If you don't mind crazy long reports and like restaurants, I've seen several of them in your area on the Coyle Hospitality board.

I would also advise that if making money is your first and foremost concern, keep the entertainment and dining shops to a minimum. I mostly mean the lengthy fine dining shops that have a minimal or no fee with quite a bit of upfront expense. But hey, we all have to eat, so those quick serve food shops work okay (if it's food you like), and if you are getting a meal "for free" that you would otherwise have to pay for out of pocket, do it. I did one today (fast Italian) for lunch while I was doing my mini route just south of here. Otherwise I would have had to pack a lunch, so I was happy.

But also keep abreast of payment schedules for MSCs. Recently a lot of shoppers have complained that HS Brands has been slow to pay. I have been shopping so long and have built up quite a "kitty", so it doesn't really matter to me if I get paid 60 or 90 days after a shop was completed. But, when I first started out it was a big deal, as I didn't have a reserve just yet. Oh, and those 0% for 12-15 months credit cards could be wisely used that way, too. Put all of your MS shopping expenses on it and pay it down as soon as you get paid by the MSCs. If someone doesn't pay you for 60-90 days, it's not going to sting at all.

You really have to figure out what works for you, find your niche. People shop for different reasons and have different needs when it comes to how much we make and what kind of shops we like. You are so lucky to have found the forum so early in your shopping career. I have been shopping since 2000-2001 but didn't find the forum until about 7 years ago.

I have started avoiding the gas station shops. They seem to require alot of paperwork and photos and they pay very very little. What kind of gas station shops do you do? There are tons of them and I can easily route them. It just doesn't seem worth it to me. Thank you for your response.

Also, thanks for this entire topic. It's very informative. I'm taking lots of notes.

I know you were probably asking someone else about that, but as far as gas station shops go, I do convenience store mystery shops and some gas station audits. I think that's what most people are talking about when they refer to gas station shops: they are sometimes mystery reveal or flat out audits. In my opinion, those are best done with bonuses only. I guess it would depend on which MSC you do them for, but some MSCs might prefer you to do a few to "prove" that you can do them well, and others (Marketforce) you can't do them at base pay because then they will always expect you to do that location at base rate and are reluctant to give you more. Others can chime in more on this, because I really only do gas station audits when the are HEAVILY bonused.

The problem with many of them is that the fee doesn’t even pay for an entire meal. Some do give enough to pay for one meal, but I don’t feel comfortable going into a touristy, fancy place all alone to eat. So then I bring my husband, and we have to pay for his meal. We normally wouldn’t go to these places because they are a tourist trap and you pay for the “Colonial” feel. Even the hamburger place didn’t pay for my entire meal. They require a sandwich, fries and a drink, and with tax it’s more than they reimburse you. I do look at them and keep an open mind though!

If you down-size the burger or buy a hot dog, you can probably come in within the reimbursement.

@Ercokat wrote:

Even the hamburger place didn’t pay for my entire meal. They require a sandwich, fries and a drink, and with tax it’s more than they reimburse you. I do look at them and keep an open mind though!

And even that shop is often bonused.

Depends on the location. Some are never bonused.

But many are. I got $18 plus reimbursement every time I did it in Salt Lake City. And it was less than 2 miles from my daughter's house.

I see some high paying credit cards, but they are always “must speak Mandarin or Spanish”. I saw one for $40, and I really thought it would be more. If I could make a decent amount I would take the chance after reading your advice!

I bought the smallest burger. If I wasn’t required to buy the fountain drink I wouldn’t have gone over. This place isn’t cheap!

I don't speak Spanish (fluently, anyway) and definitely do not speak Mandarin. Start working on that list of companies to sign up with. There is one MSC who has shops where you signup for a credit card online and take screenshots of your progress. That's the one that paid the hefty fee. I did it in my pajamas drinking coffee.

If you tackle 4-5 applications a day, you will be through the list in no time.

@Ercokat wrote:

I see some high paying credit cards, but they are always “must speak Mandarin or Spanish”. I saw one for $40, and I really thought it would be more. If I could make a decent amount I would take the chance after reading your advice!

If you are turning down $40 shops with very simple visits and reports, I do not know what to advise you. Let's get real about what is decent pay for the effort required.

I just found one with a bonus so I’m going to do it!

Don't forget about asking for bonuses in the future.

I usually just sign up on the job board. How do you go about asking for a bonus?

That depends on which MSC. You often need to prove yourself first. Keep signing up with MSCs and go from there.

I’ve done about 50 or so in the past year, but I guess I haven’t done enough for 1 company that has enough jobs in my area in order for them to call me back. I do often have one scheduler contact me, but she asks me to do one $8 shop 45 minutes away from my house, and when I tell her I would spend that much in gas she tries to tell me that it “isn’t that far”. Hahaha!

Okay, you definitely need to concentrate on doing 5-8 shops for each MSC that has anything remotely interesting to you, so that you begin to qualify for even seeing their better paid shops on their job boards, much less getting calls from schedulers about shops that are not ever on the job boards. DO NOT make the mistake of thinking that the lower paid jobs that may be all that you see now are all that the MSC has to offer. $25 bank shop? Do not scoff at that. Last month the scheduler offered $125 to me, because I had become a recognized, reliable shopper. The next week, she called back with $100 for a shop that was on the job board at $40.

And, remember, parking shops may never get a bonus, but THEIR bonus is paid parking AND a fee, within walking distance of other shops.

I will do the lower prices ones in my area (and I have), but unless I can get several of them outside my area it isn’t worth the gas money. Yesterday I was able to do 3 in another city, and I didn’t have to buy anything which was great. But if it’s $8 to drive 50 miles round trip it doesn’t make sense for me. I’ve done several grocery store shops, but they require specific items be bought, and I find myself spending money on things I wouldn’t necessarily buy otherwise. And then they told me everything was good with my shop, but the company said I gave them “too much information”. ????.

You need to sign up with more companies.

Everyday i am adding several!

Ercotat,
In the beginning we have all had to take some routes where we just broke even with fuel costs to get the experience and build our reputations. I suggest that if you can make only $5 on a mini-route to gain experience and establish yourself with an MSC as reliale, that will begin to pay off well.

When I started, I needed to clear $400 per month. Step by step, I built my reputation, and learned to build more and more profitable days; at the same time, the schedulers were gaining confidence in me. Within 3 months I was easily netting $400 per month AND schedulers had started calling me with offers that were not yet posted. That was my chance to say, "I can go if you can add enough more shops, or bonuses to make it worth while to spend x hours on the road."

Keep looking and you will also find grocery shops where the client does not require such specific purchases. If you have not found those, you are not signed up with enough MSCs.

When I started out and built my profits up quickly, I used every day that I did not have as many shops as I wanted as a day to sign up with TEN more MSCs. It is up to you to build your business by investing your time in it. That is how all successful shoppers started. MSCs would not be begging my shopper buddy to drive to your area from the DC suburbs of VA if there were not a lot of shops there; and he would NOT be going if the pay was not worth the trip. But, he would be delighted if he did not get those calls to drive so far in one day. That is why ha shared this info with me! He can make as much as he wants within 30 miles of his home. He only drives to your neck of the woods as a favor to desperate schedulers who trust him with a lot of good jobs closer to home!

Oh, and yes, once I reached $400 a month on a regular basis I never looked back. Onward and upward is exactly how it went, lol.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2019 02:46PM by walesmaven.

Serendipity, good luck, favor, or just plain ol' availability should be acknowledged. Within one week, and only because I was available (by virtue of postponing tasks & errands), I more than tripled my planned income from merchandising. These tiny little shops were available, and I did them. Who knew?! Perhaps you will have some unexpected blessings along the way, too.

Very good advice! Now that my daughter has her own car I am able to drive more than 10 minutes from home and take the farther shops. And I am definitely adding MSCs. I think I’ve added 12-15 this week so far, and plan on more today and tomorrow! Thank you for your wisdom, and I wish I had found this group last year!!!

For the burger shop that doesn't quite cover the little burger/fries/drink, chances are that you can bring half the fries home. You can even search the internet for this restaurant's leftover fries and find recipes. Breakfast casserole, for example. While I agree it's a little pathetic they don't fully reimburse, if I can stretch the meal I don't feel so bad.

When my husband went with me, of course there weren't any fries to bring home, but we split even the little hamburger and didn't leave hungry. We both squeezed a meal out of it and I had at least a $6 fee. And lets face it, the report couldn't be any easier. Just don't go starving with this plan.