I looked and couldn't find this topic on the forum so I hope this question hasn't already been answered. I have been mystery shopping for one month and enjoy it very much. I was just wondering if being gold certified with MSPA helps at all in getting assignments. Thank-you.

There have been numerous conversations and opinions given concerning this subject. Maybe if you do a search and put in "gold certified" they might come up. Many think it is not necessary and some think it is wise. Good luck and I am sure others will post their recommendations.

I am Silver Certified but think that my shops come from making a relationship with the companies I work for. You have to establish yourself as honest, dependable and objective and that takes time. Best wishes

On the search page use the Google search function and maybe try MSPA certification. There should be tons of conversations.

Thank-you very much lbarlbar. Personally I think I have been doing very well without any certification, but since I am still very new at this, I was wondering what more seasoned mystery shoppers had to say on the subject.

Thank-you also Lisa. I will do a search.

You will get lots of opinions on the subject, for sure. I'm not certified either.

I'm not certified and I don't really think it matters. I've had no problems getting assignments and the certification question seems to just appear on the applications. I wonder if the schedulers actually look for it.

I would NOT waste your $ now. I have seen no benefit from this. I am not nor do I intend to give them any of my hard earned $ to be certified. The answer is NO.

Heres advice from a Seasoned Shopper -
When you feel the urge to spend $90.00 to get certified, follow these simple steps.

1. Place $90.00 cash in your right hand.
2. Proceed to your bathroom.
3. Using your left hand, lift the toilet lid.
4. Release the money in your right hand into the bowl while using your left hand to move the flush handle to the "Activate" position.
5. The final step is to bend over to see where your certification money goes...

I think being a reliable shopper that produces timely, outstanding reports, developing relationships with schedulers, and doing some of those last-minute panic requests shops is way more valuable than getting gold certified. You may want to consider the silver to see if it gets you anywhere. It is only $15. I did it, but have not seen any real benefit yet. I think I did it bout 200 shops ago so I am pretty confident in my opinion.

That was very well said...and I agree with amie068.

amie068 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think being a reliable shopper that produces
> timely, outstanding reports, developing
> relationships with schedulers, and doing some of
> those last-minute panic requests shops is way more
> valuable than getting gold certified. You may
> want to consider the silver to see if it gets you
> anywhere. It is only $15. I did it, but have not
> seen any real benefit yet. I think I did it bout
> 200 shops ago so I am pretty confident in my
> opinion.

You're hysterical!
mrcomputer101 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Heres advice from a Seasoned Shopper -
> When you feel the urge to spend $90.00 to get
> certified, follow these simple steps.
>
> 1. Place $90.00 cash in your right hand.
> 2. Proceed to your bathroom.
> 3. Using your left hand, lift the toilet lid.
> 4. Release the money in your right hand into the
> bowl while using your left hand to move the flush
> handle to the "Activate" position.
> 5. The final step is to bend over to see where
> your certification money goes...

mommytolucan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I looked and couldn't find this topic on the forum
> so I hope this question hasn't already been
> answered. I have been mystery shopping for one
> month and enjoy it very much. I was just wondering
> if being gold certified with MSPA helps at all in
> getting assignments. Thank-you.

i have been mystery shopping for over a year, but i am only silver-certified. i though about becoming gold-certified, but have been able to find sufficient work to meet my financial goals with just a silver-certification. it might all depend on the availability of work in your area. i personally spent my money on a local mystery shopping conference instead. i have no current goal of paying for a gold-certification, so long as work remains available to me. i'm sure that gold-certification is a good thing, but i already have all the work that i need right now. most companies don't require gold-certification as far as i know.

WEll, most of us have come to the conclusion that MSPA doesn't give a durn about shoppers, it's an organization for the corporations not the contractors.

and they refused to stand up to their own members who didn't pay shoppers the money due them. told shoppers "it's none of our business" paraphrasing

that is, until Jacob Jans, took them on for it.


Do a search for thread by Jacob Jans on here, and you'll get an idea of whether
paying MSPA is worth it or not.

The MSPA seems to be a social club for the msc's and nothing beyond that.
The day after I questioned their ethics policy is when they decided to suspend Freeman. This organization is a self serving joke!!!

The answer to the original question is NO.

Thank-you very much everyone for weighing in on this question!
I appreciate it very much.

Remington is the only company I know of that pays shoppers more for Gold certification. Some companies give scheduling preference to Silver shoppers, but the best way to get more shops is to reliably complete the ones you accept.

I am gold certified but I don't think that it ever helped me..

Thank-you Dan for the information.

Finally! Something we all agree on. Its a Red Letter Day for this FDorum...

mrcomputer101 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Heres advice from a Seasoned Shopper -
> When you feel the urge to spend $90.00 to get
> certified, follow these simple steps.
>
> 1. Place $90.00 cash in your right hand.
> 2. Proceed to your bathroom.
> 3. Using your left hand, lift the toilet lid.
> 4. Release the money in your right hand into the
> bowl while using your left hand to move the flush
> handle to the "Activate" position.
> 5. The final step is to bend over to see where
> your certification money goes...


Exactly! I don't think I'd benefit from it as I only really do shops that I want to do and I don't find myself wanting for more. Without it, I still get the occasional recruitment letter asking me to work exclusively for a company. No, my policy of not paying to get shops stands.

Has been worth it for me. Doesn't replace basic work habits but it definitely sent higher paying work my way.

It was definitely worth it to me.

I was a shopper for a few years before I became gold certified back when they had actual conferences. My standing as a shopper was excellent before gold certification. My standing after is the same. While there are a handful of companies that offer shops to gold and silver shoppers first, the benefits do not outweigh the cost of becoming gold certified. At least when I did it, I could network and even that had limited benefits since the companies there had limited shops in my area.

While some schedulers might give an unknown shopper a try if they're gold or silver certified over a non-certified member, I still don't see any real benefit. There are MANY gold and silver certified shoppers I'd overlook for a qualified shopper with a proven track record. There are some certified shoppers that I'd prefer to overlook whenever possible. So it's not like they were trained well, either. Certification was not created to benefit shoppers but is a way to bring in money for the MSPA. It's simplistic in its training to the point of being laughable. The only point I learned that I hadn't already known from experience and reading the forums was about video shopping and I can read about that now on the forums (it wasn't as commonplace when I went to the MSPA Gold Conference).

The MSPA has proven it does not care about the shoppers or resolving issues. If that were the case, all companies with a proven track record of not paying would have been dealt with without an uprising on this forum. Although Freeman has been booted from the MSPA, there are still other late payers who claim MSPA affiliation. My issues with Lorri Kern of KSS International would've been satisfied and she, at minimum, would've been reprimanded for her behavior towards me and numerous others. (No, I'm not alone in the least.) Yet, she's been allowed to continue her unethical tirades without a single tsk, tsk towards her. She sits firmly with the board of directors. Code of ethics? Laughable. Certification to help ensure quality shoppers? Hardly. Conflict resolution? Don't hold your breath. It's not called the Mystery Shoppers Providers "and Shoppers" Association, now is it?

Edited = typo = OCD. Need I say more?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2012 02:44AM by AlwaysAngie.

Thanks, much for your insight and opinion.

I am happy I got my Silver years ago when starting (15.00), but will not go for the gold. I personally like having a certification # to put on my application's, and have been told many times, certain jobs go to those certified, however, experience, and doing a good job through the years is
what's really important, many different opinions on this, do what is comfortable for you, I'm happy with it and didn't feel the money was that big a deal......90.00 is a very big deal, and won't bring you much more than the Silver.