Anyone here does gas stations for $12? I was just reading the requirements. Is this worth it?
I would like to hear your take whether you like it or not and WHY?

Thanks!!!!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/2021 11:42PM by freshlybakedcookies.

Are you talking about the 76 Station on ISecretShop? If so the are very easy. No pictures, no purchase. About 15 minutes. I did 2 today and have 3 for tomorrow.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/2021 01:08AM by pegleg2000.

I am assuming you are talking about the ExxonMobils, and Shells since I believe they have a starting pay of $12, and the answer to the question is no. I do not think it is worthwhile to do them at $12. Much less at $10 which is what some other gas station mystery shops start at. I think it's much better to do them at $40, and $50 if you are able to, but that will depend a lot on what your competition thinks. If your competition thinks $12 is good pay, and does it for that much, then both you and your competition lose out on work that later might have been priced at $40 or $50. But that's the way it goes.

My last gas station shop was in April of 2016 for a now defunct MSC. I was paid $46, there were just a few islands and it was a round trip of two blocks; I was driving to a supplier for my store. There are several variables to consider, such as the number of pics, islands and if the shop is covert. Taking every possibility into consideration, my reply is NO. I would not consider such an assignment until it hit $40 and at that sum only if it were convenient for me. That same now defunct MSC once paid me $126 to complete a job with a round trip of 100+ miles; it was a home improvement center.. Unfortunately, the now defunct company's client list is with a French organization that is a low end payer.

The above usage of unusual verbiage was necessary to avoid removal for a forum infraction.

I remember dling the exxon/mobil for close to $30 with the other MSC. I miss those days.

It is important to know your market. I don't live in a market where these even saw $40 with the old MSC. (Though I'd travel a bit to get a bunch of those 40-50's when they did pop up in certain areas). So, I can't do what Curious99 prefers.

This doesn't mean jump in right now, either. I like doing gas audits, and over the years I have kept track of certain areas of my radius of where shops go faster than the others. I'll take a cluster in that area at base, because it's either then or never, but that's only if I anticipate a slow day. (Why not take $75 total of stations if I didn't have much else and I know they would otherwise go to someone else at base). Otherwise, I think that for the moment, I have a feel for when I need to jump in with my market.

I'd really sit back this quarter, btw, especially with blues. One thing the new MSC doesn't grasp as well as the old MSC is that they are their own competition. Blues and yellows both beginning on Oct 1st? A shopper can only do so much. (Should've made more yellows available in September, since blues weren't starting yet). Then there's a couple of other stations...

To make a long story short, know your market, don't jump in now, but try to learn when you have to jump in if this is a shop you like to do.

One more thing: Always pull up the station on google maps before accepting it, if you are otherwise unfamiliar with it. Check for the number of pumps (more pumps, more work), and by zooming give it a look over to see how clean/filthy it might have been then if the image is good enough.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/2021 09:17PM by KA047.

Unless the stations are very close to home and do not require much travel, you're going to struggle to make minimum wage by doing gas stations at base pay. If there is any travel at all, and some of the stations end up taking longer than anticipated, the compensation could easily drop below minimum wage.

This afternoon, I received an E-letter concerning gas station work. Having some spare time, I clicked a link and discovered that of 202 initially available for Ohio, 193 had already been assigned. I am assuming this was at the base rate, which was $12.50 for daylight and $12.50 for dark hours; the reimbursement was $10 for each. For me, this harks back to 2003, when on the Volition forum a shopper inquired as to when jobs would stop being reduced in pay.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2021 10:26PM by shopperbob.

If all of those Shell shops were taken by one person, I feel sorry for them. Because there's no way I could see them doing all those, and it not working out to be less than minimum wage at $12 per location. And my guess is they probably don't even know it because we are paid per shop, not per hour. So they might think 193 locations x $12.50 shop pay = $2,412.50, and think that's really good pay. But if it worked out to be $5/hour after you factored in your time, and expenses, would it still be worth it when you could easily get more working a regular job? It sure wouldn't be for me. That's below minimum wage.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2021 11:31PM by Curious99.

In my state, I would estimate that only 1/4 of the locations get picked up at base pay, and those are clustered in the large metro areas. My state doesn't have the blue stations; just the yellow ones as far as brands involved in this discussion

There are several threads about gas stations. I suggest you take the time to read through them before accepting. There are people like me who do quite well doing these, but there are others who do not. IMO You have to be willing to do more than one brand and be willing to travel to make real money. They are hard at first, learning all the information and what to take pics of. I created cheat sheets for each brand to make it easier to switch between the brands and not miss anything. I like doing them. Most do not.

I do gas stations for 12.00 but not the ones you guys were discussing. I have also done those in the past but for a but more than that. I could knock them out in about 45 minutes or less. The hold back was the poor performance of the MSCs proprietary app. I imagine doing them with Mobi Audit is much better.

Where I am located, the Exxon shops are over 120 miles away, and there are only two of them. The Shell shops have four that are pretty close, less than 20 miles, but one has since been debranded and is now a Phillips 66. And a couple of Sinclairs have debranded also. So I do not really do gas shops anymore. I guess the MBA's have invaded the mystery shopping industry and will mess it up like they have messed up others.