Hi Folks!

I've been doing this for some time and noted my regular companies have severely limited their ops in Southern California for reasons unknown. Now I am considering other firms BUT I'm not willing to do the whole trial and error route again - you know, complete the assignment only to find the MSC doesn't pay what was stated, won't pay until two months (or more...) have elapsed or worst of all... they don't pay! PERIOD - Grrrrrrr!

So with that stated, I would like to know which MSC is truly the best to work with. And by that I mean:

If you do the work and submit the info correctly, they pay you (Hey, what a concept!)
They do not have ridiculous forms or guidelines (aka - designed to fail)
Pay is processed fast - 2 weeks to a month
Shopper support that exists and responds to queries
Paypal or direct deposit WITHOUT a processing fee.

I've read online reviews of many MSC's out there but need to get first hand info from you. Your time and response is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

The very top thread on the Mystery Shop Company Discussion will address some of your issues. I do not expect pay within a short period of time as one of my criteria but that thread evidently lists pay time for each company. From there you can search the individual companies you find that fit your timeframe for pay for more information on them on the forum. No one can really tell you which companies fit your needs . We all have different wants and needs and likes and dislikes in mystery shopping but reading the threads you find on the individual msc's will give you a sense of how others find their policies.

After 20 years of finding the best companies to work for in So Cal, I am not just handling them over. It takes hard work and lots of hours to find the jobs. Try registering for 200 MSCs. I'm sure that you'll find some that meet your needs.

Just curious, what part of So Cal are you shopping?

If you find a job on a job board that interests you, you can then search these forums for reviews of the companies. I can say don't shop for Red Quanta, and evidently Cirrus can take 4 months to pay shoppers.

No company will pay a shopper who does not follow guidelines.

My "best company" will be different from Sue's, or Bob's, because we are in different locales and have different lives.

OP - You stated you've been doing this for some time. What companies have 'severely limited their ops?' Since you sound like a seasoned shopper, you probably know there isn't any shortcut to finding companies with shops. Like the rest of us, we just sign up with as many companies as you can.

I would like to know which MSC is truly the best to work with. And by that I mean:

If you do the work and submit the info correctly, they pay you (Hey, what a concept!)
They do not have ridiculous forms or guidelines (aka - designed to fail)
Pay is processed fast - 2 weeks to a month
Shopper support that exists and responds to queries
Paypal or direct deposit WITHOUT a processing fee

das, when you find this "dream" MSC, please let everyone on this forum know so we can all sign up! Thank you!

SoCal is highly competitive. Don’t expect anyone to reveal our best companies and potentially reduce the number of shops that are available to us. That’s not being selfish. It’s just good business sense

Surely you cannot be so worried about losing a few shops. Dang, I would think California would be big enough for everyone to not have to be so greedy.

@Msaddict wrote:

Surely you cannot be so worried about losing a few shops. Dang, I would think California would be big enough for everyone to not have to be so greedy.

Apparently the OP is concerned about the loss of shops in SoCal so maybe Cali is not as "shop rich" as you imagine!

@Msaddict wrote:

Surely you cannot be so worried about losing a few shops. Dang, I would think California would be big enough for everyone to not have to be so greedy.

I don't live in So Cal, but I surely don't want those other shoppers that shop my area to give away the names of the schedulers that I have worked so long and hard to cultivate a positive relationship with (yes, I know I ended that with a preposition.) It's not about greed on my end. I'm not the one who wants to enjoy the fruit of another person's labor.

Start with the list below and sign up with all of those companies. Read the newbie forum (https://www.mysteryshopforum.com/list/10) even if you've been shopping for awhile. Check out what other shoppers have to say about various companies. You'll find your niche. But YOU have to find it.

@Msaddict wrote:

Surely you cannot be so worried about losing a few shops. Dang, I would think California would be big enough for everyone to not have to be so greedy.

Ok I hate to be called greedy. I’m just protecting my business. However OP you could try these:

Marketforce
Presto Insta-Shops
iSecretshop
IntelliShops

You’re welcome.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2019 05:57AM by kenasch.

@bestofbothworlds wrote:

@Msaddict wrote:

Surely you cannot be so worried about losing a few shops. Dang, I would think California would be big enough for everyone to not have to be so greedy.

Apparently the OP is concerned about the loss of shops in SoCal so maybe Cali is not as "shop rich" as you imagine!

There are 1000's of shops here. You must be kidding. Put Los Angeles into Presto Insta-shops and see what happens. That will show only the left-overs on SASSIE.

I 'm only saying the shopper to shops available ratio may be different. More shoppers for fewer shops.

I find it interesting that new posters, and some that have been signed up for awhile(but do not post alot), do not reply back to threads they have started.

The people that take the time to respond are very helpful and really do want to help. But it has to be a two way street. There is so much knowledge and experience on this forum.

The next time the same person asks a question I will think twice about responding if all they want is information without even thanking the people who are helping. I am not knocking the OP but stating what I've observed on the forum.

Interesting that two new posters have asked, in different area of the forum, essentially the same question, but about different geographic regions. One in S. CA and one in S. FL. I hope that this sort of "entitlement" query is not a trend.
Edited to add: and now one for W. Arkansas

My answer: below (on this page) is a list of the 15 most discussed MSCs. Sign up with all of them and you will see more jobs.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2019 12:51PM by walesmaven.

@Msaddict wrote:

Surely you cannot be so worried about losing a few shops. Dang, I would think California would be big enough for everyone to not have to be so greedy.

I'm not in California so I don't really have a dog in this hunt, but I don't think it's a question of greed. I think it's more a question of putting in the time and effort to maintain your own business, as all of us do on a regular basis, and of how to determine the "best" to even give an answer ..... my best is different from other people's "best," even with the laundry list the OP has provided. It rather surprises me when a new forum member registers and tells us he is experienced and has been doing this for some time and then asks for info, telling us he isn't willing to do the trial and error rout and needs information from others but shares nothing himself. What are the OP's best companies?

Being in this business and able to do many shops only once every three months, why oh why would I cut my chances of you taking my work..., let's talk good business, not knowing what area you will be in, I wouldn't tell you who are my best companies, and with some work and experience, you'll find them, just as I and many others have done.
The word "gimme, gimme" comes to mind.
edited to add: New comers like you are one reason experienced shoppers don't want to help, take the advice on the forum and use it....taking a phrase from the OP, "I have to know what numbers will win the lotto".



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2019 03:45PM by Irene_L.A..

While there is both a plethora of shops and shoppers in So Cal...there is still a dearth of good shoppers. I get regular requests from my go-to companies to mop up botched shops at the end of the month (a.k.a. dinner with bonus tonight!)

@dasd...would you like us to do your reports as well...just asking.

They will probably not ever post again. I wouldn't.

dasd - Welcome to the forum. You can see we are having a bit of fun with your question, here and on another thread. Hopefully you can join in the fun.

I discovered this forum after I had been shopping a while. The best advice I got was to sign up with all the companies. Then you might find where some of your disappeared shops went. Use the search on this forum to see what others say about the various companies. It can be helpful, though most companies are neither bad nor perfect; we just all have different preferences.

@dasd wrote:

Hi Folks!

I've been doing this for some time and noted my regular companies have severely limited their ops in Southern California for reasons unknown. Now I am considering other firms BUT I'm not willing to do the whole trial and error route again - you know, complete the assignment only to find the MSC doesn't pay what was stated, won't pay until two months (or more...) have elapsed or worst of all... they don't pay! PERIOD - Grrrrrrr!

So with that stated, I would like to know which MSC is truly the best to work with. And by that I mean:

If you do the work and submit the info correctly, they pay you (Hey, what a concept!)
They do not have ridiculous forms or guidelines (aka - designed to fail)
Pay is processed fast - 2 weeks to a month
Shopper support that exists and responds to queries
Paypal or direct deposit WITHOUT a processing fee.

I've read online reviews of many MSC's out there but need to get first hand info from you. Your time and response is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

Wow - I can see there are some on this board that are very sensitive to being asked a general question. I do appreciate the few positive comments that were posted and will discard the rest. It's clear that some in this forum do not think 'we're all in this together' or desire to '...add a positive contribution to the community' as the posting guidelines state

I had a death in the family and am tending to that. And sadly, the petty comments reflect more on you than anything else.

Sorry for your loss, however, as myself and most others do, it is easy to find out who does what by viewing companies and signing up at the bottom of this forum. We do not know where you live, what your interested in, so, for me, it is a very vague question and part of our business to do the work...no offense, but recommending one to my companies without knowing your work, reflects on me.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/04/2019 01:28AM by Irene_L.A..

@dasd wrote:

'we're all in this together'

So sorry for your loss. It's always hard losing a family member.
However, we are absolutely NOT all in this together. Sorry for you confusion. This is my primary income, every shop that I could do that I tell someone else about is money straight out of my pocket and into theirs.
If you owned say.....a grocery store....and the owner of the grocery store next door stops by one day and says "hey, where are you getting your apples from, they look so much better than mine, I'd like to stock them instead of the ones I get" how would take it? Because that's exactly what you did.

@dasd wrote:

'...add a positive contribution to the community' as the posting guidelines state.

You go first...

@dasd
Folks on this board are free to share as they please, with some restrictions (forum rules) such as naming which clients work with which MSC's. Many of us will share strategies for becoming more successful shoppers - these pages are loaded with such ideas. We will also point folks to the huge list of mystery shopping companies linked at the bottom of the page. However, your question, asking about the "best" MSC's in your area strikes a sensitive spot and is rarely shared by veteran shoppers.

Allow me to explain. Folks who have taken their shopping seriously (such as @bgriffin, who relies on this for his livelihood) have spent countless hours signing up for nearly every company on the lists on these pages and have developed relationships with schedulers over the years. Often the "best" companies for their own needs are smaller companies rarely (if ever) discussed on this board. These MSC's often have a limited number of shops that pay well. If they were to share these MSC's on an open forum they , in all probability, would find that forum members pick up some of the work upon which they rely. So, before you condemn folks who won't share, please understand that you are asking them to forfeit part of their income in order to honor your request.

The mystery shopping industry is pure capitalism. We are all private business owners and compete for the same work. Often we make bids for jobs, but lose them to other shoppers who are willing to work for less. Though we are competitors, we are supportive of one-another. We will openly share different ways to approach shops or MSC's. We'll help one-another to navigate pay issues and avoid scams. We'll talk about how to track our shops and pay. We'll share ideas on how to maximize profit. And so on.

Welcome to the forum.

@dasd There's no straightforward answer to your question. As annoying as it may be at first, you're just going to have to do trial and error with new MSCs and find the MSCs that meet your needs/preference. If you take a look at the forum, you'll find mixed opinions for plenty of the MSCs. It all really depends on a lot of your personal performances. Take International Service Check for instance. You'll find posts on here with shoppers that don't care for them and other shoppers that like working for them. I didn't care for some MSCs at first until I was able to build a good relationship with the schedulers for my area.

If you do find a new MSC that you're considering signing up with, feel free and post in the forum asking for some opinions or details about payment time, shop guidelines/expectations, etc. on here to help you better make a decision if you want to try out the MSC or not. People will be more than to offer you assistance in that way.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/04/2019 05:10AM by azncollege.

@MFJohnston wrote:

@dasd
....... These MSC's often have a limited number of shops that pay well. If they were to share these MSC's on an open forum they , in all probability, would find that forum members pick up some of the work upon which they rely. So, before you condemn folks who won't share, please understand that you are asking them to forfeit part of their income in order to honor your request. ... see the original post for what I have cut out of it.

Yes, I totally agree with MFJ. Even in my very part time life as a mystery shopper my very favorite shops which paid well and reimbursed well...the reason they were my faves, came and went. I discovered some of them early on by somehow stumbling across them and was able to do them monthly or bi monthly for a good while loving it but eventually word got out that these were great shops and after some time a shop that I could get every time I applied became a shop that would disappear quickly to other shoppers. I knew they were still being done but the competition was so high from shoppers who had discovered those gems that I never got them again. So yes, I have jobs I do not want to leak out to others. I am patiently waiting for the next one to come along.

@dasd wrote:

Wow - I can see there are some on this board that are very sensitive to being asked a general question. I do appreciate the few positive comments that were posted and will discard the rest. It's clear that some in this forum do not think 'we're all in this together' or desire to '...add a positive contribution to the community' as the posting guidelines state

I had a death in the family and am tending to that. And sadly, the petty comments reflect more on you than anything else.

Sorry for your loss. I think we can perhaps excuse your behavior and your snippyness because you are dealing with a family death and perhaps are overwhelmed and depressed. When you are feeling better and you look back on the situation, you may see things in a different light. I hope you feel better and I wish you well.

Prayers for you and your family.