Fishy fishy...phoneups, anyone?

So, I signed up for the emails from "Kim" or whomever for the mystery shopping tips by email. I'm sure that's how many of us got to this website. Well, my problem is that "Kim" sent me a list of 218 mystery shopping companies--which is great! I've signed up for a ton of them already, but one of the companies listed is phoneups. They pay $15 an hour (allegedly) to make phone calls, but unless I'm misreading the site, you have to pay $750 or more to start.
I know, I know. Everyone always says if you have to pay, it's a scam, but I guess I'm a little surprised that there's a rotten egg in "Kim's" list of gems. Has anyone had experience with either "Kim's" 218 mystery shopping companies list or better yet, phoneups?

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More About Phone Shops

Don't know who "Kim" is or who/what is on her list. There is a list of legitimate companies here and I sure as heck would not lay out $750 to do phone shops.

"Kim" is the name that appears on my emails from "mysteryShopsOnline.com". I signed up for the emails a few months ago (I've been shopping for a few years now), and so far most of the info I've received from the emails has been great! They've given me tips that even an experienced shopper might not have thought about.
And it's not really a phone shop. It's more like telemarketing. You call companies and give them verbatim training and the charge is for the training I suppose is basically what understood of it.

"Advanced Phone Ups phoneups.com - Telephone training and mystery shopping of all types of vehicle dealerships. "

I would definitely do my research before I did anything stupid--even after extensive research I probably still wouldn't do it. I was mostly just curious if anyone has actually done this.

I would be careful with them. It does not appear their website is maintained, it still has a copy-write date of 2008. The company did register their domain in '99 though, so they have been doing something online.
I have gotten mails from Kim as well. I am not saying Kim does this, however "good" marketers gain trust by sending out legit information for awhile and then sneak things in asking for money. Or she may not know anything about this company herself. Maybe contacting Kim directly and asking if she has personal experience with this company would be a good idea.

Forgive my grammar and spelling on the boards. I am off duty.

Is this Kim, The Mystery Shopping Mom, 3641 Francis Ave N #1, Seattle, WA 98103, USA?

I can't recall why I thought this, but I also thought she had connection of some sort to this forum. For one reason, she calls me Mert, which I only use here.

Yes, Mert--the very same Kim. I looked more closely at the list, and I've found that a few of the companies listed are either outdated or fishy. I'm definitely treading with caution.

I live in Seattle, maybe I should stop by her apartment.

At first I thought she was only e-mailing me because I was local. I thought I was "special".

Haha. No. I don't even honestly know how I got signed up for her emails, but she's actually had some pretty god information! I'm pretty sure her emails were what led me here.

Kim does seem to have some connection to this forum. My son set up a new hotmail account and registered with our forum, then immediately started to get e-mails from Kim. A lot of new posters to our forum also seem to get e-mails from Kim immediately after registering.

She does have good information. I do wonder what the connection is.

Carol

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Fishy fishy...phoneups, anyone?

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Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine