MSPA certified - worth it?

Ive been shopping for awhile now but ive never been certified but dont seem to have much of an issue getting shops... i received an email that they are running the classes 50% off now.. so is it worth it to be certified? Id love to hear from other shoppers!

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I've been doing this 10 years.

Never any certifications.

I think it's more important to adhere to the MSC's standards for writing than taking a course that would be fairly general. Many companies have very specific standards, and they want shoppers to meet those standards, not some one-size-fits-all overview.

I am, of course, only talking about reporting requirements. I'm not sure if certification would be any benefit to a beginning shopper; it might be worthwhile in the sense of general education.

I spent $15 to become silver certified many years ago. I have no manner by which to gauge its effectiveness, but it certainly was not a negative; however, today I definitely not be interested.

I'd say 10 years ago or more, yes. I was MSPA gold certified in 2003 and at first it seemed to have benefits, as there were times I received shop offers that I was told were released to gold shoppers first. I haven't seen those offers in a long time.

I, too, paid $15 to become Silver Certified about 16 years ago. Can't say it's helped much. What the MSCs are really looking for is reliability, honesty, and the ability to write up a report according to guidelines. That will get you a LOT further than any certification. Save your money.

Awesome! Thank you for all the feedback! I will be saving my money then for sure lol

I've been shopping extremely casually for the past year, and have kicked it up a notch in the past month. I've probably done between 50 and 75 shops total, and have felt no benefit to having paid the $15 for the certification. I'm pretty sure that Sassie doesn't even recognize certification numbers from after 2014, so many of the MSCs I work with don't even know I'm certified.

I'm not sure classes would be beneficial. I got silver certified right after I started. For $15 if you get 1 extra shop then it pays for itself.

I found it beneficial for 2 reasons. One MSC sends out shop notifications to gold then silver then other shoppers. Ends up at the time they had a client I had no clue because it never lasted that long. Just that 1 client was well worth the $15.

The actual reason I got it was for ACL. They use an internal rating system and what shops you see is dependent on your internal rating. They have two levels that are tied to certification levels. Entering your certification raises you to that level even if you have never done a shop for them. That doesn't guarantee obviously that your rating won't drop after you do a shop, but that got me a couple of hotel shops almost immediately. So yes. I would say for some people it is worth it.

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

If that is still true for ACL, I would get certification. It would be worth it to me.

I had no idea about ACL, I've only done two shops for them but both were $40+ so if my Silver certification is the reason, it has definitely paid for itself.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2018 10:20PM by reidtait.

I got Gold Certified in 2002 or 2003. I can't recall now.
Personally for me, it was worth 100X what I paid, maybe 1000X? I met all of the important people in the industry at MSPA conferences. They call me personally when they need a job done or when they get a lucrative job that they want to give to one of their best shoppers.

So, for me, yes it was worth it. If you plan on doing $100-$200 a month just for fun, then I would not bother.

Interesting to know about the ACL ranking though.

I think it’s interesting to hear everyone’s feedback on this because I don’t have any certification but always wondered what it did and if people felt it was worthwhile...

@SoCalMama wrote:

I got Gold Certified in 2002 or 2003. I can't recall now.
Personally for me, it was worth 100X what I paid, maybe 1000X? I met all of the important people in the industry at MSPA conferences. They call me personally when they need a job done or when they get a lucrative job that they want to give to one of their best shoppers.

When the conferences were meet-and-greets, the introductions would have been well worth it. To take a test over the Internet that most 5th graders could pass on the first try is not.

"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

@iShop123 wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

I got Gold Certified in 2002 or 2003. I can't recall now.
Personally for me, it was worth 100X what I paid, maybe 1000X? I met all of the important people in the industry at MSPA conferences. They call me personally when they need a job done or when they get a lucrative job that they want to give to one of their best shoppers.
When the conferences were meet-and-greets, the introductions would have been well worth it. To take a test over the Internet that most 5th graders could pass on the first try is not.

You can still go to shopperfest and meet MSC owners and schedulers in person.

@SoCalMama wrote:

If you plan on doing $100-$200 a month just for fun, then I would not bother.

Yes, I would agree with this. I fall into this category at this time. Back when I first started in 2005, I was pulling in approx $1200/month MSing. But even then, the Silver Cert didn't seem to make a difference in the jobs I was able to get. For the Gold Cert, it may be different. Nowadays, I'm only seeking to bring in up to $300/month, both MSing and merchandising. I'm happy with that at this point in my life, so special certification not really necessary.

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