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That is a vague question. Are you asking if there are shops where you send $? Or something else? MSC doe not send you $ ahead of time to use on mystery shops (at least not that I'm aware of.) If you are talking about them sending you a check and cashing it, that is a SCAM.
I know of a shop where you got to Western Union or Moneygram and inquire about sending $. I think there were even times where you send some $ and then leave and come back in (like 15 minutes later) and get a refund. I did this only 1x. I used my friend name in some foreign country. I didn't feel the pay was worth the effort, so I never did it again.
I know of a shop where you got to Western Union or Moneygram and inquire about sending $. I think there were even times where you send some $ and then leave and come back in (like 15 minutes later) and get a refund. I did this only 1x. I used my friend name in some foreign country. I didn't feel the pay was worth the effort, so I never did it again.
If a Mystery Shopping Company you have never worked with sent you a check, rip it up and delete their contact information. The check is bad.
"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
ZERO mystery shopping companies will send you money to conduct the shops. Anyone that claims they do is a scam.
@HonnyBrown wrote:
If a Mystery Shopping Company you have never worked with sent you a check, rip it up and delete their contact information. The check is bad.
No. Don't rip it up. Turn it over to authorities. USPS has jurisdiction over mail fraud. The Secret Service has jurisdiction over counterfeit checks.
This IS true at least 95% of the time. The only exception I can think of is when you agree to do a shop that requires a large outlay of several hundred dollars or more, and you may ask for or be offered an advance for the required purchase. I suspect that that would occur only in NV for a shopper with an established relationship with the company.@Morledzep wrote:
ZERO mystery shopping companies will send you money to conduct the shops. Anyone that claims they do is a scam.
@AZwolfman wrote:
This IS true at least 95% of the time. The only exception I can think of is when you agree to do a shop that requires a large outlay of several hundred dollars or more, and you may ask for or be offered an advance for the required purchase. I suspect that that would occur only in NV for a shopper with an established relationship with the company.@Morledzep wrote:
ZERO mystery shopping companies will send you money to conduct the shops. Anyone that claims they do is a scam.
Not just NV, but certainly only between MSCs and shoppers who have very well established relations and only for very large sums. No MSC would advance funds to novice or low volume shoppers and likely never in excess of funds due for previous, but not yet paid, shops.
I never have had an advance when doing my Nevada shops while visiting. But I have not asked either. I can afford to spend the $200 or more on some of the fancy dinners and know I will get paid a couple weeks later. You are treated as an employee, so you get paid quicker than many other MSC that pay 1x per month. There are still some MSC that pay quicker than the Nevada shops (like DJC and IPSOS).
@hbbigdaddy wrote:
I never have had an advance when doing my Nevada shops while visiting. But I have not asked either. I can afford to spend the $200 or more on some of the fancy dinners and know I will get paid a couple weeks later. You are treated as an employee, so you get paid quicker than many other MSC that pay 1x per month. There are still some MSC that pay quicker than the Nevada shops (like DJC and IPSOS).
I was actually referring to shops that required several hundred dollars outlay up front , such as casino/resort overnight stays and bottle service nightclubs. Those sometimes exceeded one thousand dollars.
YES... That is a perfect question. Do you send us the money to shop with? I mean by all fairness it does make sense. We're all still in the struggling stage that's why we are all looking for employment no matter where we go.
In all honesty I have tried working in a mystery shopping company who actually gives you the money before you even do the shopping.
For the rare circumstances when that occurs, you have to be an existing, reliable shopper with a great relationship with the MSCs.
"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
Yes, this is the most important qualification.@HonnyBrown wrote:
For the rare circumstances when that occurs, you have to be an existing, reliable shopper with a great relationship with the MSCs.
My first assignment for the 2nd company I worked for when I first started ms years ago sent me a gift certificate to pay for a high end meal. At the time it was worth about $80 and they did not know me at all. Since I was new at mystery shopping and it was the second assignment I ever had anywhere I never questioned that way of pre paying an assignment reimbursement. I did however thoroughly check out the msc and they had a wonderful reputation. This was this century. After about 6 assignments with them they switched to reimbursement after the fact. That company is still in business.
I don't remember the specifics, but I was mailed a check to be deposited at a specific check cashing location. I was already a shopper with the MSC and had applied for the shop, so this wasn't a check "out of the blue." I was paid for the shop at the agreed upon fee, at the agreed upon time, and felt perfectly comfortable depositing the check. I would NEVER deposit an unsolicited check, especially from a MSC I didn't already have a working relationship with, though.
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