdrop

Friends: I am blown away by the number of replies that have been posted. I certainly have stirred up the conversation. Much appreciation for all the comments and suggestions. I am truly going to reconsider my position. I am amazed at the number of mystery shop companies out there. Is there an easy, simple way to learn which ones have shops in my area of Minnesota?

The poster mentioned that she made $12 in Nevada, for a shop that pays $6 in her other state.

The main reason is: You are an employee of the licensed private investigative firm and your income is "taxed."

Another thing forbidden is the "$3 fee" paid by MF, if your store is closed. This does not hold true for Nevada. They cannot pay you $3. They must pay your normal fee.

In Nevada, let's take Market Force, for instance. It is one of the few companies that pays your reimbursements only directly to you. This is deposited into your bank account. The fee for shopping, is paid to you by the investigative firm for whom you are employed. This also is deposited in your bank. I am only referring to Market Force on this, as other MSC's operate a little different on the reimbursement aspect. I primarily preferred MF and still do

You probably have already signed up with Marketforce, but they have shops in every state. So does Bare International. I am signed up with about 150 different companies but I only do work for about 50 of them. I would just go ahead and sign up with as many as you can. There is a link at the bottom of this page for an official list of mystery shopping companies. You can also go to the MSPA website and do a search to find reputable companies. Go in spurts and sign up with 3 or 4 companies per day and before you know it, you will be at 100! The thing is, right now a company might not have shops in your area, but next year they could and if you are already signed up with them you will know when they do. Some companies send out invitation emails (like all of the companies that use the Sassie platform), and others you have to surf their job boards to find shops. Good luck!

I am a new shopper and was extremely happy with the shops I chose. I took shops that paid from $20 to $80 without having a reimbursement amount due to I didn't want to spend any money on the assignments and it worked out great. I received payment by a check which made me more happy! Therefore my point to you is its very much worth your time. Its all about choosing a shop wisely, close to home so you don't spend much on gas and taking your time. Work smart and not hard.

I totally agree, But I have found that until you have done a bunch of shops. they don't pay much. As you have been with the company, they start paying more and giving more challenging shops. I have bitten off more than I could chew a few times and got axed because I over extended myself. Some of them are gruelling no matter how much they pay. Hours of trying to remember what was said in an hour talking to a banker. If you record it, it's a federal offense, too. Then the editor wants more detail. UHG I keep swearing to myself I will get a real job. But then I'd have to be somewhere on time.

I saw someone else say it was a federal offense to record a bank shop. Where is that coming from? I can't see any reason why it would be.

@MyDearWatson wrote:

I totally agree, But I have found that until you have done a bunch of shops. they don't pay much. As you have been with the company, they start paying more and giving more challenging shops. I have bitten off more than I could chew a few times and got axed because I over extended myself. Some of them are gruelling no matter how much they pay. Hours of trying to remember what was said in an hour talking to a banker. If you record it, it's a federal offense, too. Then the editor wants more detail. UHG I keep swearing to myself I will get a real job. But then I'd have to be somewhere on time.

I have been advised by accountant it is not worth doing MSing now. As you say the work that goes into just 1 shop, ie, the applying, the wait for acceptance, the travel ( although a route of shopping helps ) the shop, the time to report, fee drops.I really enjoyed doing this but ....
Nope, sorry to agree, not worth it

x



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/29/2015 11:15PM by MDavisnowell.

My site name is braindead1. There does seem to be a COMPANY mentioned on here also with this name. I just wanted to make it clear I am /was a mshopper.

What?

I just did my income taxes. There is gold in them there hills if you understand you will pass that convenience store (not a fast food shop) and buy a healthy sandwich to eat on the beach even if it was not a shop.

You will do crossword puzzles that pay nothing instead of doing the report on paper so do the paper report it is very short. It will take a few minutes to input the report at home. (you do not want to bring your computer to the beach).

The gas is now deductible. Pick the shop furthest away to get the mileage. You would have paid for the gas out of pocket and would not deduct anything per mile on your tax return.

There is a value for stopping at the convenience store almost like picking up a $10 bill off the street no one can see that $10 bill but you. There is at least 10 locations you can stop at that is not out of the way because they build these stores on every corner and the competitor builds their stores down the street.

If you are a hermit you do not get these perks. Why am I posting, this poster has already posted their last post and is no longer mystery shopping.

But for you other shoppers even a $10 convenience shop is worth about $20 when you add the gas, sandwich and if you let it cool, the iced coffee. (You can come back in after you get the temperature and put Ice in in from the soda dispenser.)

I did that a bunch of times and it was worth hundreds of dollars.

For me, I think it's entertaining. It gives me something to do. I only take what I want, when I want. I do this part time at best. I can't imagine doing this full-time as my only source of income. If I did, I would definitely do the high-paying low out of pocket types of shops - and those are not usually very fun at all.

I sometimes clip coupons, but usually forget to use them. I like being reimbursed for things like meals, paper, groceries and have been paid to have my oil changed. My mystery shopping career became more profitable once I decided how much I wanted to make and self-assigned shops that made sense (& $ & Cents) for me. If you only want $50/week extra that's doable. If you want to make it a significant portion of your income ($20-$30K) it can be. It's up to you. It's your business.

MS'ing is DEFINITELY worth it for me. It just paid for a week's vacation including hotels, food, airfare, activities and fun money. Parasailing was a blast.

As with just about any form of self employment, most people are not willing to make the sacrifices or put in the work to be successful. And some people just simply do not have the ability to be successful at it. That's not to be insulting, my brother makes several hundred thousand a year and would absolutely suck at being a mystery shopper.

Sometimes it is worth it, sometimes it isn't. Situations are different for everyone. You have to see if it fits your situation some will and some will not. I took a $35.00 fee $5.80 reimbursement shop last week that was 55 miles away. But I only took it because I was going to the area anyway on an assignment for work. So yes it was worth it. Got a free lunch and made some extra money for an hours work. Your situation will vary.

I did a cell phone store shop Monday that paid $75 because the scheduler was desperate to have it filled. I had to drive about 40 miles round trip to do it, but that's not bad considering the pay. I left my house at around 1 pm, was home before 3:00, and had the report submitted in under 30 minutes. Today I got a free ham and a free 1/2 turkey breast ($51.98 value). The other day I did a coffee shop that only paid $10 for a cappuccino and a pastry flat fee, but I had some post office shops to do nearby so it took up part of that 35 minutes in-between requirement for the post offices.

I would love to find an $80.00 shop, but I don't have high paying shops in my neck of the woods. The highest shop I've found was a $50.00 phone shop where the associate didn't want to sell me a phone! I told him it was a gift and he didn't like to sell phones as gifts! I wouldn't leave the shop until he finally sold me a freaking phone! I'm a fairly new shopper with average ratings of 9's and 10's. I know that schedulers have their pets and they call upon them before a job is even posted. How do I become a pet? Meow!

I wouldn't consider go-to shoppers to be "pets." That implies they are chosen because someone just likes them when the reality is they have proven themselves to be professional and reliable.

@LisaSTL wrote:

I wouldn't consider go-to shoppers to be "pets." That implies they are chosen because someone just likes them when the reality is they have proven themselves to be professional and reliable.

I feel that I've proven myself to be professional and reliable. Still, I do not receive offers other than what is posted. How does a new shopper obtain a good rapport with a scheduler? Does it come in time?

Have you ever asked for more money? You're assuming we all just wait for them to call us and offer higher fees.

And perhaps you are working with the wrong companies. I tend to work for companies that value my time and not work for companies that don't. It's hit or miss and it takes some time to realize which ones do and which ones don't.

Also, no MSC is going to value your time if you don't.