Barbara check out the list Jacob posted on this discussion - It has lots of mystery shop companies you can apply for free! You have to sign with a lot of companies and keep checking their job boards. Look for companies that conduct Bank shops- you don't have to buy any product to complete the assignment.

I started mystery shopping at the end of October 2006. So far I have done 45 shops. I had a really good month in November. December is not looking so good, but so far I am enjoying it. The best experience I had so far is with a company that does merchandising as well. I was assigned to help in department store on Black Friday to help keep toys stocked. When I was oringally assigned to it, it was paying $8/hr. But there were other postitions that the scheduler was desperate to fill so they wound up raising the fee to $18/hr! Wow! And to top it off, I had my check in 2 weeks! That is not usual to get it that quick, but needless to say I was very thankful given the time of year..definitely helped me shop for xmas for my kids! I haven't really had any negative experiences yet and hope they are few and far between! I would say I probably signed up with about 100 companies...of course a lot of them not having work in my area. It also helped that I have found a great mystery shop forum where everyone shares ideas and there is an extensive list of mystery shop companies to apply to. I did pay for a 3 month membership to a company that sends out emails of companies looking for shoppers. It seemed to have helped me in the month of November. We'll see how much it helps me over the next few months. If anyone would like more information or the name of the mystery shop forum that has helped me, you can feel free to email me at faekuhn@gmail.com and I'd be happy to share. Good luck all!

I enjoy mystery shopping because it's fun and you can make money without being tied down.

Please read your instructions before you go on a job.

It seems like a lot of details at first, but after you go on a number of jobs
it is easier and easier.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING A LEGITIMATE COMPANY THAT SEND ME GOOD JOBS.

SINCERELY,
HAZEL IN ALABAMA

I have completed many mystery shops for the past 3 years. I have fun with them and I have learned a lot from each store or restaurant that I have gone to
I look forward in doing more in 2007.
Happy Holiday
Carole Pelletier

I have never been able to get started because when I thought about becoming a mystery shopper I lost my job shortly after that and have had a lot of medical problems with my husband he has had to have emergency heart surgery so that tokk all my time and money so I don't have the extra money to buy any of the offers that the companies have sent.

As with everyone else, Ive had good and bad. I think if I see Sonic on my screen again Ill scream. I am having better luck with demos than anything. They are fun to do and get feedback from the public. The fast food shops do NOT pay off ,as you have to front your own money and wait sometimes 2 months to get it back and then the shop hardly pays. Its hard to get responses from most companies. Sometimes I just want to give up. Im gonna stick with it a while longer and see what happens. Thanks for listening, Tammie

I have been shopping for over 2 years now. I enjoy it mostly. I've done college bookstores and Sonic drive ins. The pay could be more, but you are free to be picky. The increase in gasoline prices has made a big difference.
I have applied to 6 companies. I refuse to pay to get a job. Basically I live in the center of nowhere so the jobs can be slim but I do enjoy doing all of them. Most of my experiences have been very positive.

I have been shopping for 2 months. On average, I shop about 3-6 shops a month. It seems like forever to get paid, but I am a Realtor so I'm used to it . I have also signed up with 250+ companies (the ones Jan Jacobs published).

I live and work in a rural area so I don't get as many, but the ones I go on pay well. CSE is the only one so far that has paid me right away.

I prefer Paypal to supplying my bank acct info. To me, Paypal is so simple and it only takes a day to transfer that money into your account.

Hi
I've never done any Mystery Shopping at all.I've been trying to join this mystery shopping.just don't have the money to join at this time.It looks very rewarding and fun.By the sounds of it lots of people enjoying it and getting alot from it.
Deborah.B

I enjoy mystery shopping . I have been shopping actively for about 3 months. I am permanently on some scheduling lists for particular clients. I have applied to about 70 sites and currently work for 30-40 of them. Most of them pay as scheduled and I am pleased with the variety of businesses from which to choose from. I am analytical by nature and have been in quality for 20 yrs. I believe this is an excellent business (especially those who take it seriously and professionally).

I have a warning about restaurant shops. When you are shopping a fast food shop,be aware of cleanliness. You could wind up with food poisoning. I have had one really bad!! experience.

Otherwise most shops I have enjoyed

Happy Shopping
M Holly G

I have been Mystery Shopping for about 6 months. I really enjoy doing it. Sometimes I get tired of doing the same shops. I am signed up with several shops. Only one that I shop for alot. I don't like getting paid once amonth. My full time job is a once amonthe paying job and i don't like that eithe.

I started in July 2006. I just wrapped up the years paperwork and discovered that I did just as many or more jobs in each of October, November, and December as I did in the entire quarter from July to September. I've done at least 100 jobs, and I love it! I registered with about 60 companies and do most of my work with 5 or 6.

Greetings to all fellow Mystery Shoppers! I have been shopping for only 3 months, so I guess I'm a "Newbie" around here.

To get started, I joined Shadow Shoppers using their low cost trial option. I would never pay big bucks for job possibilities, but at such a nominal cost, it was worth using temporarily. Every time I open up my email, there are several job notices.

I have gone pretty slow and have only completed 8-10 jobs. I got really, really lucky and was offered a 5* beach front resort hotel stay close to my home in Florida. I had a gorgeous room. To beat it all, part of the job was to order room service and eat by the pool.

It was a reoccurring job that could have potentially been offered to me on occasion. However, when I was there, they were having an Iron Man Triathlon. The Iron Man Association was serving complimentary h'ouderves on the beach. (It was the Closing Medal Ceremony open to all) It was not related to the hotel. My hubby and I ate something there which gave us food poisoning and boy did it throw us for a loop!

We went home earlier than planned the next day. I phoned the Shopping Service I was working for explaining my illness and they kindly gave me a 24 hour extension on my report. However, I was feeling worse by then. I wrote up the extensive report which was a bear to do. They format was bad and it was the type that gave you a limited number of space to respond to a very detailed question, so it took a lot of planning just to get the main ideas to fit in the allotted character space.

Boy did I bomb on it! It was an O.K. report, but it was not a complete, well written evaluation that was worth the $500.00 hotel bill they reimbursed me.
It still hurts, because they gave me a rare, wonderful opportunity and I had every effort to "knock them out" with the final product review. I was just soooo sick.

To end this sad sap story. (I know I'm rambling.) I went to the E.R. the day after the report was due. The Dr. said he had saw a least 50 other people who had been at the Iron Man Ceremony. People were cancelling their flights home because they were to ill to travel. I wish the scheduler could have know this so she was not so disappointed in me and my work....

Embarrassed and wanting to plant my head in the sand. I did email the scheduler, apologized for the review and briefly explained. She said she would give me another try sometime, but I never heard from her. I knew I wouldn't and I can't blame her.

Since that one in a million opportunity, I have had to return to Earth and have reviewed a Movie Theater, Steak Houses, Bose and a few boutiques. I myself do not get involved in small change ($5.00 - $10.00) Shops. In agreement with my fellow shoppers, you just break even with those. They are usually the ones with the longest, detailed evaluation form which takes you a considerable amount of time to complete. Some shoppers do it for a hobby, but most used it as needed income. I find people will put fourth great effort if they feel they are being fairly compensated. I know that the Mystery Shopping Services contract their jobs from big corporations, so they set the pay to the Shopper. I would rather pay a decent and fair wage (not extravagant), so that I could build up a roster of dependable, willing and qualified reviewers. It would have to save them time, effort and last minute headaches. It has to be worth $5.00 or $10.00 extra dollars per shop to ensure you keep you reviews in check, running smooth and keeping your contracted account happy. It a no brain-er!

I actually just wondered into this website a short time ago. I am very happy to see Jacob working to build a community that we can all gather knowledge to benefit the trade.

I live in Tampa/St.Pete/Clearwater, Florida area and would be grateful to Veteran Shoppers or anyone who would like to offer suggestions to me at interiorconceptsflorida@att.net. Passing the knowledge, please feel free to contact me with your questions and I will help you any way I can!

Anne B
Palm Harbor,FL

I love it, I love It.
I started Mystery about 4 months ago and have had about 70 jobs.I don't know if I was lucky or what, but they started contacting me right away. I work with about 5 or 6 companys and they all pay wonderful. So far I have not been burned. I read my assignments over and over to get them right and am always on time.

I have been a shopper, auditor, Demo person for 8 years. I too live in a very rural area and only do 5.00 jobs if they are in my home town.
After reading some of the comments of other shoppers I can only say, please learn to use spell check and reread what you have written. Proper use of grammer and punctuation is very important to most companies.
I have also read many negative comments about Shadowshopper. I have been with them for over two years and get many jobs of all kinds from them. I have not yet worked for a company that has not paid, I hope I never do.

I started mystery shopping in Aug. 2006 and have accomlished over 200 jobs and I live in a rural area. The advantage is there is very little competition here so the rules are bent by the companies when they need a job done. I have done, gas stations, banks, restaurants, supermarkets, displays, merchandising and I book 3 or 4 jobs in the same area on the same day so it cuts the travel time. I have found now that it's a steady income. I usually get paid anywhere from 3-6 times a month depending on the job and the company. One advantage is to learn from other shoppers and share ideas, you get more jobs and more income that way. One friend and I share a company, she does one month and I do it the next and boy does it work out well.

Fran
emtfran623@hvc.rr.com

we have not joined to do mystery shopping we want to but but so far have not been able to. jeff wilson

Ive been Mystery Shopping for only a few months now, in a small town in a small province and in the cple of months I have had over 20 mystery shops so far! All have gone well, i have had no negative experiences, I have applied to about 20 and regularily shop for approximately 5 of those companies. I always make sure to reference Jacob Jans as my link to those jobs as honestly he has given me the best and sure ones! I also signed up for shadow shopper and I have not signed to be the paid silver member however even as a bronze member they have still referred my information over to other companies that don`t ask me for pay and that has been Very Helpful!!!!! The best help I have gotten for mystery shopping is the emails that get sent to me by Jacob, and the blogs on his site. Everything is going well and I am very happy I happened into this!!! Thanks again Jacob for your complimentary help and information!!! Good Luck to All!!!!

I have only been Mystery Shopping for about 6 weeks and have done about 13 shops, I could have done a lot more, but I am a bit picky. I initially started with about 15 companies and have now signed on with about 75. I am not certified and do not plan to be, but I do wonder if you get higher paying jobs if you are certified. I have not tried merchandising yet, but may in the future. I am retired, but work part time M-Th, so have plenty of time to shop.
My rating is a 10 with the two companies I do most of my jobs with.
I am going to do more apartments, as the payoff as better and I do not have to pay anything up front.
I have already receeived payments for 6 of my jobs.
I would like to know if you have to report your earning if they amount to $600.00 total or $600.00 with one company.
I have not had any negatives yet, maybe one, with a fast food place which was supposed to be a dine-in but was actually a drive through .

I have 0 offers to do eneything, I have sighned up for aroung 8 differnt places and not one offer to try doing this.........

Hi, nice site!
<@#$%&>
[purgen.extra.hu]

I have been doing this since November. Even though I do about 2 shops a week, I have found that it takes forever to get paid, and that is annoying to me. There was one shop I did at McDonalds in early November for Gapbusters and I still have not gotten paid on that one. I had to email Gapbusters to find out why. Apparently my bank info for direct deposits was incorrect, if I had never inquired, I probably would never have known.

I see some of you have never gotten a shop. Its probably because your grammar and spelling are atrocious. You have to be really really detail oriented and your spelling has to be perfect. I remember I got knocked down a point from one of the companies because I didn't have a period at the end of a sentence. So be careful about your spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Hey Jan the mystery shops I'm sign up for or interesting and fun. Im with about 6 different shops the most I enjoy is the theater or movie shows. I would like to sign up for more but I dont get the money thats needed for the ones I believe would pay good, like the data entry which charges 40.00 dollar to do. I would be in more but I dont have a credit card for the one that need you to by an item from a catalog then return it. Jan help me to find some more good shops they really help me to see how the companies feel about those who shop.

MY Mystery shopping has been very enjoyable,I look to doing more in the near further.The assignments were clear and easy to understand I feel that the pay can be better,but this is my first time doing this, so I know I am growing and that will come.I fine that applying for application for jobs can is not easy.So please keep sending the assignments

1. I started mystery shoppin in Dec 06.
2. 22 shops and one merchandising.
3. I have applied to 14 different companies.
4. No. The tips you send out are great.
5. Nothing out of the ordinary. I am having a great time doing this.
6. None so far. Keep your fingers crossed.

I havent heard back from any of the people I have filled out forms for as of this day January 29 2007. All the free giveaways are bogus and I am quite frankly pissed.

Jan,

I have been shopping since 2004. Initially I signed up with 3 companies.I was very cautious and somewhat scared to accept assignments from fear of not knowing what to do if a problem occured. Gradually I overcame my anxiety and accepted a few assignments. I made $200 in one month shopping these 3 companies. It was then I realizes that MS was not a scammed and that I could make more money if I signed up with several companies. I knew that that you did not have to pay to find reputable companies but researching and signing up was very time consuming. I made the decision to sign up with shadowshopper; I had was offered many jobs and was able to sign up directly with companies I might not have ever found on my own. The money I spent to sign up with Shadowshopper was made many times over. My 3rd month of shopping I made nearly $1000 (979). Needless to say I have been happily shopping ever since. I average in a slow month $300-$400 a month, in a good month I average $700-$800 per month. The beauty of it is now I can accept or decline shops at my leisure.


Faithfully Shopping,

Jackye Jackson

Although I have been a mystery shopper for more than a year, I had only worked for one company and they sent me out mostly to do McDonalds' restaurants. At the beginning it was fun, but I did want more diversification of jobs. I signed up with several more since getting e-mails from you, and I have had some jobs that proved to be more interesting. I would love to have some good restaurant jobs but seem to be getting more survey jobs that just want me to purchase goods to get "points." Some shops are fun and some are not. But I shall continue to seek companies that compensate for the amount of time and expense.

I have not had a experience with mystery shopping at all. All I can see is someone is trying to sell you something. Which all the things that are offered I don't want or already have. Only one co. has offered me jobs, but I do not understand. Please advise

Ramona Ahn

I have been a mystery shopper since late May, 2006. Because I didn't have a clue where to begin, I reluctantly paid a one time fee of $34.95 to get a list of companies that were looking for mystery shoppers, but it has been well worth the small investment. Their website provided a list of over 200 companies and their respective websites to sign up with. I signed up with about 18 shops, but find I do most of my work for 3-4. I have been a little disappointed with some of the fees, but others have been much better. In the 7+ months I shopped in 2006, I completed 285 shops and made over $4,000 in fees plus expense reimbursements of another $1,000. I keep an Excel spreadsheet of all my shops, keeping track of when I scheduled them, the fees and expenses offered, and when I received payment. The smallest fee I have accepted has been $4.00 for some convenience store shops to $220 to shop 4 luxury car dealerships (and got to test drive brand new BMW,Lexus,Mercedes and Cadillac autos).

I like the fact you can pick and choose from the many shop emails I got from the companies. The best advice I can provide is to try and conduct several similar shops in the same area one the same day to minimize your own expense (gas). I once completed 10 gas station shops in one day in one town nearby, and earned $150 in fees, plus they paid for a gallon of gas at each shop. I came home with more gas than I started with! Another time, I shopped 3 different stores at the same mall on the same day.

Overall it's been an enjoyable experience, and I would recommend mystery shopping to anyone with the time to complete multiple shops at a time (students, retirees, self employed, homemakers, etc.).