I consider myself a moderate risk taker, but everyone's advice to just sign up for 100s of mystery shopping companies stresses me out. You hand out all your info just to find out there's nothing in your section of the country.
I usually check here first and check the companies out to see if they pay, etc.
So now I've begun checking the MSPA website which has a decent list of over 100. Great, seems trustworthy, though Cirrus was on there and I have seen the warnings.
I also check Volition (and then cross checked with the MSPA). There are a few from Volition that I'd like to try, but how do you know, before you KNOW? You know? lol
Anyway, just curious what your methods and systems are before I start diving into companies I don't see here to cross reference?

All the companies on the list on this site have been shopped by folks on this forum and are legitimate companies. You can always ask folks here if they have had any experiences with a company - and you are likely to get a slew of responses.

There is a link at the bottom of this page that has the MSCs in one location. I muddle my way through that.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
-Loa Tzu

Some companies, like those on the Sassie platform allow you to defer entering your SSN until you have done work for them.

Which company is the best company to work from

They are all different. Every shopper has different preferences.. what types of shops do you like?

I just started dipping my toes back into Mystery Shopping after a ten year hiatus. Lots of companies had been purchased by others, gone defunct, and changed platforms. New companies have also popped up.

To start with, I used the Prestomap to identify MSC's near me and signed up/updated those first. I also registered on Jobslinger and used the job listings to identify companies near me, then registered for those.

After getting all the ones close to me, I then used the Jobslinger connection system to register for the companies I had yet to register with. Next I went through the companies listed on the MSPA website and signed up for them in spurts. Then I went through the list here and registered for the stragglers.

At this point, I think I have registered for every company (My tracking spreadsheet has almost 200 rows). Most of these companies I may never work for, but some of them that were not in my area before now have shops in my area. In addition, shops are not posted all at once, and the favorites are gobbled up real quick. Example: I've been searching for a Jiffy Lube shop in my area and found it at a company that I didn't expect. It disappeared within 24hrs.

All in all, it probably took me 6 weeks to register for all the new companies and update the old ones, but if you sit down for 30 minutes a day and just do it, it really doesn't take that much effort. I use Lastpass as a password manager, and it also has a form fill option. Makes signing up much easier. Besides, if you want to discover which companies offer those exclusive travel/luxury/etc shops - it's probably the only way you'll find out.

Work my way down list on MSPA. 10 years And haven't got to them all
I also get referrals from MSC and schedulers that I regularly work for.
I too cross check MSPA and Volition

I've told potential shoppers to sign up with everyone because
1. You might find yourself traveling through an area where they DO have shops and you can pick them up (made good use of this on a 7 state route I did last year) or
2. If they expand into your area, you're already on the list. Just my .02.

I would like the scheduler who forwards our name to be referenced in the potential site. That way I feel it is legitimate. When I get an offer (rarely) I am leery to even click on it. I never thought to check the MSPA site. Thanks for that info. Cirrus is my bugaboo now, they are not shopper friendly.

I am signed up with dozens/hundreds. Started in 1999. I don’t concern myself with whether or not a company may or may not currently have shops in my area. The business is so fluid you never know when they will. The single best quickest easiest high paying shop I have ever done was for a company I had been signed up with ten years. Did the shop, took maybe 5 minutes, was able to input it in the food court at the mall and was paid within 2 days. Haven’t done a shop for them since. Nothing but that one shop has been available. Total was 150.00. I have done some higher paying but second by second this was my best pay rate. Had I not been signed up with the company I would have not had the opportunity.

Liz

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2019 01:30AM by Traveliz.