@CharlieJ wrote:
#1 - So, of course my first question is about money... How much can I reasonably expect to make monthly in doing shops? YES, I know that depends on several factors. And, I realize no one wants to tell you what they make. But, is $1000/mth an unreasonable goal for doing shops in the Lumberton / Wilmington / Myrtle Beach area 3-4 days a week? $2000?
I don't know what shops are available in your area, but my opinion is that $1,000 a month may be a bit unrealistic. Do you plan on doing video shops? Are you willing to travel for shops?
#2 - How many hours a week do most of you put into this? Please break it down for me since it seems most have spreadsheets -- travel, "paperwork" (submission to MSCs), actual shops
Probably 20 to 30 hours a week for me. That includes reading guidelines, doing the onsite and completing the report.
#3 - What is the average payout for a shop? $5? $15? $50? Again, I know this depends on several factors. But, let's take it in categories -- like grocery, car (service or purchase inquiry), video, audit, gas station
I don't know the average. I would guesstimate about $15 if you're talking traditional mystery shops. $5 is a low fee. There are tons of shops that pay $10 or less. $60-$75 is on the high end, and are in shorter supply. Also have to factor in rotation restrictions.
#4 - I live in a rural area, so there's not a ton of businesses close to me. Is there a current list of companies that regularly use mystery shoppers?
At the bottom of this page, you will see a link to the Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies. You can start at the beginning, or you can read the forum to help you pick and choose.
#5 - Is MSPA certification important to MSCs?
No. Well, let me say very rarely.
#6 - I'm honestly not much of a talk-on-the-phone person. Can most of the communication with schedulers / MSCs be handled via email or text?
Most schedulers prefer email. In the past several months, I have been getting more and more texts. Generally, phone calls are made when there's a hot shop that needs to get booked.
#7- Are there aggregate sites for signing up for multiple MSCs? I'm assuming jobslinger.com and volition.com are aggregates. I don't want to sign up for too many and get all confused with the masses.
Jobslinger works. Volition is a forum.
#8 - I found an OLD thread that said not to use AOL.com for your email...five minutes after I setup a special email address for this venture. Is AOL still a no-go? I really don't want to use my yahoo or gmail addresses for this -- I'd like to keep everything separate.
I have seen mystery shopping companies warn against Yahoo, AOL, and Gmail. I have Yahoo and have no problems. You're smart to use an email account dedicated for mystery shopping. If you like Gmail or Yahoo, you can always create another account, with a different user name.
Hopefully, you've perused the New Mystery Shoppers section of the forum! [www.mysteryshopforum.com]
@CharlieJ wrote:
>>#1 - So, of course my first question is about money... How much can I reasonably expect to make monthly in doing shops? YES, I know that depends on several factors. And, I realize no one wants to tell you what they make. But, is $1000/mth an unreasonable goal for doing shops in the Lumberton / Wilmington / Myrtle Beach area 3-4 days a week? $2000?<<
It's very doable! You have to put the work in. Sign up with as many MSCs as you possible can. Scour the job boards frequently.
Click --> [www.mysteryshopforum.com];-- for the money.
clinen lives in a rural area. She can give you some insight.
#2 - How many hours a week do most of you put into this? Please break it down for me since it seems most have spreadsheets -- travel, "paperwork" (submission to MSCs), actual shops
When I was MSing full time, I worked about 20 hours a week, and rarely weekends. I made about $300 a week. I rarely did reimbursement shops. I focused on banks, auto and apartments. The low paying cell phone shops were fillers that put me over my threshold.
#3 - What is the average payout for a shop? $5? $15? $50? Again, I know this depends on several factors. But, let's take it in categories -- like grocery, car (service or purchase inquiry), video, audit, gas station
#4 - I live in a rural area, so there's not a ton of businesses close to me. Is there a current list of companies that regularly use mystery shoppers?
Sign up for as many MSCs as you can. Talk to clinen, as she lives in a rural area.
#5 - Is MSPA certification important to MSCs?
No
#6 - I'm honestly not much of a talk-on-the-phone person. Can most of the communication with schedulers / MSCs be handled via email or text?
Yes
#7- Are there aggregate sites for signing up for multiple MSCs? I'm assuming jobslinger.com and volition.com are aggregates. I don't want to sign up for too many and get all confused with the masses.
With the aggregates, by the time you see it, the jobs are gone. You are better off scouring the boards one at a time.
#8 - I found an OLD thread that said not to use AOL.com for your email...five minutes after I setup a special email address for this venture. Is AOL still a no-go? I really don't want to use my yahoo or gmail addresses for this -- I'd like to keep everything separate.
Create an account just for MSing. Use that for your PayPal account also. It doesn't matter which one. Check the spam folder regulerly.
That's about it for the short list right now. I've spent the entire day reading and learning and trying to get ahead of the curve. I know ONE day isn't going to make me an expert. But, getting some decent answers to these questions will give me a solid foundation as to whether I want to venture headlong, or not. Thank you for your advice and information. I see several of the members helping others. I hope you'll help me. It could make a real difference for me -- and I would be eternally grateful. Thank you and God bless!
CharlieJ
@bcriado wrote:
I'm new and trying to understand how this works - Is this the correct scenario? You are assigned by a scheduler whose client is a MSing Co. (does the process begin with registering with the MSing Co?)
Hello Bcriado, based on the three posts you wrote in this thread you seem to have gotten off to a bad start on the seven shops you mentioned in 8 days. But what you described in this post sounds about right. Getting to the end of your post (which I have shortened) most of the time after you submit a report you will not hear back from anyone. If there is a question or some sort of error you will hear back but if your report has no issues no one will contact you. A few msc I am signed with will send an email thanking me for a good report but most do not. Some msc (msing co) give a rating on each report you submit. Some do not advertise the rating if there is one. If you check your page with the msc you will see the rating your report has gotten. This can take anywhere from a day to usually not more than a week to show up.
If you still have questions it might be a good idea to start your own thread with your issues. I am not sure if there is some way to have your posts in this thread transferred to a new thread so it does not interfere with the questions posed by CharileJ.