I am receiving emails about a price check shops that require the use of an app to check between 44-300 items at a local retailer. Does anyone have experience with these shops? How time consuming are they? Would like to hear some experiences before I take plunge on one of these. Thanks.

TEN FOOT POLE LIST. I took one, and after an hour in the store, I realized that I had probably another 2-3 hours of work to complete the job. The pay was NOT worth that amount of time. That particular job said 200 items to check.

Depends on the shop. If they use the Missions app they aren't so bad, but make sure the pay rate is pretty good. They can be a grind.

Trendsource has one. Nope. Bare has one. Another nope.

I am reviewing a shop at a pet store that has 1000 items to check on the app. It is suggested that it will take 15hrs.
Is that reasonable?

I am reviewing a shop at a pet store that has 1000 items to check on the app. It is suggested that it will take 15hrs.
Is that reasonable

@Tommmmyt wrote:

I am reviewing a shop at a pet store that has 1000 items to check on the app. It is suggested that it will take 15hrs.
Is that reasonable

ONLY IF the pay STARTS at $300.00. Otherwise, RUN!!!!!

I did one this summer. I came back from the first day crying in pain after spending 6 hours at the store and knowing I had to go back the next day to finish. A call to the scheduler got me a substantial bonus, one without be asked because when she saw the actual number of items she bumped it and then when I called her to say that I had to enter the price, the sales price, AND the loyalty price and end of sale date for 2/3ds of the items, she pumped it up another $40.

With all the different prices I had to enter it came very close to 1,000 entries. If you can stand for hours, work the missions intelligently so you're not crisscrossing the store between items. AND the payment is at least $150 I would do it.

It is hard and tedious to type all the different numbers into the rights slots so many times. It also depends on what the items are. I did several for produce and after the first couple, you got in a groove and they went well. One I did in a sporting goods store where I had no idea what the items I was supposed to be pricing even were, was murder.

Any shop that has me typing tiny numbers into my phone all day is going to be on my ten foot pole list no matter what the pay is. More power to ya!

I've heard enough lol. I'm staying away from these shops

If you have the option to choose a specialty store, I would suggest you start there. With fewer aisles where you'll find many items located within a relatively small area, the store's layout and product lines will become more familiar making subsequent visits much easier. A good example are the milk line variations, i.e. whole, 2%, 1%, and non-fat in gallon and quart sizes for commercial and store brands. The app makes it easy to input and upload data, and there are no long reports to write when you get home.

While it may seem counterintuitive to go during busier days such as Fridays and Saturdays, you will blend in better as a shopper, and there is generally more help on the floor if you need assistance. Be careful not to ask for help too often as you may be spotted as a price shopper. On the downside, specialty stores will likely not carry all of the items you are charged to locate either because the store has discontinued the item, it's a new item that has not arrived at the store, it's the right product but a different size, or it never carried the item.

While not my favorite by a long shot, if you have a lot more time and patience then a big box store can offer a cardio workout as dry goods are always being moved around. Even in stationary departments like frozen, meat, and dairy, the product line seems to change frequently. In short, even repeat assignments in a big box store can be frustrating.

Regardless of whether you are at a specialty or big box store, be sure to ask your scheduler whether any variations are permitted as to flavor and size, or if you are only paid on items that are an exact match. If you're still standing after all this, then know that your scheduler likely will reach out to you to offer repeat and new store assignments putting you in a good position to request a "travel" bonus. Keep in mind that you can expand your business as there is generally more than one mystery shopping company which offers these recurring price check assignments.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2017 11:09AM by mom.for.hirehotmail.com.

Maybe if you could attach a scanner to your phone?! If not, you're making about $7.00 an hour.

I dunno, spicy, I think it might be lower when you factor in other stuff.

I am going to start a price audit tomorrow, using the Missions app. First timer, and while each item is 20 cents, there are 1400 items! I was wondering if I can use my phone's microphone, and speak the prices, instead of typing them. Or, I'll have to find some kind of "numeric keypad" app, because there's no way to get those numbers in easily, otherwise. I'm taking this on a lark, as it's the first job I've been offered. My only concern is that there's a deadline, and if something happens and I don't complete, I'll have wasted a lot of time!
(if this should be a new post, let me know...)

The Missions app allows you to enter prices as you go so there is really no need to record and transcribe later.

Those are pretty close to #1 on my 10' pole list. I did one and never again. Low pay for time required. Hard to find items on the list. No way you can be covert or look like a normal customer, even if you eventually make a purchase. Those shops are on my Never, Ever, Never list.

The only way to do these is to get permission from the store. You cannot go into a 2,000 square foot petsmart and stay for 9 hours and not be noticed. You may even get help finding the items if the employee is bored enough and you can pull off your best charismatic character.

The one that I did required that I be covert.

Yup, I know that, . mom.for.hirehotmail.com. I have an older Android phone, however, and the screen is pretty tiny and the keyboard that comes with the phone has only numbers across the top row and the keyboard is very tiny. I finally found an app, Google keyboard, that will give me a number pad that looks like the kind you have on the right hand side of your keyboard on a computer. I think that will make entering the prices a lot easier.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/2018 05:49AM by barbgraj.

@spicy1 wrote:

You cannot go into a 2,000 square foot petsmart and stay for 9 hours and not be noticed. You may even get help finding the items if the employee is bored enough and you can pull off your best charismatic character.

My strategy will be to go for an hour or two tomorrow, get the hang of the app, and then I have until the 19th to finish. So I can go to the store every day for a couple hours. I'm very fortunate that the place I'll be auditing is only a few minutes away. My goal would be to do 100 items an hour, 14 hours, and that would come to $280 or $20 an hour. For a first-timer, I suspect I'm being overly optimistic although the store really isn't that big.

Let us know how it goes!

@spicy1 wrote:

Let us know how it goes!

It's a lot slower going than I had anticipated. I was told I'd have about 600 items to price audit, but the actual number is 1550! I've figured out how to optimize the various smaller groups of similar items, and I've learned the store. I think I'm looking at another 25 hours, which will bring this to the equivalent of about $10/hour. (boooo!) Certainly a learning experience, although I wonder what the staff thinks as a I stand around staring at my phone and the shelves! So far no one has approached me about it.
I'll check back in, closer to my finish line time!

@mom.for.hirehotmail.com wrote:

The Missions app allows you to enter prices as you go so there is really no need to record and transcribe later.

I did find that there's a numeric keypad to make data entry easier in Missions. I discovered a bug, though, where the "search" tool does not allow me to enter more than one letter at a time. After each letter, I have to touch the search box to drop the cursor there again.

I wish I had a bit more control in how the data is displayed so I could sort items better, but I'm getting there...

HEY, that's not bad! In that, when do do that location again, or others like it, you could end up at $15 or $17 an hour!

@Tommmmyt wrote:

I am reviewing a shop at a pet store that has 1000 items to check on the app. It is suggested that it will take 15hrs.
Is that reasonable

If they will pay you $1,500 dollars for the aggravation, then accept it!

1000 items in 15 hours means you'll need to enter about 66 items an hour or more. Are they paying by item, and how much per?

@spicy1 wrote:

Let us know how it goes!

I finished my auditing on Thursday. Company FAQ says I should be paid within 42 days.
What made me laugh was the last time I was in contact with the company, they commented that "We will make that store YOUR store, if you'd like, and you'll be first pick for routine audits..." Yeesh! I told them I'd have to see how big the next "Mission" will be, but I'd be glad to take them. I do know the store pretty well now, and I've got a good grip on the Auditing App and its quirks, but.... 1500 items is not easy. This first job took me 18-20 hours, so my hourly rate would be ~$15/hour. I'd like to pick up my pace and make that a $20/hour or better store.

Another question, another shop....400 price checks with mobile app for pet store. How long and what would you accept for compensation?

Which app, do you know?
Have you done any of these price audits yet? a lot of it depends on how fast you can work and how good you get at spotting the correct items. it reminds me of where's Waldo. anyway if you can get it done in 10 hours that would be 40 items an hour, but if you're really fast, you could get it done in Seven or eight hours. What are they offering? Is it by item , or a flat fee ? you have to decide what your time is worth.