Anyone know of any reliable sites to sign up for conventions? And if so, are they free?
Anyone ever attend a mystery shopping convention?
Thanks.

There are at least two a year; generally, they are noted here.

Does anyone know if there's one coming up soon?

If you use the Search feature you'll find lots of discussions on the most informative meetings!

MSPA has theirs mid-June usually. I know this because I am always busy with my kids the last few years when they have it.

IMSC meets, generally, in November and May. It is the Independent Mystery Shoppers' Coalition. By and for shoppers. MSPA is an organization by and for MSCs. IMSC will meet in Atlanta in early May.

They are not free usually, but they do make exceptions for hardships I think.

How do I find out more info on this?

Go to the websites.

Thank you!

IMSC, Atlanta, May 1-3 - [imscinfo.com]
MSPA, Phoenix, June 12-13 - [mspa-americas.org]

Unbelievable that anyone would want to go to Phoenix in summer, lol.

I have always wondered about these. Are they helpful for developing relationships? Do they give you any helpful/new information?

I have been to 10+ IMSC conferences. I always learn something that will more than pay for the cost of travel and attendance. After my first one, where I learned a TON about constructing profitable day-routes and then multi-day routes, my annual net MS income almost doubled. And, what I learned at other conferences about, for instance, negotiating for additional fees, constructing bulletproof back stories for long interactions, senior living shops, and other matters has added substantially to the range of higher fee shops that I qualify for. NOTE: One thing that MSPA is highly unlikely to EVER teach shoppers is how to negotiate higher fees and complex routes. But, IMSC has sessions, breakout groups, and networking opportunities at every conference aimed specifically at those skills. Since MSPA serves the needs of its members (the MSCs) they won't be likely to encourage learning how to negotiate bonus fees. IMSC is by shoppers, for shoppers. And, IMHO, that makes a huge difference.

Networking with schedulers, editors and MSC managers and owners is great and is facilitated by having them all in the main conference room for sessions and available there during every break for networking. This is IMSC; not sure how this is handled at MSPA.

Also, I have met a ton on forum members at IMSC conferences! And those contacts, as well as having met many of my schedulers and project managers, is like money in the bank !

I was shaking my head at the $100 fee for the murder mystery in Atlanta -- until I read that there was a 2-hour open bar. That explains the high fee.

And, it is optional.

Thank you so much!!

Wow, really? As in more private shops opened up to you?

This is super helpful! I feel like there needs to be a sticky for this discussion!

Yes, many more shops opened up for me !

@ServimerScott wrote:

IMSC, Atlanta, May 1-3 - [imscinfo.com]
MSPA, Phoenix, June 12-13 - [mspa-americas.org]

It's as though somebody checks to make sure that I can't go every year now. hahahaha
I'm picking up my daughter from college on the 11th. In previous years, it has been national championship sports for my son.

I met company owners at the MSPA conferences, was a paid speaker at others and had made thousands more dollars by having those connections. I get off-the-board perks and jobs to this day because of it. Then again, that doesn't mean that these things are guaranteed either. It really depends on how you present yourself.

Can you list some examples of perks? Just curious.

I have been to four IMSC Conferences, beginning in 2009, and have been a speaker at three.

My opinion? They *used* to be useful and good ten years ago, but quality went downhill after two competitors (MSPA and VideoCon) began holding shopper conferences as well.

Save your money and take a pass.

There used to be many companies and schedulers present, but now it’s less than half - and it is mostly the problematic companies with “slow and/or low” pay. Very few video companies, they’ve all migrated elsewhere.

Lots of drama, the organizers love to screech at the attendees on the mic - very unpleasant and unprofessional. Virtually every presenter wants to sell you something; it’s like going to a MLM convention. Not a lot of useful information in the sessions, except for someone who wandered in not having any experience at ALL.

My backpack and laptop were stolen from my room at the last IMSC convention I attended, in November 2018. When the LV police arrived, they advised me to get a better hotel; the one that the IMSC had chosen was one of highest crime-rate hotels in the city.

My advice: Save your money and instead build relationships with companies and schedulers. Don’t forget that, in addition to the money you are spending to attend a conference (registration, hotel, travel, food) that you are also losing money by not working as much those conference days.

Finally: There are “shills” on this board who hype IMSC conventions because they get a free ride. Beware and be cynical of folks who over-promote.

Free ride ??? Speakers are not paid (unlike MSPA), pay their own travel and meals. The conference fee is waived for most speakers, but that is peanuts compared to travel and hotel. Get real.

Walesmaven -

Why shill for a conference that is so low-value?
It’s not ethical and not fair to novices who are unfamiliar with the industry.

Edit to add: The founder of the IMSC is banned from this forum. That should tell you a lot right there.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2020 02:35PM by ColoKate63.

Just a note to add that KoloKate has followed me around the forum on other occasions, making accusations that amount to name calling. I have come to expect that.

@walesmaven wrote:

Just a note to add that KoloKate has followed me around the forum on other occasions, making accusations that amount to name calling. I have come to expect that.

Nope.

I just am a tremendous fan of the truth and of calling it like it is. I rarely, rarely post here, but do come in to search for information on pay rates or dates.

I hate to see novice shoppers bullied or tricked. So many shoppers are not in the financial position to be taken advantage of.

With nearly 20,000 posts, the above forum member has something to say on virtually every single thread, every day. I’ve got roughly 1% of the number of posts she has. With an overbearing presence on this forum, it’s inevitable that our posts land on the same thread.

Finally: Who is “KoloKate?” Is this the type of attention to detail you typically put into your reports? The correct names for forum members are literally millimeters above the postings; how difficult is it to get that right?

So now I am a bully and a trickster ? My, my. I am not sure whether that is a step up or down from just being an "old fogey." ?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2020 03:11PM by walesmaven.

Walesmaven -

I’ve got a full day of meaningful work ahead of me and no time to engage with someone who just wants to constantly put the focus on themselves and start an unprofessional pie fight. Muting you. Bye.

To the OP and others reading this thread: ask questions before signing up for an expensive conference.
1. Look at the list of sponsoring companies, look at the agenda.
2. Do your due diligence and search this forum for discussion on shopper conferences; there is a lot of information here with some valid criticisms of them from independent observers going back over several years.

I answered the OP’s question honestly and bluntly. I have first-hand experience and wanted to share. I value honesty and objective observations; probably one of the reasons that I’ve been doing this work for almost 12 years now.

I’d add that I’ve never attended an MSPA conference, either, and have no plans to do so. For different reasons, the MSPA Shopperfests are a total waste of time as well, in my opinion.

Carpe diem and peace out!

RE: Conventions
I have never been to a convention, but have done quite well for myself shopping. It seems that most/all of the information I've needed, I've been able to find for free, mostly on this forum. I work full time and only shop to add to my income. I've been able to add roughly $20,000 (profit) to my family budget each of the past couple of years, while taking chucks of time off when I simply need a break. I work when I want and as much/as little as I want.

However, were I to want to do this full time, I would explore the conventions. I know that there are contacts in the mystery shopping world that I do not yet have and attaining them would be greatly accelerated by attending these conventions. I cannot speak to whether IMSC or MSPA would be better for this, but I suspect I'd want to check both out.

So, are the conventions worth it? I honestly suspect that this depends on the individual shopper. I do very well gleaning information from forums such as this one and exploring mystery shopping opportunities. However, for a shopper that does not do this as well, the conventions might very well be an alternate way of learning about the industry. I would caution a shopper, however, to price out the cost of going (hotel, travel, etc.) and decide if the potential benefits would offset those costs in a reasonable amount of time. For the shopper who is content to do one or two $15 shops a week, the conferences are likely not going to be a worthwhile endeavor. For the shopper who is looking to regularly earn $2000+ in a month, they very well could be a great investment.