Did anyone recently do mystery shops for Gymboree, Janie & Jack, Crazy8?

I heard that Gymboree has filed for Bankruptcy and is closing all their retail stores. I recently did several secret shops with purchase required. Now I am wondering if I will be paid for those shops and purchases. Anyone else in the same boat and worried too?

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I'm not concerned, because I would have bought a shirt for my grandson anyway. If I don't get my whopping $4 fee it won't be the end of the world.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

I was scheduled for a Janie and Jack shop last week, and it was first postponed, then canceled. The scheduler said that anyone who already did the shop would be paid.

Kind of sad that all these formerly solid brick and mortar stores are going out of business. Janie & Jack had the most adorable kids clothing, all be it, quite expensive.

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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

I read the company is hoping to sell the Janie & Jack Stores so there is hope.

@MsJudi wrote:

Kind of sad that all these formerly solid brick and mortar stores are going out of business. Janie & Jack had the most adorable kids clothing, all be it, quite expensive.

Yes! I always loved walking in there and 'thinking' about purchasing then smacked my own head and walked out empty handed..... my husband and I will up his 401k contributions again and we will be responsible, but DANG those clothes are cute.

I got my grandson the cutest plaid shirt from the Janie and Jack outlet! I mailed it out to him (another shop). My DIL called to thank me, saying she could never afford something from there.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

I wonder if you will be paid too...... I did the NSS pizza shops ($140 worth) the owner died and then they filed BK, I filed a claim for payment and I never received any money. The trustee said there was no money to pay the shoppers and there were over 200,000 mystery shoppers for that company.

@JessicaV1979 wrote:

I was scheduled for a Janie and Jack shop last week, and it was first postponed, then canceled. The scheduler said that anyone who already did the shop would be paid.

Well, yes, that's how it works. It's not your problem if the MSC gets paid by Gymboree. Your agreement is with the MSC.

I worked for Gymboree for about 5 years. It's all that my kids wore from birth to 6th grade. I resold it all for a profit on eBay and at garage sales over the years. It cost me nothing for clothes between Gymboree and Disneyland for the first 10 years of their lives.

Where did you get the number 200,000? Seriously doubt that. Check your facts.

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I wonder if you will be paid too...... I did the NSS pizza shops ($140 worth) the owner died and then they filed BK, I filed a claim for payment and I never received any money. The trustee said there was no money to pay the shoppers and there were over 200,000 mystery shoppers for that company.

@CANADAMOMMY wrote:

Where did you get the number 200,000? Seriously doubt that. Check your facts.

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I wonder if you will be paid too...... I did the NSS pizza shops ($140 worth) the owner died and then they filed BK, I filed a claim for payment and I never received any money. The trustee said there was no money to pay the shoppers and there were over 200,000 mystery shoppers for that company.

I was guessing on the number, it could be much higher.

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

@CANADAMOMMY wrote:

Where did you get the number 200,000? Seriously doubt that. Check your facts.

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I wonder if you will be paid too...... I did the NSS pizza shops ($140 worth) the owner died and then they filed BK, I filed a claim for payment and I never received any money. The trustee said there was no money to pay the shoppers and there were over 200,000 mystery shoppers for that company.
I was guessing on the number, it could be much higher.

Seems like a reasonable number. I doubt that every shopper in the database was active.

When Strouds (bankrupt) went under, NSS paid all of their shoppers in full.

NSS had been around since the 1990's.

Got paid for my Gymboree shop last night.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

I did too. Thank goodness!

So the shops done in December have been paid. I guess next month we'll know for sure if January shops are paid.

I did a couple of shops for Crazy 8 and I enjoyed doing them. I hope they return. I have brought some nice stuff for my son

@Isaiah4031a wrote:

I did a couple of shops for Crazy 8 and I enjoyed doing them. I hope they return. I have brought some nice stuff for my son

Crazy 8 is 100% dead. It's their least profitable of the 3 brands. It never should have been opened. (I used to work at Gymboree.)

I'm getting emails from Gymboree that say "TOTAL LIQUIDATION!" and "GOING OUT OF BUSINESS! The entire store is up to 50% off! Everything must go." "Everything on sale. Down to the Bare Walls. Find a store near you." I did a couple of shops early this month before the shops got canceled. I think the week after I did my shops all the other shops were canceled. This is a big surprise.

@roflwofl wrote:

I'm getting emails from Gymboree that say "TOTAL LIQUIDATION!" and "GOING OUT OF BUSINESS! The entire store is up to 50% off! Everything must go." "Everything on sale. Down to the Bare Walls. Find a store near you." I did a couple of shops early this month before the shops got canceled. I think the week after I did my shops all the other shops were canceled. This is a big surprise.

They were in reorganization since last year. Bain Capital loaded them with debt. Same as Toys R Us.

I once looked at the Janie and Jack website as I thought about taking one of those jobs but everything was way beyond the reimbursement so I passed on the job. So, do they have a great clearance rack in those stores? where a mystery shopper can buy something other than tiny socks?

Driving companies into the ground for a fast profit seems to be what some of the venture capital firms do best. They wring every penny out of them and then leave them to die. I just found out last night that Real Mex foods had been on the brink of going under but they were purchased by a new company I never heard of...I have no idea if it was due to venture capital or what but they own El Torito and Acapulco on the West Coast. I used to mystery shop them years ago. The server told me all this when I asked what the surcharge on my bill was all about. He said it was to defray the additional costs involved in the new laws on pay etc that went into effect jan.1. In this wonderful economy I keep hearing that we have there seem to be lots of companies going under.

@Nancy Drew wrote:

I heard that Gymboree has filed for Bankruptcy and is closing all their retail stores. I recently did several secret shops with purchase required. Now I am wondering if I will be paid for those shops and purchases. Anyone else in the same boat and worried too?

OK, I got paid yesterday for the Gymboree shops I did, so no worries. I am still getting emails from Gymboree and Janie and Jack announcing GOING OUT OF BUSINESS and TOTAL LIQUIDATION and the % off everything keeps going up. I guess this is the end of the shops. Too bad. The clothes made great gifts for the kids in the family. The boys didn't much care, but the girls loved them.

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Did anyone recently do mystery shops for Gymboree, Janie & Jack, Crazy8?

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