How important is it to get either of these certifications?

Not.

ditto

I don't know but I think I would have to disagree. I have been a Silver certified shopper for 3 years now and I have been offered more jobs than I can handle because of it and good paying shops not offered to non-certified shoppers. I think it is worth the investment and you can deduct it from your taxes if you itemize (which I assume you do for having a home office?)

I have done resort/hotel shops paying $50-150 plus room reimbursement. I have done gas audits for $50 plus mileage and gas. I have done restaurant shops that reimburse $25-75. I have done vet shops which pay $25 plus reimburse $125 for my vet bill. I have done apartment shops for $50-75 or $100 for video shops. I will say that these higher paying shops do require some extensive reporting but no or very few photos. I am very selective and do not do the little $5-15 shops. I WILL NOT do purchase/return shops at all! I won't do phone shops, banks shops that require you to memorize a scenario to act like a customer.

I will say that I really pick and chose my shops and the only way to do that is to spend the time and get registered on every shop board you can. It takes some time and I would suggest setting up a separate email account just for shopping or you won't be able to find your regular email amoung the offers.

Last but not least, Happy Shopping!!

Hopsue - I have to ask, how do you know these shops aren't offered to non-certified shoppers?

I see offers for hotel shops, fine dining, vet shops, and apartments, all types of shops I don't do. It doesn't say in my offers that these are for certified shoppers only, so I'm wondering how you know.

I've done some gas stations for $50.00 (no gas allowance) but these came up on the plain old CORI board for anyone's first come first served grab.

Also, can you clue me in on which companies favor the certified shoppers above everyone else? I must not have the right hookups and I'm always looking to do better.

Welcome to the forum (I notice this is your first post). I'm assuming you're an experienced shopper and you'll be able to provide a lot of good information and tips on getting the job done. Thanks for your input on certification.

Yes, I too have done $170-$200 fee resort shops with no certification. And indeed one of the guys here who used to work for one of the hospitality companies (as an employee?) indicated he preferred not use certified shoppers because they were 'already trained' they didn't feel the need to follow shop instructions.