Not being able to discuss who shops whom is a real pain in the butt.
And it's a real pleasure to read "whom" used properly!
I have mentored a few people. Usually I just ask the MSC, as many of them even PAY for referrals -- and no better way to get a referral than to say "I know you enjoy going to the Aquarium. If you signed up with XXX company, you could go for free". And that particular company DOES pay a referral fee!
I have mentored a few people. Usually I just ask the MSC, as many of them even PAY for referrals -- and no better way to get a referral than to say "I know you enjoy going to the Aquarium. If you signed up with XXX company, you could go for free". And that particular company DOES pay a referral fee!
its not free. u have to write detailed & often lengthy report. u are being paid for your time & report. reimbursed is better word than free.@ceasesmith wrote:
I have mentored a few people. Usually I just ask the MSC, as many of them even PAY for referrals -- and no better way to get a referral than to say "I know you enjoy going to the Aquarium. If you signed up with XXX company, you could go for free". And that particular company DOES pay a referral fee!
having password to this forum really doesnt mean anything. its a public forum visited by many scammers among other undesirables.@ShopWhisperer wrote:
There are so many more shops I could do if only I knew who shops them. So many more friends who could be recruited, too. We should be able to tell friends and family we are recruiting who shops whom. I don't see why we couldn't discuss such things in password-protected forums. It's so frustrating!
Is signing up for every last MSC the only way!?
why is signing up w/many mscs that can increase earning potential such a burden for some. i dont get it. instead of vegging out in front of tv u can have tv on in background while u sign up for more mscs. multitasking.
Out of the 100s (?) of MSC I've signed up for maybe 6 have shops reliably in my area. Six companies. Tell me how it's been a valuable use of my time to sign up for 100s? AND GIVE MY SSN to 100s of companies that will never use me for work but in order to find out if I can work for them I have to sign up. This isn't about being lazy it's about being efficient and wanting to guard your private information. If I knew who shopped the stores in my areas I could target my sign-ups and my safeguard my identity.
If only life could be perfect.
The problem with the theory of wanting to know what local places are shopped? It changes! Companies do contracts, contracts run their course, and someone else picks it up.
Then there's the occasional shop - someplace only shopped maybe once a year? Or a big push with one company over a three-month period.
Also, recruiting friends and family to become competition isn't exactly smart. If they live outside a 100 mile radius, maybe, but I've actually shopped on visits to relatives, so maybe not.
The problem with the theory of wanting to know what local places are shopped? It changes! Companies do contracts, contracts run their course, and someone else picks it up.
Then there's the occasional shop - someplace only shopped maybe once a year? Or a big push with one company over a three-month period.
Also, recruiting friends and family to become competition isn't exactly smart. If they live outside a 100 mile radius, maybe, but I've actually shopped on visits to relatives, so maybe not.
@margovt, Use the aggregator job sites to find MSCs in your area. There's a job board by geographic area on the forum, Jobslinger, PrestoMaps, [www.msjobboard.com], etc.
It's a matter of preference whether or not to refer friends to MSing. There are so many shops in my area that it would take a ton of referrals for me to feel any effect, but admittedly, I only do this PT. Another reason referrals don't bother me is looking at the youtubers -- that's our competition. They make us look like geniuses
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2017 04:14PM by ChrisCooper.
It's a matter of preference whether or not to refer friends to MSing. There are so many shops in my area that it would take a ton of referrals for me to feel any effect, but admittedly, I only do this PT. Another reason referrals don't bother me is looking at the youtubers -- that's our competition. They make us look like geniuses
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2017 04:14PM by ChrisCooper.
It is not a surprise after only a few months you haven't seen a lot of shops yet. Out of the 150 MSCs I've signed with over nine years, at least 60% have resulted in work at one time or another. Many MSCs provide the option to defer giving your SSN until you actually perform shops.
The point of signing with a lot of companies is to have the broadest base of potential shops. Many of us can attest to being registered for several years then being pleasantly surprised when a MSC gets a new client or has a special project. In the early days there are options for targeting companies. Sign up with all of the aggregate job boards to see which MSCs currently have work in your area. With few exceptions, registrations take a couple of minutes so even signing with 100 companies can be done in several hours. Spread out over a month it would be less than an hour a week.
The point of signing with a lot of companies is to have the broadest base of potential shops. Many of us can attest to being registered for several years then being pleasantly surprised when a MSC gets a new client or has a special project. In the early days there are options for targeting companies. Sign up with all of the aggregate job boards to see which MSCs currently have work in your area. With few exceptions, registrations take a couple of minutes so even signing with 100 companies can be done in several hours. Spread out over a month it would be less than an hour a week.
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.
"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.
Good points lamme. It appears MSCs have annual contracts with clients. Any big changes in guidelines, clients changing MSCs usually happen in Jan and Feb. Most fees are below minimum wage when driving, shop time and report time are considered. Bonuses and incentives are used towards the end of the month. It's a sad reality - more shoppers mean less bonuses. Average bonuses only raise the pay level for a shopper to make a modest income. Don't forget the self employment tax on any income.
Jobslinger plus gives you easy access to signing up with many sassie companies. One month free is all it takes.
I picked up a very nice and lucrative long-term project with a company that is doing comparison shopping. There is no way they would be advertising who/where they shop.
I picked up a very nice and lucrative long-term project with a company that is doing comparison shopping. There is no way they would be advertising who/where they shop.
As a self-employed business owner, think of it this way... if you were in a different industry, let’s say you’re a self-employed contractor as an electrician for home builders and general contractors for home improvements. Do you think your fellow competitors (electricians) will openly GIVE you their sources and contacts for work? Sure some will trade each other’s work, but as a general part often seen in likely all IC agreements we sign in THIS industry, we’re not allowed to do that anyways, without breaking our agreements.
Very infrequently shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado these days.
Not being able to say who shops whom (or is it whom shops who?) hasn't bothered me at all.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
Funny how it's always the receiver of information that complains about the policy. Those who have the information never seem to complain much.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
Thank goodness for the aggregators. I agree that does make it much more doable. I also understand the reasons for restrictions. All of the explanations don't really make it less of a PIA from a shoppers point of view.
To the OP, depending on your concentration of shops you may or may not want to recruit competition. With my area I have only reached out to my DIL and only her because they need the money more than I do, otherwise I'm not sharing my small market!
To the OP, depending on your concentration of shops you may or may not want to recruit competition. With my area I have only reached out to my DIL and only her because they need the money more than I do, otherwise I'm not sharing my small market!
I might sound selfish, but I am not willing to give out information about the companies in my area to friends and family. Tarantado stated, we don't need the competition. There are few shoppers used at some of the shops in my area, why would I want to give them away to someone else. I have built up my own shopping business by signing up with many MCs, being reliable, having the education that took years to properly know what each MC wants in a report. This is why I am not willing to give out the information to anyone no matter where they live and shop. I would assume most of the shoppers would feel the same way. What do you think?
I have an acquaintance that lives in a town 70 miles from me. The town has very few shoppers, so once a month I make the drive, and pick up an easy $200 - $250 in a couple hours. The acquaintance is upset that I won't give her the list of companies I work with. She doesn't understand that if I did, she would take them at base pay and make 50 bucks, and I make five times that on the same shops......They live more lavishly than me, but I told her I'd be better off continuing the shops, and mailing her a check for $50 if she really needs the money!
I actually have an MS friend in this town. She and I are both signed up with most of the major MSCs (I might have a few more in my cache than she does). We are also both merchandisers. Anyway, if I am busy and I see something juicy, I send her a quick text and she does the same for me. As far as other people go, nope. My husband's cousin who lives in a town about 15 miles from me wanted to get into MSing and wanted me to give her a list of MSCs who do shops and I said no. Why? Because she had a job making $60k a year and didn't need the money. My neighbor wanted to do some shops around here and wanted me to recommend some locations to her, and again, I said no, because both she and her husband have good jobs and because her English skills are mediocre at best. Love her to death as a friend, but would not feel comfortable recommending her and then having her write reports that are not up to par.
As far as sharing who shops who on the forum, I just go with the flow and the rules, and it doesn't bother me one bit. There is a way to find out enough information to narrow it down if someone is careful about wording.
As far as sharing who shops who on the forum, I just go with the flow and the rules, and it doesn't bother me one bit. There is a way to find out enough information to narrow it down if someone is careful about wording.
OCyou2 the best way to prevent this is to not tell acquaintances. I bet you wish you didn't. If you told her that you would mail her a check, is she/he still speaking to you?
OCyou2, if she's just an acquaintance, I guess she is going to remain in that status with that attitude!
Yes! In my early years, I was excited and told a few people what I did....now I don't tell anybody except of course my wife and kids, for exactly this reason.........The acquaintance doesn't really get it, but after a break, she speaks to me again.
Edit to add: Also in my early years this was a side gig, now it's my primary income!
Edit to add: Also in my early years this was a side gig, now it's my primary income!
If a potential shopper has to ask you for a list of MSCs rather than finding the names themselves, that person is not a threat to you. They have already proved that they don’t have the motivation it takes to be an MSer. If they were truly interested, they would have googled mystery shopping, found some MSCs and this forum, and been well on their way to earning money.
Anyone who needs to be hand-fed information will not be able to track their shops, stay in touch with schedulers, and will blame the editors when they themselves submit shoddy reports. They will become the one-hit wonders who sign up on the forum to complain, and then disappear before the first reply is posted.
MSing is not for everyone. Most folks don't like not having a set schedule, juggling multiple job boards, writing detailed reports, honoring the time commitments they make, etc. Anyone who can't figure out how to get started in this career once they know it's legit, is not cut out for this career. They might take one or two shops from you, but most likely will not stick with it because they need too much hand-holding.
Anyone who needs to be hand-fed information will not be able to track their shops, stay in touch with schedulers, and will blame the editors when they themselves submit shoddy reports. They will become the one-hit wonders who sign up on the forum to complain, and then disappear before the first reply is posted.
MSing is not for everyone. Most folks don't like not having a set schedule, juggling multiple job boards, writing detailed reports, honoring the time commitments they make, etc. Anyone who can't figure out how to get started in this career once they know it's legit, is not cut out for this career. They might take one or two shops from you, but most likely will not stick with it because they need too much hand-holding.
@ChrisCooper Very true words. You can't recruit just anyone to MSing. It's crazy hard to get started and actually be successful. Most folks aren't going to try this hard.
You forgot one other person that could get blamed: you. You told them to sign up with blah blah blah company and their report got rejected so it's YOUR fault for recommending the MSC (nevermind that they turned the shop in late or missed a guideline requirement).
@MSNinja wrote:
having password to this forum really doesnt mean anything. its a public forum visited by many scammers among other undesirables.@ShopWhisperer wrote:
There are so many more shops I could do if only I knew who shops them. So many more friends who could be recruited, too. We should be able to tell friends and family we are recruiting who shops whom. I don't see why we couldn't discuss such things in password-protected forums. It's so frustrating!
Is signing up for every last MSC the only way!?
why is signing up w/many mscs that can increase earning potential such a burden for some. i dont get it. instead of vegging out in front of tv u can have tv on in background while u sign up for more mscs. multitasking.
Having a password blocks bots and spiders like google, so the content is not available by web search. You have to sign up to view the info, and for 99% of the people, that info will be useful.
I assume they don't disclose to protect their clients from being poached, and also to prevent their clients' employees from signing up with the MSC to learn the shop requirements and schedules. Although that's valid, someone who really wants that info will find a way to get it.
Signing up for a zillion MSCs means getting a hundred zillion emails. There are so many companies I've signed up with that I've never worked with. Waste of my time. I don't have a TV to veg out with. I would rather hear that XYZ shops ABC restaurant and just sign up with them. Easy peasy.
@Iamme wrote:
If only life could be perfect.
The problem with the theory of wanting to know what local places are shopped? It changes! Companies do contracts, contracts run their course, and someone else picks it up.
That's actually a big reason why secrecy hurts us. How many times have changes left you out of the loop? Wouldn't it be great to ask who got the client so you can keep shopping?
@Iamme wrote:
there's the occasional shop - someplace only shopped maybe once a year? Or a big push with one company over a three-month period.
Also, recruiting friends and family to become competition isn't exactly smart. If they live outside a 100 mile radius, maybe, but I've actually shopped on visits to relatives, so maybe not.
My friend and I will do 2-person shops together, so win for me because I haven't done those since a relative flaked on me. Also he'll pick up shops I can't due to rotation. He's more able to travel than I am, so he's not taking anything from me.
@ShopWhisperer wrote:
Having a password blocks bots and spiders like google, so the content is not available by web search. You have to sign up to view the info, and for 99% of the people, that info will be useful.
I assume they don't disclose to protect their clients from being poached, and also to prevent their clients' employees from signing up with the MSC to learn the shop requirements and schedules. Although that's valid, someone who really wants that info will find a way to get it.
Signing up for a zillion MSCs means getting a hundred zillion emails. There are so many companies I've signed up with that I've never worked with. Waste of my time. I don't have a TV to veg out with. I would rather hear that XYZ shops ABC restaurant and just sign up with them. Easy peasy.
A lot of us take our work seriously. Why should we provide leads for this work, especially to the really lucrative work we had to find on our own and contacts we had to work our way to find and build relationships with?
Again, it's like a small business owner asking a competitor in the same industry, "Can you tell me which company has work for me?" Is that how it works in other industries? If so, which industries, because I'm interested in diversifying if I can easily obtain clients like that.
Very infrequently shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado these days.
@LisaSTL wrote:
It is not a surprise after only a few months you haven't seen a lot of shops yet. Out of the 150 MSCs I've signed with over nine years, at least 60% have resulted in work at one time or another. Many MSCs provide the option to defer giving your SSN until you actually perform shops.
The point of signing with a lot of companies is to have the broadest base of potential shops. Many of us can attest to being registered for several years then being pleasantly surprised when a MSC gets a new client or has a special project. In the early days there are options for targeting companies. Sign up with all of the aggregate job boards to see which MSCs currently have work in your area. With few exceptions, registrations take a couple of minutes so even signing with 100 companies can be done in several hours. Spread out over a month it would be less than an hour a week.
For the record, I've been MSing about five, maybe six years, part time. Signed up with a ton of companies, but seldom shop most of them. I've looked at some aggregate boards recently and they all seem to be either automotive or financial. I like the theory but eventually there will be 100 aggregate boards to check, lol.
I do like isecretshop, and I've signed up with a few new companies and done some new shops. That is probably the best way to easily find who shops whom.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2017 10:02PM by ShopWhisperer.
@JASFLALMT wrote:
You forgot one other person that could get blamed: you. You told them to sign up with blah blah blah company and their report got rejected so it's YOUR fault for recommending the MSC (nevermind that they turned the shop in late or missed a guideline requirement).
Are you sure about this? I just read where a MSC said they welcome referrals and they don't hold you accountable for the person's performance. I don't think after the initial signup they would connect you and the other person and fault you. People signing up don't even need your permission to write your name down as a referral. This might be a good topic for another thread, and maybe a MSC rep can chime in.
First, there is no way you are signed up with "a ton" of MSCs and only seeing automotive and financial. My inbox is filled daily with a wide variety of shops.
How many times have changes left me out of the loop? That would exactly none. It seems to be more of a problem for shoppers who look for specific clients. I don't. I look for assignments worth my while, meaning the pay is commensurate with the work. If ABC client goes from one low paying MSC to another, it has no impact on my business.
@ShopWhisperer wrote:
@Iamme wrote:
The problem with the theory of wanting to know what local places are shopped? It changes! Companies do contracts, contracts run their course, and someone else picks it up.
That's actually a big reason why secrecy hurts us. How many times have changes left you out of the loop? Wouldn't it be great to ask who got the client so you can keep shopping?
How many times have changes left me out of the loop? That would exactly none. It seems to be more of a problem for shoppers who look for specific clients. I don't. I look for assignments worth my while, meaning the pay is commensurate with the work. If ABC client goes from one low paying MSC to another, it has no impact on my business.
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.
"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.
No, you misunderstood my post. Reread it. I am talking about the friend or acquaintance getting pissy because you (or me, or whoever) told them to sign up with blah blah company and they screwed it up and instead of owning up that they screwed it up they blamed it on the person who referred them. Usually we get people in here being mad at the company but it stands to reason a person who can't accept responsibility for their own failed actions would always shift the blame to somebody. So yeah, I am pretty sure about that.
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