I want to give up on the company at this point. All of the gas shops are taken, not just 1 or 2. I don't begrudge anyone there opportunity to make money, but the work involved seems like so much for $4 bucks when I was getting $20 for the same shops in January. Is it just me.

It's not just you. I won't even do them for $25 each.

It's probably not experienced shoppers who are snapping them up at that price.

I have to disagree a bit on this one. I like the $17 gas station shops which sometimes are bonused $5.00, $15.00 and $21.00. Takes 20-30 minutes with not too many photos. But $4.00 - no way. It's hard to believe that they are offerered and harder to believe accepted at $4.00.

I kind of like the revealed shops when I can put away my Lamont Cranston act and be me. (Perhaps some of you will know who Lamont Cranston is/was).

I am trying to figure out what you disagree with. BTW: Actually, the only one who know who Lamont Cranston was is the Shadow.

LIJake Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have to disagree a bit on this one. I like the
> $17 gas station shops which sometimes are bonused
> $5.00, $15.00 and $21.00. Takes 20-30 minutes with
> not too many photos. But $4.00 - no way. It's hard
> to believe that they are offerered and harder to
> believe accepted at $4.00.
>
> I kind of like the revealed shops when I can put
> away my Lamont Cranston act and be me. (Perhaps
> some of you will know who Lamont Cranston is/was).

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/2014 01:28AM by jwolpert.

JW - Congratulations on the shadow. I guess I was disagreeing a bit with Bearclaw and the $25 minimum. I do a lot at $17.

Last year I snatched up 6 for $15 each I think. I'd never do it again. The first one took way too long, and then I very much regretted my decision to grab 6 at once. By the sixth one I got more efficient but still not enough to justify the $15. I think I'd do a $25 or $30 minimum. But I'm just really slow at them so I try to stay away from the gas station shops.

Who is taking these shops?? Are they crazy or just new because there is no way $4.00 is worth a gas station audit. I may do one for $15 but that is the minimum. Shoppers do not be taken advantage of - then the rates go down for everyone. I can just imagine how that shopper feels when they see all the work that has to be done for the $4.00 - but that is a hard lesson. These same shops may show up with bonuses when the new shopper starts canceling after doing a few shops and realizing that they have been "had" by the MSC.

Just looked to see if the one that was title *Easy* Gas Station Shop had been scooped up and it has. I know it was under $10 and the description asked if you realized you would be on site for about an hour and were required to purchase gas and something inside. I kept trying to figure out what the easy meant.

Probably new shoppers. I took a $5 gas shop before simply to try it out, see what it entailed. I figured if it wasn't too bad, I could scatter the low-paying shops in a route. But, it wasn't worth the effort even if the gas station was within walking distance of where ever I would be. The vast majority of shoppers don't know about this forum or the shopping community, so they might not realize it's better to hold out for higher paying shops. Or shoppers who want to try a new type of shop without the pressure of it being a highly bonused, EOM/EOQ/EOY, needs-to-be-done-yesterday type of shop.

The new ones may not realize the difference between the gas shops. I have taken $5 gas shops which truly were worth$5. I was going there to get gas anyway (even if not a MS, I would have stopped there) and normally get a drink when getting gas. The shop was for the convenience shop. I could purchase anything except liquor, tobacco, lottery, etc. (my soda counted as a purchase). After purchasing it, I answered 5 questions on my phone about how friendly the cashier was and uploaded my receipt on the app. It truly took no more than 3 minutes on my phone in the car at a place I was already going!

The newbies may think they are getting this type of truly easy shop and accepting it not knowing about the extensive more work an audit really is. I agree with the other posters in watch it and when they flake, more bonuses for everyone.

Are you kidding - I jump through hoops to get $.30 off per gallon based on my shopping desires - much less several dollars off of a gas purchase.....that is why.

These are the easy ones not the audits, but I still would not do them for $4. But I also don't depend on the money so that may be the difference. I do believe it has to be someone who just started and has no idea that these shops could go any higher.

I don't understand the thinking that they'll go higher if no one takes them, since someone always takes them. If someone always snaps them up, what's the logic in thinking about waiting for them to go higher? I don't do $4 gas shops because in my area I don't have to. Necessity is a mother, and if that's all you can get your circumstances might make you want to gobble them up every time you see them. If I couldn't get the higher paying gas shops and I were needy, I might have to go for the $4 ones. The MSCs know what each area will bear.

You have a good point MDavisnowell, except in this area, the starting number is $4 at the beginning of the month but they ALWAYS go up throughout the month, not up to the $20 like in January but at least up to $10 or $11.

When I was new I scooped up that $4 shops and did them in my large Ford Explorer! I thought it was just great!! I'm sure now I probably lost money on them!

I have noticed the same thing with $4 gas stations, I have simply pretty much stopped shopping with that company. Even when I was new I didn't take them so low. In my area they go up to $5.25 and they are all gone and these shoppers, must be twins, do a load of traveling for these stations. Wait till they start having to buy new tires and the car needs tons of repairs, mileage adds up awfully quick. All I can say is lots of luck!

$4 gas stations?!?!? That's a pay raise for me!

I have done gas station shops for 3 different companies now.

I did 3 bonused to $75 each. I felt I earned every dime of the fee.

I just did one for a different company, $30. I figured after doing the "complicated", demanding ones for company A, company B's would be a breeze.

Not so. One and a half hours on site (expected that; I always take a long time with first-time shops, because I want to get it right). That was okay. But almost 3 hours to download photos and match them to questions! So I ended up earning less than minimum wage. And that's not even taking into consideration the 40 pages of paperwork I had to print out & study, and passing the stupid quiz first. But I figured that's an investment that will pay off the next time these reach $30 each...maybe then
I'll just pick up a whole bunch of them, and be much, much faster!

Still learning....



cease

Just picked up one of the $4 gas station shops for $35 - yes it does pay to wait sometimes.

I don't think I would do any gas stations for $4. No, I don't think, I know I wouldn't.

I do about 800 gas station shops a year, on average. Most of my regular shops are one of two types: mystery shop/audit and straight audit with a few that are straight mystery shops.

The straight mystery shops are two types:
(a) $8 and reimburse for two gallons of gas (up to $10 total) and $2 in-store purchases
(possible total of up to $20)
(b) $6 and reimburse for $5 of gas and $1 in-store purchase (total of $12)

The mystery shop/audits (three different ones) pay as follows:
(a) $10 plus $1.00 reimbursement in-store (total of $11)
(b) $10 plus reimbursement for 2 gallons of gas (up to $10 total) and $2 in-store purchases
(fee increases to $15 for night shops) total of up to $22 (days) / $27 (nights)
(c) $10.50 plus reimbursement of $5 in gas and $1 in-store purchase (total of $16.50)
(d) $11 plus reimbursement for $5 gas and $1 in-store purchase (total of $16)

The audits pay a straight fee of $14.50 per shop.

I'd much rather do the straight audits as the forms are provided by the MSC and the photos are pretty straight forward but poorly maintained stations could have upwards of 35-40 photos. The mystery shop audits are good because I can get gas along a route and get reimbursed for the purchases especially for snacks which I would probably buy anyway. I like to get a good mixture of shops for long routes so that I can get enough gas to get there and back and perhaps have some left over for future trips. I currently have nearly 90 gallons of gas in my garage from past shops that will keep me from having to buy any gas for the next couple of months until the next quarter or period's stations are released.

I only hope you aren't a smoker tanmanlovespool! Lol!

That is a lot of stored up gas.