What would you guys say are the best ways to make the most money mystery shopping? Like the smartest way to make money. Lately, I haven't been finding a lot of shops and the ones I find pay pretty low that it's not even worth it. I've been mystery shopping since 2013 on and off but I'm definitely willing to learn more. As they say "Work smarter, not harder" that's what I'm trying to do. I would love to make $500-$1000 a month if possible. Thanks in advance

Hello!

1. With how many MSC's have you registered? If you want to maximize your income, you need to know what all the opportunities are. I'm with over 100. It might be 130 or 140. Some folks are with 200+.

2. How far are you willing to travel? Some of the best bonuses come from visiting locations that are a bit out-of-the-way. Expand your search area.

3. Do you video shop? Video shopping is can be half-the-work for double-the-pay.

4. Routes! Do you put together routes with different MSC's? If you are driving 20 miles to do one $30 shop, it's pretty lame. If you are driving 20 miles to do 10 $30 shops, it's a good day.

5. Do you negotiate bonuses? If you see a shop in Timbuktu that has been sitting on the board with a measly $20 bonus for two months, contact the scheduler ask offer to do it for a $50 (or whatever you think if fair for you) bonus. The scheduler might say yes - or offer a $30 or $40 bonus...... Now if three different MSC's have shops like that in the same area, you could be looking at three $50 bonuses and a very good day trip.

I work full time and only shop as a side gig. I can pull in over $2K in any given month. Last week alone, I did $2900 in shops. (It was only an $1800 profit as I did have some expenses, such as hotel and airfare.) My week was one very long route almost 1000 miles from home, with work from 8 different MSC's - 80% of which was video. I negotiated bonuses on several shops and had to turn down quite a bit of work as I only had 5 1/2 days to shop.

I do not video shop and don't travel to far. I am fortunate enough to have many shops near me. I do agree totally with MFJohnston. I shop mostly banks, do routes and always do multiple shops per day. I only shop Tuesday through Friday and still could easily make $500 a month, just depends on how hard you want to shop.

I am now very part time and easily make over $500 a month; usually way over. I do parking cash integrity, many banking and financial services shops, video, and always do several shops on any outing. I also earn many, many hotel rewards points and free nights by doing hotel shops, even for no, or small fees. Also never pay for oil changes or tire rotation, since 2005. When possible, I pick up a lunch shop, fee or no fee, that I can walk to from my other shops. I am NOT a heavy hitter like some here, but never leave the house for less than $40, and usually leave with more than that on my day's route. Signed up with 150 MSCs but usually shop for less than 12 in any given year; and not always the same 12. Almost all of my shops come via emails from schedulers or self-assignment opportunities offered only to experienced shops for that MSC. I only do about 2 or 3 multi-day routes a year now, always for high fee or bonus shops. Cultivating relationships with schedulers and MSC owners and managers has been very, very important. I send emails to let them know when things go RIGHT, as well as when they go sideways. Always share the happy times, and say "please and thank you."

The more you read the forums, the more you will learn valuable skills. Shopper conferences also teach money making skills, like negotiating bonuses! (At least IMSC ones do. Seems like the ones run by MSCs do not like to tell us how to do that, lol.)

Finally, any time you wish you had three shops to do, but do not, go on line and sign up with 5-10 more MSCs. That is, literally, how I started in 2005. Learn which shops suit you the best; ask schedulers for opportunities to try shops that may not be on the job boards. All very, very basic stuff.

@OP: Wisely, for safety reasons, you did not mention where you would like to shop. Presumably, you might want to travel. Always keep in mind that travel might take longer than 'a mile a minute' and some places will have weather or other travel restrictions which can slow you down or cause you to cancel previously scheduled shops simply because you cannot get to the locations.

If your area is like mine, you will find only one of a given shop type in town and would travel an hour to the next closest of any of those places. If your area is like other posters' above, you will find multiples of everything that I have near me as well as scads of other types of shops! Thus, efficiency varies. As long as you abide by what the others are teaching, you can maximize your efficiency for any area. Good luck!

Welcome to the forum, Kristy.

One of my favorites is grocery stores. We all have to eat, and I find I can cut my grocery bill to almost nothing by shopping grocery stores. They do not pay much, I know; I think the most I've ever gotten was $28 plus the grocery purchase reimbursement. Then when I receive that reimbursement, it's not taxable income, so I have those funds to pay bills or whatever.

Like found money, it is!

Is there a tip anyone can offer on how you find the shops to sign up for? With signing up with +/- 150 companies, there is no way to check all of their job boards consistently. Some companies send emails when they list new shops which is helpful but many don’t. I check jobslinger and volition daily but most of the companies that post there are the same that send out the emails. Any helpful hints?

Sign up with as many companies as you can. Over time you will find the shops/companies you'd like to work for. If you really become a great shopper for a company, they may start to offer shops that a regular person won't see on the board. There is no shortcut. One has to sign up and plod away.

@brandyob
It's slow at first. If you are with 150 MSC's you'll likely find that (maybe) half have any work in your area. Thereafter, maybe 20-30 will have work that fits your style. From there, you'll develop favorites. On a daily basis, I might check the 15 job boards for my current favorites. If I'm not finding enough work, I'll check the other 15 that have had work that fits my preferences.

I have all the MSC's for which I am registered bookmarked in my browser categorized as:

"Reliable" These are MSC's that pretty much always have something available to me that fits my preferences.
"Once in a While": These are MSC's that generally have something available, but may or may not appeal to me.
"Rarely" These are MSC's for which I have shopped, but that either rarely have work in my area or whose work I just don't care to do.
"Never Before" These are MSC's for which I have never shopped either because they don't have work in my area or because I have had no real desire to do what they advertise.

When I find myself surfing job boards, I start with the "reliable" companies and move down. I find I check companies on my "Never Before" list once every few months.

Most MSC's will send email out when they get new clients in your area, so I watch those closely - and if the email piques my interest, I go to the job listings and get more detail. As MSC's gain and lose clients and other shoppers become more and less active in my area, my 15ish favorites does change and I might re-categorize MSC's in my bookmarks.

Also, once you become known as a reliably good shopper to an MSC, you may get emails and phone calls offering jobs and bonuses that do not show up on job boards. For my trip to California last week, over half the shops I did were never advertised.

MFJ has provided the best synopsis of "how it is manageable" that you are likely to find anywhere.

There is a job board right here (check the drop down menu). I use PrestoInstaShops map: I have it open all the time on my PC. Every time I'm scheduling a route, I check there for any shops on my way there or back. That's SASSIE companies job postings.

One more thing: do not "need" these jobs. Be willing to help out and work with schedulers. Be able to wait for bonuses, negotiate for bonuses, and not receive requested bonuses.

I suggested a schedule of shops and a bonus plan for the hundreds of miles and long drives. How should we calculate the monetary value of occasional wrigggles and discomforts associated with wide open spaces and hours on the road with no places for a pit stop? The schedulers may or may not assign the shops to me. I do not care what the outcome is. If it is meant to be work for me, it will be. If not, something else is meant for me. It took me years to learn this. You are smart and learned it early in the game.

@MFJohnston Wow these are some great tips. I'm apart of about 35-40 MSC and I thought THAT was a lot lol.. I guess I still have a lot to learn. I definitely wouldn't mind traveling if it was worth the travel. I've never seen any video shops, at least not with the websites I am signed up to. I don't do routes actually but maybe I should start.. especially on a day that I can do them all in a row that would be great. I do often see the same shops constantly on the boards..i've never thought to ask for a bonus. I'll definitely try this as well. The fact that you're making so much in a month easily means I'm definitely doing something wrong. Thank you so much for the tips!!

@Shop-et-al Very good tips as well, thank you! I will definitely start checking this forum more for tips, schedule routes, ask for bonuses and ask schedulers for jobs not on the boards already. Thank you so much guys!!!

@Kristylynnr
It's not that you're doing something "wrong," it's that there are different ways to approach mystery shopping, based on your goals. You asked about maximizing your income - that's my focus. I picked up on ideas from folks on this board and used them to develop my own strategies. I've simply shared how I go about it. You will have to get to know your region well and learn where you can further develop your prospects based on your abilities, availability and geography. There is no single set way to approach shopping. You'll find that there are several folks on this board who do very well (financially) shopping and, yet, have a different approach than I do - though many of the themes are the same.

I see what you mean. I just have to find what works for me, my area and my availability and develop my own strategy. I'll definitely come on and engage more on this forum. And I'll also be using some of your tips to at least start me off until I can come up with some strategies of my own. Thank you

1. I make the most money mystery shopping video shops, nightclubs, hotels, and when I do out of town routes that include these shops. Video shopping is far and above any other way that I make the best money efficiently mystery shopping.

2. I plan my routes efficiently (even in my city) so that I can maximize efficiency. I never start my car engine to do only a couple shops unless they pay enough to meet my daily income goal.
3. There are more shops here than I could ever do in a month, so I do not waste valuable time on negotiating fees. I submit a fair fee and it is either taken, or I let someone else have the job(s).

4. I plan out my schedule each month, and I keep track of what part of the month is busy, light, etc. For example, the 3rd week of any month is generally the slowest. So I schedule jobs during this week that give me plenty of advance notice, video and hotel shops for example. I would never schedule such a shop on the 2nd or last week of the month, because those are the times of the month when I can be sure that the most offers come in. Of course the busy and slower times could be different in your area.

5. To the OP; I definitely agree with your idea of "work smarter, not harder." I consistently earn more than twice the amount you stated as your monthly goal, but I usually do 60-80 shops a month and consider myself a full-time shopper since 2008. I have been busier since October of 2018, because there are so many more shops available now.

@azwolfman Great tips as well! I keep hearing about video shops being very high paying! I have yet to see a company that offers this. I’m going to keep looking into this as well.

Most MSCs that offer video shops are not using job boards AND most require that you send a test video clip, using your own equipment, before they will place you on their shopper list. The exception is EPMS. They will loan you equipment. Be forewarned, their pay is not as high as most video companies AND their reports, even with video, are very long and detailed. BUT you will get a taste of video work. Many, if not most, video shops have MUCH shorter reports.

STRONGLY recommended that before you do a video apartment shops (which is what they have) you do several non-video ones. Everyone is nervous when doing their first video shop; best not to also be nervous because the type of shop is unfamiliar to you. DO not buy you own equipment without first getting at least the free on-line training offered by IMSC. All of this practice takes practice, at home or in a nearby store environment, to be able to capture the target in the frame, from top of the head to mid-chest 80 to 90 % of the time. (Time sitting beside or walking near the target does not count,of course.) Video is not for everyone. But do not make just one try before you decide. If you like "being on stage" and preparing and acting out back stories you will love this. (Think: why am I in the market for this $2 million home in this place? Or, "Why an I moving to San Diego and looking for a $3400 a month apartment?)

@walesmaven some good tips as well! Now all I have to do is find these MSC and practice practice practice. Hoping I can find some in the MSC list on this site and get started. It seems like this would be a great way to triple my income.

Start by finding EPMS. There are many threads about it AND it is on the list at the foot of the page.

@walesmaven I actually just joined them a few days ago! They do seem to be paying pretty low for being video shops.

BUT, they will send you a camera rig, so you can try it without spending about $400. So, very worth your while! I think they are the only video MSC that still loans out rigs.

I see so many video shops posted and I’m tempted to get into it because of the ROI. I’m just so nervous about videoing a shop. How complicated is it, how hard is it to learn. I guess I’m just nervous that I’ll try it and the whole assembly just falls apart as I sit down with the target. If you’re familiar with the Vacation movies, I’m like the female version of Clark Griswold. I’m comfortable with technology, I’m just apprehensive because I’ve never attempted anything like this.

You do not need much tech savvy to be good at video shopping. It is more practicing aligning your button camera properly and securing it so that you can move freely around a room and be sure that you are capturing the target. Then plug the video SD card into your computer, copy the video to your desktop and upload it following the detailed instructions supplied by each video MS company.

What IS somewhat more difficult is that you often have to portray a specific sort of buyer and have a solid back story to be believable as someone who is ready, willing and able to buy something, often something expensive. So, learn to do that with written-only shops like new homes, automobile purchases, apartments, assisted living, memory care, and even banks. THEN try apartment videos to start, since they are shorter and require less acting. Master those and you will be ready for almost anything. It is NOT the camera or recorder that fails a video shop 95 % of the time; it is failure to have a convincing story to act out and sustain during a relatively long interaction. Apartments, 15 to 45 minutes; new homes average 45 to 90 minutes; assisted living 60-75 minutes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2019 10:55PM by walesmaven.

@brandyob I'm definitely nervous as well to get involved into things like this but you know what scared money doesn't make money! Like @walesmaven and others have said we just have to start off slow and then work our way ups. I'm going to spend this week increasing the amount of companies that I'm signed up for and then start with non-video shops like apartments etc. I think once you get a hang of it, like any other shop it will definitely be worth the ROI.