I am working for a few companies and it is going well so far. This week I did quite well apartment shopping but the bonus's were heavy due to the end of the month.
Question is, how much can a person make doing this? I'm a housewife and have all the time in the world.
Any tips on best paying companies are more than welcome!
Thanks

$358,632.84

@bgriffin wrote:

$358,632.84

That's the most helpful answer I could have asked for. Thanks tons.

@bgriffin wrote:

$358,632.84

Ha, ha, perfect. I was struggling with how to answer. That's like saying "I just graduated from college. How much money will I make?" The answer is: That depends on what type of work you choose, how hard you work, and how you promote yourself.

In mystery shopping, it's an impossible question because there are so many variables. It depends on how much you are willing to work, how much and how far you are willing to travel, what area you live in (some areas have so much competition that it is difficult to build a volume of jobs), how many companies you sign up with, what type of jobs you select, how proficient you are (or are not) at writing reports, and whether you are willing to purchase video equipment. The highest paying shops are often those that are bonused because they require a long drive, complicated shops with heavy writing requirements, or video shops. Most shoppers increase their earnings by putting together routes of shops. Most single shops do not pay a lot of money, so higher wages usually come from volume.

My advice would be to go to the New Mystery Shoppers area and read all the top threads: [www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Spend time researching mystery shopping and learning what it actually is and how it works. Determine what kind of mystery shopping business you want to run. Those who make the most money look at this as a business and invest a lot of time initially in planning their business and building their client list.

it COMPLETELY is dependent on everything roflwofl said, and many people travel and stay overnight for routes, so that doesn't work out well for people with children usually.

Bgriff travels all over the US to work. There are others who travel within their state or region of states to work. There are people like me who travel within their region up to 30 miles and only work a few hours a day. Still others only work a few hours at it all week. There are people who live in regions where the traffic is so hectic they can't work further than 10 miles from home or they spend more time sitting in traffic then they do doing the shops, and still others live in rural areas where there are no shops at all and they have to drive long distances to do them.

@ShopperSavvy wrote:

@bgriffin wrote:

$358,632.84

That's the most helpful answer I could have asked for. Thanks tons.

You're welcome! I always strive to be helpful. And honestly that post took me a while. I debated for several minutes on if someone could eek out a bit more and make it $358,632.85.

Griff, you can be a real asshat sometimes! LOL!!!

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Bgriff travels all over the US to work.

This is simply incorrect.
I have never shopped in Alaska or Hawaii.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Griff, you can be a real asshat sometimes! LOL!!!

Only sometimes?
:/
I am quite insulted by this comment.

Oh good lord. And why not? What do you have against states that are not in the continental U.S. other than difficulties in getting there?

Well I love you anyway. Asshat.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Oh good lord. And why not? What do you have against states that are not in the continental U.S. other than difficulties in getting there?

I dunno. I wanna go to both!

Well Hawaii I could spend a month in just exploring and eating. Don't know about how many shops are available (Spicy chime in here).

Alaska, I could spend early August in for a few weeks but I think the shops and the food might be limited...and then it gets cold.

I would say by starting with maybe few or more shops per week, you can make about $150- 200 per month. When I worked full time, most of my shops were reimbursement only or small fee, and I would average about $500-700 in reimbursement (restaurants, dry clean, oil change, retail) It all depends, I think you should give it a try for a month or two and see how you do. I have made anywhere from $200 to $1,500 per month, plus about $500 in reimbursement money.
Edited: I just re-read your post-you could sign up with more companies. An average shopper is signed up with at least 10-15 companies. I am signed up with maybe 30 but 90% of work I do is for 5 companies.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2018 01:15AM by MikiNV.

And that's just the bonus I got for a gas station last week....

@bgriffin wrote:

$358,632.84

A lot of us are signed up with 100 companies or more, but that doesn't meant we do work regularly for that many. And it cycles, as within a four year span I am not doing shops for companies that I did a lot of work for in 2013. I am doing more work this year for companies I signed up with about 10 years ago and forgot about or previously only did a few shops for. It pays to just go ahead and sign up with as many as you can, because companies lose and gain contracts all the time.

@roflwofl hit it right on.

You will not get rich doing this... Most folks find it as a way to supplement income or keep things together while between jobs. My understanding is that only a very small handful of folks earn much more than about $60K annually shopping. The folks who do spend a lot of time on the road and have spent a a couple of years (or more) establishing themselves and making the right contacts. Most folks, if they can put some miles on their car and do this full time, should be able to start bringing in $2,000/mo. within a couple of months. More than that will really depend in the individual's ability to write, organization, geography, etc. The first month will be the slowest as you'll need to spend a tremendous amount of time signing up for as many companies as you can (over 100) so that you have access to enough good opportunities.

Most folks are not going to share what they can/do make doing this. I'm a little more open about it.... I've been doing this part time for two years. (I am a full time math teacher.). On a lazy month, I can pull in over $1,000. I am working on regularly pulling in $2,000 - though I am not there yet as I am still working on developing relationships with certain companies. I have pulled in over $4,000 a few times during months school was not in session. I have yet to do a multi-day route or leave my state. I suspect I'll do a couple of overnight or out-of-state routes this summer.

@ShopperSavvy wrote:

I am working for a few companies and it is going well so far. This week I did quite well apartment shopping but the bonus's were heavy due to the end of the month.
Question is, how much can a person make doing this? I'm a housewife and have all the time in the world.
Any tips on best paying companies are more than welcome!
Thanks

Best Paying Companies:
The lot on this forum is pretty helpful and friendly. However, we are all independent contractors operating in a purely capitalistic system. We are, in other words, competitors. As a whole, we are not likely to advertise our very best contacts as we would rather not lose work to other good shoppers.

As you establish yourself, good companies will find you if you do good work.

I agree. I think there are about 30 companies that I know I am signed up with and probably more than that that I am not aware or forgot that I am signed up with, and never did any work for. I recommend to sign up with as many companies as you can

@JASFLALMT wrote:

A lot of us are signed up with 100 companies or more, but that doesn't meant we do work regularly for that many. And it cycles, as within a four year span I am not doing shops for companies that I did a lot of work for in 2013. I am doing more work this year for companies I signed up with about 10 years ago and forgot about or previously only did a few shops for. It pays to just go ahead and sign up with as many as you can, because companies lose and gain contracts all the time.

If you keep good records and know the cycles of the shops, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, etc. then you can immediately make enough money to be just above the poverty line. If you have cheap rent with utilities paid you could eat out every single day on mystery shopping, also immediately. That is, once you have signed up for all companies and take every shop available and you are in a decent sized city. There are companies, especially scheduling companies, that are biased toward and against certain age groups, even if you are within the age range of the shop. If you are in the "biased against" group, you will only get leftovers. I don't do leftovers unless they are HIGHLY bonused!

Anytime I see big incomes e.g., $20k+, I have to think the shopper isn't deducting direct expenses from the total income. So the shopper may actually be losing money. For instance, the mileage costs negate the fee for many potential shops, even in my medium-large city.
Then there's the issue of "do I want or need this product or service?" I may stay in a $400-nightly hotel in Cincinnati and brag about it as income, but I woudl't go there ordinarily.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2018 05:15AM by AuditAce.

I can’t speak for others, but I do not consider reimbursements to be mystery shopping income - even if they are for groceries or oil changes that I need.

$20k is not “big money” if you are doing this full time. A person who does five $20 shops a day five days a week, 50 weeks a year will earn $25,000.

As for car expenses... Driving a car with good gas mileage is wise... if your car maintenance is wiping out half a $20k income, you need a new car.

@AuditAce wrote:

Anytime I see big incomes e.g., $20k+, I have to think the shopper isn't deducting direct expenses from the total income. So the shopper may actually be losing money. For instance, the mileage costs negate the fee for many potential shops, even in my medium-large city.
Then there's the issue of "do I want or need this product or service?" I may stay in a $400-nightly hotel in Cincinnati and brag about it as income, but I woudl't go there ordinarily.

It really depends on the lifestyle. I don't push myself as hard doing this (I also have other businesses), but it's nice knowing that what I would normally spend, I get reimbursed. My take home would be about the same without making as much because of how I spend. If only I could eat frozen pizza and canned chili..........

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2018 05:35AM by Lattegal.

How common is something like this: "20k is not 'big money' (for) a person who does five $20 shops a day five days a week, 50 weeks a year will earn $25,000." My area has nothing consistently like those fees, especially 25 of them a week.
Mileage $ destroys profit on common shops like this: Drive 23 miles roundtrip for a $12 fee. Of course I first would consider whether $12 is a reasonable fee for the time expended --- often it's not.

Remember, those who earn the most never drive very far for just one shop! They learn, first, how to make profitable 1 day routes, ending up back at home for the night. Then how to make profitable routes with at least one night on the road.

Also, many full time shoppers have large route of very quick shops with short reports that make pay very well, indeed, in had to staff locations. And/or they own acceptable video equipment and do a lot of video shops, which pay much more.

How are you going all over? How is it worth the travel expenses?
Thanks

Are you all using your phones? Do you use a tablet with Internet access? Do you fill out the forms when you get home? How is that working?

All of this info is helpful.

What companies are the best for video shops?

Right now I am an a housewife. I have been looking for something to fill my time and earn some money. I have done apartments and am doing well. I did restaurants for a while as well. I am signed up with multiple companies. I shopped many years ago, when my son was a baby, and am getting back in now. I've been doing it a couple of months and am ready to move forward and add more.

First, learn about video equipment by using the search function for "video" "last 30 days." When you have been trained on video you can send a test video to several video MSCs. Most video never hits the job boardsbecasue it takes special equipment and training. Yes, you can make overnight route pay, and handsomely. For instance,, when I can get an NYC hotel shop, I will book 5-6 garage videos there for $60 and up per shop, then stay one night with friends in NJ, and shop my way back home using smaller video shops, at $45-$70 each. Round trip, about 500 miles. I have a very fuel efficient vehicle, bought used, so my cost per mile is much, much lower than the IRS mileage write off. So, I shelter a LOT of that income. Also, using AirBnB, I can shop my way from DC to FL, using video shops and, maybe a couple of hotel shops. Then stay with friends or family for a few nights in central FL and do new home and apartment videos each day.

Before you can do a route like that, you will need to show that you are a highly reliable shopper with a few MSCs that have tons of shops. Some shoppers do similar routes with a ton of very quick convenience store shops, getting big bonuses for hard-to-fill shops. And, those shops are very fast to enter. Some enter shops as they happen; others negotiate extended due dates for, say, hotels and video shops when on an intense route. The premiums are high enough that I can make a ton on a route, even though I cannot drive at dusk or dawn or at night. Even on short winter days I can do DC to FL and back at a very nice profit.

But, start small and master the fine art of the one day route. If you live within, say, 50 miles of a large city, grab a garage parking shop there and find 2-3 shops within walking distance. Banks are nice little money makers for central city shops where your parking expenses are covered. Then, it some suburban shops on your way home. Presto, you have accomplished your first route. Concentrate on route planning and execution when you begin, instead of on a big payday; but do not take any reimbursement only shops on that route except, perhaps, a quick lunch or fuel shop. Work your way up from those $15 bank shops to the $50 ones to the even better paid ones, using one day routes. Try this with other types of shops in the city: cell phones, retail (no returns!), museums, zoo and aquariums, etc. Baby steps before running, of course.

I have to ask:
With how many companies have you signed up?
How far are you willing to drive?
Do you live in a rural area?

I do not leave the house unless the time I spend on the road, including drive time and down time between shops, is going to be better than $30/hr. In other words, If I am going to drive 300 miles in a day and be gone for about 10 hours, I will come home with at least $300. As I am finding more opportunities, I find that these numbers are improving and I am more likely to hit $40/hr. now on longer routes. I figure that this overcomes concerns about car wear and tear on my car and gas expenditures. My bank account appreciates it, too.

@AuditAce wrote:

How common is something like this: "20k is not 'big money' (for) a person who does five $20 shops a day five days a week, 50 weeks a year will earn $25,000." My area has nothing consistently like those fees, especially 25 of them a week.
Mileage $ destroys profit on common shops like this: Drive 23 miles roundtrip for a $12 fee. Of course I first would consider whether $12 is a reasonable fee for the time expended --- often it's not.