Living wage?

Does anyone do this full time and make a living off of it? I have been doing this for about 4 months now, part-time, averaging $500 a month (I probably invest about 8-10 hours a week). I was wondering if I devoted more of my time, if it would pay off in the end. I'm starting to get better paying assignments,and it's making better use of my time. Any tips for a newbie? So far I am probably signed up with 25-30 MSP's. I sign up for as many as I can in my down time.

Thanks in advance!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2017 12:57AM by chicks1225.

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

Judging from your title, I'm going to hazard a guess that you will have a difficult time meeting the level you want in the time you're willing to spend. It takes years to develop the relationships required to make the same living you would as, say, a government employee. Many shoppers invest those years for reasons other than financial.

"Let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you - and why?” ~Walter Williams

I see. Thanks. I wouldn't expect to live the high life, so to speak. But enough to pay rent, and some other bills. I could supplement my income in other ways. I should have clarified. I completely understand the time it would take to build those relationships.

It all depends on where you live and what your competition is. If your rent is $600/mo, yeah, you could easily do that with just Trendsource, Market Force, or Ipsos. If your rent is $2,000/mo, it's going to be more difficult. Don't knock the high life ;-). That's one of the big draws of mystery shopping - living off someone else's dime. My (probably not as sage as others') advice is to keep your day job until you're MSing more than you're headed to work.

You're definitely on the right track with signing up with more and more MSCs. There are plenty of posts on this forum of folks making $1,000+ per month. Many folks on here do this as a living and profitably. Have you taken a look at the New Mystery Shoppers section (link is at the bottom of every page)? Read through there and some of the other "pinned" posts for specific experiences from shoppers. I do this PT, so I can't speak from experience, but if you're willing, the work is there to be done. Make friends with the schedulers :-)

I have always done this part time. My highest month of fees was $1,100 and it was a lot of work. I had to go beyond my normal area, to do it. I think it can be done, but it will take a lot of time and probably some travel, doing routes, even small routes. I would recommend you sign up with a LOT more companies. I know there are people that are signed up with over 200 or so MSCs.

One more thing, when I went to an area, I picked up some lower paying shops, just because I was already there and there would be little to no extra mileage. I basically took some shops, that I would not normally take, as fillers. That really helps with routes and making them more profitable.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2017 01:42PM by spaztck.

What do you consider a living wage? I do this full time and live comfortably. I also live in a low cost of living area. I could not afford to live in manhattan.

Edit to add:
Thank you for asking the question in this way. Many people with the same quesrions tend to ask how much we make instead of is it possible.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2017 02:30PM by bgriffin.

Sounds good. Thank you!

@ChrisCooper wrote:

You're definitely on the right track with signing up with more and more MSCs. There are plenty of posts on this forum of folks making $1,000+ per month. Many folks on here do this as a living and profitably. Have you taken a look at the New Mystery Shoppers section (link is at the bottom of every page)? Read through there and some of the other "pinned" posts for specific experiences from shoppers. I do this PT, so I can't speak from experience, but if you're willing, the work is there to be done. Make friends with the schedulers :-)

Thank you! That's what I'm working toward. Trying to sign up with more and more everyday.

@bgriffin wrote:

What do you consider a living wage? I do this full time and live comfortably. I also live in a low cost of living area. I could not afford to live in manhattan.

Edit to add:
Thank you for asking the question in this way. Many people with the same quesrions tend to ask how much we make instead of is it possible.

Thank you! I would like to do this full time, eventually. I know that will take time, but it would be nice to average about $15-$17 an hour...which is the lower end for me. I would need to supplement making that little, but I just wanted to know if it was possible. I average out the time I spend on everything, and the amount I am getting paid, and it seems that $15-$17 is a reasonable number.

Absolutely. If you extrapolate that out to a 2000 hour work year that's $34,000 a year. Depending on your area that might require some travel and/or video.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

You may need to adjust your thinking when it comes to how much you need. "Full time" is a misnomer when it comes to this business. Nobody can count on 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year and there is no such thing as paid vacation, sick leave or benefits. Instead you need to look at your expenses, both business and personal, to set some monthly and yearly goals. Don't forget to include taxes and ongoing expenses for things like training, travel and equipment you may want to invest in to increase your income.

The best thing you can do now is continue to add new companies while monitoring what is generally available. As you look at shops keep in mind rotations that will limit your future earnings. For instance, over a few months you see 100 apartment shops through Ellis that could earn you $3,500 to $6,000. While the potential of $1,100 to $2,000 a month will be great, you will not be able to complete those shops again for 18 months.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

You might also want to look into merchandising. That's something else that you can do part time that pays much better than minimum wage (in most cases). I do both and it works quite well for me.

I did this for five months full time as my only source of income and it was definitely lucrative but I was stressed to the nines. Now I do it part time along with a grad school course. Yes, you can do it full time, but it does become harder if you travel when you have a family. I did say harder--not impossible.

You can do 8-4 and make out pretty good but I find there's money to be had all hours of the day...particularly later in the evening near closing time of some places. No one wants to really be out late and I can make $50-$100 on a late night shop...

Now, I also make extra money reselling items I get while shopping, and I have a little craft shop online. I'm in many baskets. ehhhhhhh work it, and it will work for you.

MegglesKat

@LisaSTL wrote:

You may need to adjust your thinking when it comes to how much you need. "Full time" is a misnomer when it comes to this business. Nobody can count on 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year and there is no such thing as paid vacation, sick leave or benefits. Instead you need to look at your expenses, both business and personal, to set some monthly and yearly goals. Don't forget to include taxes and ongoing expenses for things like training, travel and equipment you may want to invest in to increase your income.

The best thing you can do now is continue to add new companies while monitoring what is generally available. As you look at shops keep in mind rotations that will limit your future earnings. For instance, over a few months you see 100 apartment shops through Ellis that could earn you $3,500 to $6,000. While the potential of $1,100 to $2,000 a month will be great, you will not be able to complete those shops again for 18 months.

Great advice. Thank you!

@JASFLALMT wrote:

You might also want to look into merchandising. That's something else that you can do part time that pays much better than minimum wage (in most cases). I do both and it works quite well for me.

What companies would offer something like this? I just purchased an ipad because I would like to start doing audit shops

You also have to consider the rule of declining returns when you double or triple your current workload. Right now, you may have the option to focus on the best paying assignments, but as the list of available shops gets shorter, you ma be forced to take less lucrative assignments in order to be working more. Doubling your workload doesn't always result in doubling your pay!

On the flip side, you may find your expenses actually get lower if you are MSing full time. A lot of expenses for food, oil changes, carpet cleaning and such are negated by the work.

chicks, there is a merchandising section on this forum. Acosta and Advantage are two well-known companies that start out paying around $10.25+ an hour (as an employee) for part-time work and you might be able to start out higher if you have retail experience. There are many more companies such as SPAR, Focus on Service, etc. There is a website called World Alliance where you can register your profile and companies will contact you. I think they also have a job board where you can look for jobs in your area. I do a lot of grocery store resets because I really enjoy that in particular and they generally are an all day thing when they occur, but many merchandisers make shorter store visits to pharmacies for project work such as setting up displays, POP, and other tasks.

Depending on far your willing to go for work,and how hard you look for work, month to month will differ.
We may have to wait 3 month to re-do a shop, so the hussle begins. Many here make a decent living
many work for perks, restaurants and such with reimbursement. Remembering if this is your full and only job,
you have no health Ins., retirement and future income. I see this for myself as part time, being able to pick and choose, bring in a few hundred dollars, free groceries and pride of being productive and helping business along the way. Working on my own from home is my biggest plus also, age is not a major factor. Decide what you need, everyone here has different needs. I have learned so much doing this, getting a steady monthly paycheck
not so sure unless you do routes, or learn Video, which pays much better than straight MSing.

Live consciously....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2017 04:11PM by Irene_L.A..

Are you clearing $500 a month in fees? I can do $500 total a month, but half is reimbursement. That helps stretch my spending money. The only way I see being able to earn a living wage is to Video Shop plus take on comprehensive higher paying shops like car dealers. There are also route shops that incorporate several types of clients. Many of the best routes appear to be tied up by regulars. $10 shops may be good fillers but IMHO can not be the basis of doing this full time.

My posts are solely based on my opinions and for my entertainment, contact a professional if you need real advice.

When you get in debt you become a slave. - Andrew Jackson

@SteveSoCal wrote:

You also have to consider the rule of declining returns when you double or triple your current workload.

This. So much this. I was picking up 14-16 shops some days and stressing out about hitting my goals. At times, I was making $3k-$5k in a month but it was all I was doing and I was aggressive at it. Now, I can pick up $50-$250 shops depending on what they are, and only do a few each week. A couple days ago, I made roughly $400 on 3 shops. I spent just over two hours on them, but they were last minute and I have a good relationship with the scheduler who made some exceptions to get me those shops. Today, I broke my 2 shop a day rule again but 2 of them are for pizzas and one is a phone shop. The pizzas are $25 each, and phone is $75. So, I'll make an extra $125 and be the favorite person at work because I brought pizza... FOR EVERYONE!

MegglesKat

@JASFLALMT wrote:

chicks, there is a merchandising section on this forum. Acosta and Advantage are two well-known companies that start out paying around $10.25+ an hour (as an employee) for part-time work and you might be able to start out higher if you have retail experience. There are many more companies such as SPAR, Focus on Service, etc. There is a website called World Alliance where you can register your profile and companies will contact you. I think they also have a job board where you can look for jobs in your area. I do a lot of grocery store resets because I really enjoy that in particular and they generally are an all day thing when they occur, but many merchandisers make shorter store visits to pharmacies for project work such as setting up displays, POP, and other tasks.

Thank you for that info. I just recently purchased a tablet so I could start to do these. I appreciate the insight.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Living wage?

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine