Ive made 19 dollars in the last week. Going to the Bahamas on that next week! Stretching those dollars.

Going to the Bahamas during Hurricane Season will get you a discounted rate.

I make squat! It's all about what makes me happy. Last year I made at least $ 100 a day. This year, I'm happy with enough money that pays the gas when I grocery shop.

Asking what we make is beyond rude.

Like any profession it requires hard work, years of learning, and an investment of time. Education is not cheap.

I view mystery shopping as professional development and an investment in myself.

I would not recommend Mystery Shopping is worth changing careers. It is also important that shoppers understand its not as it easy as it sounds.

@Sybil2 wrote:

Going to the Bahamas during Hurricane Season will get you a discounted rate.

If I went in December 19 dollars wouldnt get me off the plane but now, forget it. Can get the penthouse suite and more!

@pinchers81 wrote:

People sign up with MF and GAPBuster, see a long list of jobs that pay 8 to 10 dollars, and immediately say that mystery shopping is stupid and pays nothing.

I would go as far as to say the majority of people who would consider mystery shopping as a source of income are impulsive, impatient, in need of instant gratification, and have little sense of how to approach a reasonably difficult problem with creativity and little to no handholding. These people are simply not cut out to work for themselves and would be wasting their time if they tried.

@ af517

That's interesting. Why would you say something like that?

It all depends on how you look at it.

Example I did 2 pizza shops last night.
I would right it out in my log as $8 reimbursement and $10 fee
So last night I made $20 in profit.

This weekend, I did a route of video shops for $225 plus $175 for travel. Out of travel, I was able to rent a car and hotel to stay over night. So I made $225....in mind plus whatever is left over from travel.

I count grocery as simply reimbursement because I always go over. I've got 2 grocery shops with $12 reimbursement and $5 fee. To me that's just $34. I will pay with a credit card and pay the credit card when I get the reimbursement.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

That's interesting. Why would you say something like that?

The fact that someone would start a thread like this, demand to know how much money people are making and declare that they will refuse to believe any answer that doesn't fit their preconceived assumptions gives us some information about the state of the potential shopper pool. Rudeness, entitlement, lack of professionalism, presumption, and the expectation of having one's hand held are not qualities typically found among successful self-starters.

@af517 wrote:

@Shop-et-al wrote:

That's interesting. Why would you say something like that?

The fact that someone would start a thread like this, demand to know how much money people are making and declare that they will refuse to believe any answer that doesn't fit their preconceived assumptions gives us some information about the state of the potential shopper pool. Rudeness, entitlement, lack of professionalism, presumption, and the expectation of having one's hand held are not qualities typically found among successful self-starters.

@af517 wrote:

@Shop-et-al wrote:

That's interesting. Why would you say something like that?

The fact that someone would start a thread like this, demand to know how much money people are making and declare that they will refuse to believe any answer that doesn't fit their preconceived assumptions gives us some information about the state of the potential shopper pool. Rudeness, entitlement, lack of professionalism, presumption, and the expectation of having one's hand held are not qualities typically found among successful self-starters.

The potential shopper pool is more than this one OP... I hope.

After being involved in two different forums over the course of my seven or eight years shopping, there are many, many more "potential shoppers" like the OP than there are contributing members on this forum. It would not surprise me to find out 95% of the people who start can't make it beyond the first shop.

I can believe that 95% of the people who try this decide they don't care for it and quit but I don't believe 95% can't get through the first shop. This is not hard, it's just complex. There's a lot to learn and it takes some time but it's not complicated. I believe we lose shoppers mainly because they have problems making the transition from closely supervised employee to being almost entirely on their own.

I would be interested to know the percentage of successful shoppers who have been self employed or ran a small business before.

Good thinking! Do the shopper conferences and training sessions include something on business management?

Yes, the IMSC conferences often have seminars on technology improvements/enhancements (not even counting video and digital voice recording ideas!) for shopper efficiency, how to plan and manage routes, negotiating with MSCs, relations with editors and schedulers, tax planning and management, time management, marketing yourself to MSCs and scheduling companies, and plans to grow your MS business. I always pick up new applications and tech info that makes me more efficient and that's also where I learned how to graduate to route shopping, as well as established face-to-face contacts with many MSC managers, schedulers and editors. And for those who are into motivational speakers/coaches, there is always such a speaker. (Not my dish of tea, but others really have loved these.)

@kiki125 wrote:

Funny, I also hear about all this big money being made mystery shopping but I am signed up on several sites and no one could make a living with the shops that are in my area & I live in very large city. How do you make a living getting a free sandwich or a free oil change? Sure it's nice but you can't do that everyday & that doesn't pay the rent. And a lot of these companies limit you on how many you can do. Maybe things are different back east or in the mid-west but I find it extremely hard to believe that you could live this rich lifestyle being a Mystery Shopper full time. I know the amount of work that goes into being one & don't get how getting a $10 shop for a couple of hours of your time is making people so rich.

I have to agree with you. I won't say it can't be done, but I don't see how it could be done in my area. I simply do not see that type of shops offered and I have been doing this since 2006.

Kiki
No one can make a living with just "several sites." Shoppers who sign up with 150+ sites and work their way up can and do make a living out of this. It may take a year or so, and you may have to add video to your tool kit, but it is being done. And, you will need to learn to make very profitable routes and negotiate bonuses. A local friend of mine just did 4 rural credit union shops for $125 a pop, plus mileage, in one day. He has been a shopper for about 8 months, but he read the forums and followed the advice of those who make a profession of this.

I was doing close to $1000 a month with convenience stores and grocery shops. Then they got stopped by the MSC's and now I'm down to maybe $100/month if lucky! There's not that many shops for ANYTHING in my area and the ones that are, are $10 shop fees with no reimbursement and 25 miles round trip. Not worth it. I'm hoping somebody picks up more of the convenience stores or other kinds of shops closer to me soon. I miss that extra $!

@ lawaangel, you need to spread your wings and venture out into different types of shops. And sign up for more MSCs.

@MDavisnowell wrote:

I believe we lose shoppers mainly because they have problems making the transition from closely supervised employee to being almost entirely on their own.

I have long believed that on top of good independant business management skills, there is another quality that makes great shoppers; It's a personality type. Long-term shoppers seem to share a love of completing tasks, filling in the blanks, solving puzzles, etc.

Is there any one of you regular shoppers that hasn't cracked a smile when you have shop X scheduled for noon, shop Z scheduled for the evening and run across shop Y, geographical located between X & Z and needing an afternoon visit?

When I worked as a scheduler, I signed up a lot of people, and many friends, to mystery shop. If I had a great shop with no shoppers available, but new someone that lived in the area, I'd contact them. These were often very successful independent business owners, lifetime contract workers, and highly educated people. Many friends approached me for work as well. Absolutely NONE of the friends still shop. Most came back to me after the first shop and said, "How do you do it?"

They were all perfectly capable of the work. It was mainly either uninteresting or too difficult for them, considering the payback. Some did like like the drink limitations on dinner shops. Other did not like the requirement to be punctual. A few did not like having a dress code. There are so many reasons why people may not make a good mystery shoppers, but some us are just the right shape for that hole....

For me, mystery shopping is like honey. I love honey!

And I remember an old saying: If you find honey, eat just a little of it.

For now, it is good for me to have revenue from several jobs. Each job is like a little honey.

Perhaps someday I will want more in this business.

I am making less this summer because I am not driving as much due to the heat. My car does not have ac so I have to stay closer to home. Houston is an option once a month for me when I rent a car. I utilize the week-end rate which allows me to rent a car for $40. I know there are some who claim to make $$$ but I can guarantee they travel and travel far from home.

@wiseshopper wrote:

I know there are some who claim to make $$$ but I can guarantee they travel and travel far from home.

I disagree with you. I am making very good money for working this as a part-time business. I don't have the luxury of traveling far from home or doing video shops due to a FT job during the week. I barely work for MF and other low-paying companies and I don't eat FF.

Any reimbursement shops I perform almost always have some sort of shopper fee instead of reimbursement only. My "purchase only" shops are for items that I normally buy on my own like skincare, car wash and massage so I am "saving" my own money by performing these shops.

I ALWAYS pay by various credit cards depending on which one gives me the best rewards points in a particular category. I only pay with cash or debit card when required by the guidelines or the store purchase minimum. I save all my rewards points for a year, deposit the cash into my checking account for an extra 10% bonus then spend it all on splurge items on Cyber Monday!

wiseshopper. I have to disagree somewhat. I do well on a part time basis supplementing other income. My day to day expenses are not large as I do not have a family to support but I do live in a large home that requires a lot of maintenance and my prescription expense is impressive. Doing this I'm able to cover all my expenses except property taxes and insurance and I consider that to be a healthy sum to be realized from flexible part time work.

If you are trying to support a family and you are living in a high cost area I can see where this would not cut it as a sole source of income but I think expenses around Houston would be similar to expenses around Fort Worth where I am. I believe anyone who expects to make what I consider a living wage (over $50,000 net) from this has to work at it full time and spend time on the road. Even with my modest needs I cannot shop locally and get it done.

The problem is that this work is not really designed to be full time and those who have made it work as their only source of substantial income are among the most elite of shoppers. It can be done, but not by the ordinary among us. On the other hand, it is a great source of supplemental income.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

Long-term shoppers seem to share a love of completing tasks, filling in the blanks, solving puzzles, etc.

Is there any one of you regular shoppers that hasn't cracked a smile when you have shop X scheduled for noon, shop Z scheduled for the evening and run across shop Y, geographical located between X & Z and needing an afternoon visit?

Spot-on observation.

I live in a large area, but that said, there are a lot of mystery shoppers here as well. I started twelve years ago and have built up a large number of companies, about 100. I probably work regularly for 20. I just want to earn enough to pay for my health insurance, which I do. I earn about 600.00 per month, part time.

@jake103 wrote:

The point is not to agonize over how much you "might" make, just get out there, get some free stuff and some free meals and have fun. Hate to see whiners lurking around the board but can't get their feet wet because they fear they won't make "enough". Sounds like that person needs job security, and there ain't none here. MS is for people who love it. We don't have bosses and we choose how to use our time and energy. It's all about being creative, which would not apply to most nine to five jobs. Like Camelliac, I travel and live in campgrounds. I have no mortgage. You have to be creative to survive in this country. Stop waiting for things to be handed to you and get off your a**, Billy!

Some people confuse money with value. If you can go to the beach and stop at a fast food, casual dinning restaurant or convenience store for lunch and eat it on the beach and you get shops along the way that is like picking up a $10 bill on the sidewalk so you can buy gas it is better than sticking your hand in your pocket.

Now you are at the beach and instead of doing crossword puzzles under the umbrella you are doing reports. Crossword puzzles do not pay you a dime. You get oil changes and you go to all kinds of restaurants and do many shops that makes a retired person like me stay sharp.

I relied on feedback when I built several successful businesses. I am glad I can pay forward. I especially liked the feedback that said "you are crazy", "That will never work" It was music to my ears. I was hearing "Gee I wish I thought of that first" because the solutions I created helped people.

Do I need the money? Tell me you would not bend down and pick up a $10 bill on the street. it is found money.

@jake103 wrote:

The point is not to agonize over how much you "might" make, just get out there, get some free stuff and some free meals and have fun. Hate to see whiners lurking around the board but can't get their feet wet because they fear they won't make "enough". Sounds like that person needs job security, and there ain't none here. MS is for people who love it. We don't have bosses and we choose how to use our time and energy. It's all about being creative, which would not apply to most nine to five jobs. Like Camelliac, I travel and live in campgrounds. I have no mortgage. You have to be creative to survive in this country. Stop waiting for things to be handed to you and get off your a**, Billy!

Some people confuse money with value. If you can go to the beach and stop at a fast food, casual dinning restaurant or convenience store for lunch and eat it on the beach and you get shops along the way that is like picking up a $10 bill on the sidewalk so you can buy gas it is better than sticking your hand in your pocket.

Now you are at the beach and instead of doing crossword puzzles under the umbrella you are doing reports. Crossword puzzles do not pay you a dime. You get oil changes and you go to all kinds of restaurants and do many shops that makes a retired person like me stay sharp.

I relied on feedback when I built several successful businesses. I am glad I can pay forward. I especially liked the feedback that said "you are crazy", "That will never work" It was music to my ears. I was hearing "Gee I wish I thought of that first" because the solutions I created helped people.

Do I need the money? Tell me you would not bend down and pick up a $10 bill on the street. it is found money.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I have long believed that on top of good independant business management skills, there is another quality that makes great shoppers; It's a personality type. Long-term shoppers seem to share a love of completing tasks, filling in the blanks, solving puzzles, etc.

Is there any one of you regular shoppers that hasn't cracked a smile when you have shop X scheduled for noon, shop Z scheduled for the evening and run across shop Y, geographical located between X & Z and needing an afternoon visit?

When I worked as a scheduler, I signed up a lot of people, and many friends, to mystery shop. If I had a great shop with no shoppers available, but new someone that lived in the area, I'd contact them. These were often very successful independent business owners, lifetime contract workers, and highly educated people. Many friends approached me for work as well. Absolutely NONE of the friends still shop. Most came back to me after the first shop and said, "How do you do it?"

They were all perfectly capable of the work. It was mainly either uninteresting or too difficult for them, considering the payback. Some did like like the drink limitations on dinner shops. Other did not like the requirement to be punctual. A few did not like having a dress code. There are so many reasons why people may not make a good mystery shoppers, but some us are just the right shape for that hole....

hahaha did I write this? My best friend finally took one shop for me (as a favor as the MSC who had sent us on some pretty amazing trips). She did a great job, but was sooooo slow to write the report. She hated it.

She calls me the Queen of Stacking Shops. I will wipe out an area so fast, it's crazy.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2015 02:52AM by SoCalMama.