Sad about what MSCs are forced to do to get clients

Today I got offers for a shop at a national office supply store. The purchase requirement is for at least a $50 item, and a specific coupon needs to be used to take $10 off the price, so a minimum of $40 and tax. The item can't be returned. The reimbursement is $15, with no shopper pay. So, a minimum of $25 out of the shopper's pocket for the priviledge of doing a "quick" report. With tax on $50, it would be more like $30 out of pocket. Yeah, it's nice to get a discount on office supplies, but I don't work for discounts; I work for income. It saddens me that ms companies would have to go this low to get the client, but I also wonder how much they are making off of it.

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

This doesn't make sense to me. The MSC is not forced to do anything.

Yeah, I see what you mean. I guess it would be better to say how they bid extremely low in order to get a client, in order to not be underbid by other ms companies and lose that income. It's become such a cut-throat business. I started ms about 25 years ago, and some of the places I shopped back then are still being shopped, only for half as much as they were over 2 decades ago. There is a regional chain grocery store that I shopped in 2000 that paid $20 for the shop plus up to $25 reimbursement. Now that shop is $6 pay and $14 reimbursement.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2021 05:40PM by Candy Kane.

We don't know what the MSC's bid was. This MSC has had this client for years.

The MSC may very well be pulling in a big profit at the expense of shoppers.

If this is the coupon shop, I don't mind doing these for items I'd be purchasing anyway. Gives me a little bit of a reimbursement on stuff that I have to buy or was going to buy.

Doesn't the client set the reimbursement, fees, etc. for the shoppers? The MSC gets the shoppers and the reports.

Shoppers always have the option of accepting or rejecting.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

As you see there are shoppers who are interested in this shop. The shop as explained would be a $25 discount for the shopper off the current price of the item. And possibly it can be used on sale items as well. If the report is easy and the shopper is in need of a specific item, that is not bad.

I think the client agrees to the amount of the reimbursement and the payment to the MSC, but the MSC determines shopper payment. MSC folks, please clue us in.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Doesn't the client set the reimbursement, fees, etc. for the shoppers? The MSC gets the shoppers and the reports.

Shoppers always have the option of accepting or rejecting.

@MSF wrote:

I think the client agrees to the amount of the reimbursement and the payment to the MSC, but the MSC determines shopper payment. MSC folks, please clue us in.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Doesn't the client set the reimbursement, fees, etc. for the shoppers? The MSC gets the shoppers and the reports.

Shoppers always have the option of accepting or rejecting.

Correct, the client sets the reimbursement and the amount they're going to pay per shop or project and the MSC handles the rest. Client usually has no say in how much the MSC is going to pay shoppers.

I've done many of these coupon shops -- the reports are truly a breeze -- but only it's a place I already plan to buy something, and that thing is NOT excluded on the coupon. I passed on the office supply store one because the exclusions on the coupon were ridiculous.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Sad about what MSCs are forced to do to get clients

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine