Jump on shops or wait for bonus?

April 25, 2023 03:53AM

I'm new and just wondering if I should try to grab shops I want as soon as they come out or wait and see if the pay will increase?

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April 25, 2023 04:15AM

tcolwell, As you get your feet wet, you’ll need to get a read on the competition in your area to decide. While doing so, take shops at the going rate. For the next month or so, watch the job boards of MSC’s of interest to you. Get a feel for what flies off the boards, and what lingers. Good luck!

April 25, 2023 11:59AM

My only addition to Mert's excellent advice is to suggest that if you are desperate for money, then jump. Netting $6 on a shop is a piddling amount, unless you and/or your family are hungry.

April 25, 2023 12:32PM

To go along with what Mert says, I have a spreadsheet dedicated for when I notice the locations of my preferred type of shop in the locations within my radius get taken. This has helped me get a good feel of where I believe my main competitor for these shops is based and when they may be in rotation for certain shops and when they aren't. For the most part, I have a good feel for the price levels for my preferred shop type I need to "jump" at, or else I won't get them at all.

April 25, 2023 01:07PM

Sometimes I wait and I lose. Other times bonuses come unexpectedly. I do seem to have a lot of competition in my area so its a tough call to make. I do know that certain jobs are not worth the initial fee. 5G for example, not worth the 10 they pay so I always wait for them to go up and apparently, so does my competition.

I took some jobs a few months ago at the initial $9 fee just because I had never done them before. They were worth more than that and eventually went up to $15. That is when I took some more.

You have to gauge your area as others have said.

April 25, 2023 01:41PM

This is a complex question. There are some companies that do not "Go Up" I can think of two off hand. They might offer a small bonus once in a very great while. So I will do those shops on occasion: 1) If I am going there anyway, might as well save a few bucks! and 2) If I am trying to make my "goal" for the month. What about the others: I have tried all shops because what is "worth" it to one person is not to another. I keep in mind these things: Once committed I am "in" I rarely cancel a shop. If I am committed I have given up the opportunity of a different shop that may come along. I set my own wage. What do I mean by that? Well, most companies pay a fair wage, and then there are some companies that pay a ridiculously low amount. I decide what I am willing to do the shop for. I might reach out and make a counter offer. Sometimes we negotiate, sometimes I am told that the job needs to sit awhile before it will be considered. That is okay. Someone else may come along and snap it up. I have found that it happens once in awhile, and then they too are aware it should pay more. I actually think the wages for low shops are made in reaching out and seeing if they might be willing to go higher.

April 25, 2023 02:04PM

Servimer shops stay the same price all month and begin to post on the 25th of the month prior to the actual shop dates. If you live in or near a major city you can easily use their parking shops to get paid to park while you walk to other shops nearby. With so many former city-based workers now working from home, those well-paid city bank shops (as well as many others) are hard to fill. Getting paid parking from a Servimer shop will allow you to grab lots of other shops nearby!

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

April 25, 2023 02:37PM

Yes, keeping an eye on boards to see how high fees go at particular locations for particular shops is an important strategy. You also have to dip your toe in the waters. You will find some shops just aren't worth doing even at the highest bonus offered, much less at base rate.

April 25, 2023 04:02PM

Be careful taking Marketforce shops at the initial rate. That will set your normal shop fee with them and will make it difficult to move it higher when they really need shops filled.

April 25, 2023 04:15PM

Has anyone else noticed a trend with the 5G shops? Now that the reimbursement is raised...it seems like more people are taking them at the $10 base fee. Maybe it's just my area...but it seems like there are less on the board than it used to be. I didn't know the $15.45 vs $17.25 was such a big deal.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2023 04:23PM by hbbigdaddy.

April 25, 2023 04:30PM

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

Has anyone else noticed a trend with the 5G shops? Now that the reimbursement is raised...it seems like more people are taking them at the $10 base fee. Maybe it's just my area...but it seems like there are less on the board than it used to be. I didn't know the $15.45 vs $17.25 was such a big deal.

Check out the Five Guys thread where it's being discussed.

April 25, 2023 05:55PM

I keep a spreadsheet with the dates shops are released, the drop-dead deadline date, and how long it takes for bonuses to appear.

After a time, I notice patterns and am able to predict when fees are going to jump

April 25, 2023 06:34PM

I think it depends on why you are shopping.
If you want to make as much as possible with less work, wait for bonuses. Like others have said, this strategy's success will depend on competition in your area. Rural areas tend to get larger bonuses than cities.
If you want to shop for the experiences, then go for it at base pay.

April 25, 2023 07:03PM

Sometimes people have very weird logic. I recall a story of some restaurant like popeyes opened and they were giving out a $3 meal. People waited in line 2-3 hours because it was free.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

Has anyone else noticed a trend with the 5G shops? Now that the reimbursement is raised...it seems like more people are taking them at the $10 base fee. Maybe it's just my area...but it seems like there are less on the board than it used to be. I didn't know the $15.45 vs $17.25 was such a big deal.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2023 07:03PM by joanna81.

April 25, 2023 07:17PM

yes....lots of clowns also wait on 3/14 for Blaze pizza at $3.14.

I don't need it that bad that I will wait more than 30 minutes. I can get 2 Costco slices for $4 and have plenty of tasters inside. :-)

@joanna81 wrote:

Sometimes people have very weird logic. I recall a story of some restaurant like popeyes opened and they were
giving out a $3 meal. People waited in line 2-3 hours because it was free.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

Has anyone else noticed a trend with the 5G shops? Now that the reimbursement is raised...it seems like more people are taking them at the $10 base fee. Maybe it's just my area...but it seems like there are less on the board than it used to be. I didn't know the $15.45 vs $17.25 was such a big deal.

April 25, 2023 07:31PM

I shop a lot of Sonics in my area and certain ones always go up the last few days of the month. This month they were all gone very quickly; I blame it on newbies, but OTOH, I would understand if they were really needy.

April 25, 2023 08:05PM

Thanks everyone!

April 25, 2023 08:13PM

KAO47: were you an accountant in another life? This is a discipline I never conquered. I have shopped over 25 years and have never been diligent about when/how, etc. shops are taken. I wish I was more attuned like you are.

April 26, 2023 05:00AM

Without reading all of the replies, I would have to say it all depends on what market you are in. If you are living someplace where there are thousands of people and the competition is high, then you’ll have to figure out how fast they are flying off the board and at what fees.

If you live someplace, out in the middle of nowhere, where the towns are 30 miles apart from each other, and your nearest large city is several hours driving distance, then you’ll be able to contact the schedulers and bargain for a higher fee, depending on how far you have to drive, how long it takes you to drive there, how long it takes you to do the shops themselves, and how long it’ll take you to drive home again.

Good luck and welcome to the club!

April 26, 2023 01:59PM

A general rule I follow: if it is a new program of shops, I generally wait as it is not well known to shoppers and bonuses are usually good. On other shops, I check the job board several times a day. I've watched gas station audits disappear off the board, only to have them show up later. Right now, I took two weeks off shopping and find myself tempted to jump at any and all shops. Trying to be disciplined.

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230

April 27, 2023 02:33AM

For me it depends on the situation.

I do quite a few loops with gas station shops. I'll snag a handful as early as possible just to get the loop established, then wait and see if I can get bonuses for the usual suspects in the areas I cover.

Next loop for me is down to San Diego and back for a concert with the GF. I need to get a handful of shops on the way down and the way back to write off the mileage for the trip.

I accepted a couple of Quick Quack car washes at minimum pay for the start and end of the trip to get things started, then I waited to see which gas stations popped up in my time frame.

I do the Chevron conditional reveals whether they are bonused or not. I might take an unbonused Exxon or Shell if they are on my way and I need to up my gross for a trip, but those typically are not worth base pay unless they are a small station with only 4 pumps.

The current end date for the round of Chevrons is May 3, the day I leave, so I've got 5 booked. I fully expect some more of them to be available for my drive back when their dates are extended, and I expect there to be some bonused Phillips 66 visits that show up after their current wave closes on April 30. As with the Chevrons, I'm good with those at base pay.

Have synthesizers, will travel...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2023 03:49AM by CoolMusic.

April 27, 2023 11:43AM

I view it the same way manufacturers or suppliers view an order: A one or 2 piece order means no discount on the parts while a volume order gives the buyer a discount from the supplier.

So, if it is only a 1 or 2 shop route (especially so when the 1 or 2 route are shops miles away), I await a bonused amount. OTOH, if a route can be made up with 5 or more shops, then, at least one of the shop's fee can be sacrificed for the cost of fuel.
Usually, the above works for me. But as fuel costs rise, that cost has to be figured in.

No matter, it works for me.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2023 01:27PM by French Farmer.

April 27, 2023 06:22PM

@tcolwell wrote:

I'm new and just wondering if I should try to grab shops I want as soon as they come out or wait and see if the pay will increase?

Time is money. Time spent waiting is money wasted. So, I always do what recording star Eddie Van Halen said, "Jump!"

April 27, 2023 06:25PM

If there is competition in your area, then the best way to get the jump on it is to be a better shopper than the competition. It takes time, practice, dedication, and experience.

April 27, 2023 07:58PM

@AZwolfman wrote:

If there is competition in your area, then the best way to get the jump on it is to be a better shopper than the competition. It takes time, practice, dedication, and experience.

And tell me how that helps with self-assign shops where someone may take it for less than you feel you deserve?

Not that being the best shopper is a bad idea, It's just irrelevant when someone not as good as you can just take the shop you were holding out for.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2023 08:02PM by MisterBill.

April 28, 2023 12:53AM

@MisterBill wrote:

@AZwolfman wrote:

If there is competition in your area, then the best way to get the jump on it is to be a better shopper than the competition. It takes time, practice, dedication, and experience.
And tell me how that helps with self-assign shops where someone may take it for less than you feel you deserve?

Not that being the best shopper is a bad idea, It's just irrelevant when someone not as good as you can just take the shop you were holding out for.

You just bolstered my point. Jump on the shop now if you want it. Otherwise it may not be available if you wait. I think that there are always shoppers who take shops that pay less than what I will accept. If a shop does not pay enough for me to take, then I leave it alone and take another shop with suitable pay instead.

April 28, 2023 09:15PM

I always wait for my minimum and when I get called for a shop I always insist on my minimum. Don't fall for the praise, citations, priority list promises, etc. Example: I wait or counter for $25 for a popular "quick" service burger place, $50 for a popular oil change place, $45 for gambling, etc. When a new shopper comes into the mix it seems the shops will not hit that price for a couple of months, but then they eventually come back.

April 29, 2023 01:22AM

Not here. MUCH competition so most are done before pay rates rise.

May 04, 2023 12:32AM

This month, my favorite gas station mystery shop/audit all went except for a few. Now, three have returned to the board with a $6 bonus. I performed one of them today. I'll see if any more appear. Last quarter I did 10 with $15 bonus on each.

May 04, 2023 01:34AM

@MisterBill wrote:

@AZwolfman wrote:

If there is competition in your area, then the best way to get the jump on it is to be a better shopper than the competition. It takes time, practice, dedication, and experience.
And tell me how that helps with self-assign shops where someone may take it for less than you feel you deserve?

Not that being the best shopper is a bad idea, It's just irrelevant when someone not as good as you can just take the shop you were holding out for.

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