Have you done shops to replace cards?

March 04, 2022 05:00PM

I see shops for going to a grocery store and replacing money cards. It seems like a lot of work for the low pay. They pay from $9 to $12, but they mail you the cards, than you go to the store to stock the card display and take pictures. I think you have to mail back any extra cards. Have you done these shops?

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March 04, 2022 05:29PM

The ones I did, you did not have to return the cards; I merely left them in the store as back stock. I also gave expired cards to the manager for the store to return.

I live in a rural area, so the nearest store to me was 60 miles away. I asked for and received $40 per store for a route, which made it profitable, since I could build routes around them.

The work itself was easy; I'm 100% disabled, and was able to do them. Rarely took more than 20 minutes per store. The most difficult part for me was carrying the heavy box of cards into the store; I would normally go inside, get a cart, put them in the cart, and push them into the store, rather than carrying them.

Some of the stores on my route didn't have any display at all; the scheduler added more stores to my route, so I just took the cards to the next store and used them. The scheduler was thrilled, as this enabled her to fill more stores she needed done without waiting for me to receive more cards.

(Actually, IIRC, the first store took me about an hour and 45 minutes; but after that, I knew what to do! LOL! )

Hope this helps, although it may not be the same job you're asking about.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/2022 05:24AM by ceasesmith.

March 04, 2022 06:10PM

I've done a variety of these - big box and convenience stores. The work is easy like the poster above said, and once you've done it a few times it goes faster. You don't have to mail the cards back. You either leave them in backstock with the store or on the display itself. You have to check for expired cards and discard those.
They used to pay more and you only had to worry about one brand. Now they are low paying and ask you to do multiple brands. I won't do them for less than $15 each and in a route. The $9-11 rate is barely minimum wage and I am a bit selective in what pay I will take, just on principle. The last ones I did were at $17 and a route of 3 or 4 gas stations. I used to live in the city and they would get snatched up at the low rate. I'm in a more rural area now and with gas prices, I can't take the low pay. On the flip side, being in a more rural area means less shoppers, so they tend to get bonuses.

March 05, 2022 12:08PM

I used to do a lot of those. But I haven't worked for that company for a few years now. They don't bring the pay up, I asked many times for for driving distances and they refused. Even on the really long routes, So I let them find other people to do them.

March 05, 2022 03:05PM

I did one for twenty bucks that was in town. I would do an in-town one for that price again. I wouldn't go less because while it is truly easy - it still takes time.

March 05, 2022 05:08PM

I have did all my local ones about 8 easy work but a lot of time involved for the amount of pay and with the price of gas rising not making a lot of money doing them.

March 05, 2022 05:58PM

All valid points. I like these gigs, but I am not doing them just now. Fear not. This is nothing about the essence of the gig. It is just me. My back has enough to do at home with a huge sorting project. I do not need to torture it by adding hard floors, wrangling merch boxes, and sorting cards. The job is inherently easy, but I must reiterate this point. People with body issues (standing on hard floors, lifting, bending, etc.) might consider how they might feel after one gig or a few repetitions per day.

More timely and specific is my concern regarding profitability. Considering fuel prices, the pay should be higher for people who travel any significant distances and cannot piece together enough work that is spread across multiple gigs/MSC's in order to have a reasonable profit.

My garden in England is full of eating-out places, for heat waves, warm September evenings, or lunch on a chilly Christmas morning. (Mary Quant)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/2022 05:58PM by Shop-et-al.

March 05, 2022 10:00PM

I'm afraid I sound like a broken record but I echo all the responses you've received. I don't do them for less than $18 and that is only for my town locations. Anything else I try to set up a route then ask the scheduler if I do XXXX amount could they increase the fee to $25 per store. Works sometimes.

March 05, 2022 10:45PM

In my area they rarely go above $9, so I won't do them.

March 06, 2022 09:02PM

Back in December, I offered to do a route of 5 in my town for $12/store. They said they could only come up a dollar to $10/store. They were all within a 13 mile radius, so I did them. The work was easy and I was in each store for no more than 20 minutes. With travel time, about 2 1/2 hrs total for all 5 stores (in-store and driving time combined). Gas (back in Dec) cost about $4.00 for the whole thing. So for $50 total, I did OK on that one. After deducting the $4.00 for gas, I ended up at about $18/hour, since there was no work to report at home.

I wouldn't do a route outside of my town for that, though.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2022 09:03PM by guysmom.

March 09, 2022 01:44AM

much like most mystery shopping jobs, i think it all depends on the area, the amount of shoppers in that region and what the stores had gone for previously. if i wait for the amounts to go up to $15/$20 on the board, chances are someone takes them at $9/$12 and i lose a nice route. if you can work out multiple locations with the scheduler who emails you, they can be reasonable - but i don’t think you’re going to get the $40/store ceasesmith was getting if you’re in a populated city/suburban location. i won’t touch them for $9, i’ll begrudgingly take them at $12, and am happy at anything $15+.

March 09, 2022 05:06PM

There's one location that's 28 miles from me, and is in a remote area. Right now, the offer on the board is up to $30. If it goes up to $35, I might take it. But I'd be tempted to see if it goes up to $40.

March 09, 2022 06:50PM

For the difference of $15 my out of the way location remains available. Wish the scheduler would realize gas ⛽ prices will inhibit job acceptance.

March 14, 2022 06:45PM

You can make an offer to them, they might take it if its been sitting with a few different bumps in pay.

March 14, 2022 10:24PM

@joanna81 wrote:

You can make an offer to them, they might take it if its been sitting with a few different bumps in pay.

That just happened with me....a site that's a 56 mile round trip location has been bonused several times already, and sitting on the board for a while. Tonight I offered it for $10 higher than the last bonus, and they accepted it.

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