Hello and good morning.

Do you all have any good rules of thumb to consider before doing a shopping route? Essentially I'm asking about how much profit would you guys consider to make it "worth it"?

Hey, metro.

That's hard to answer. Excluding routes where I have to be somewhere for a personal matter and pick shops up as I go to help with the travel expense -- I've done small ones (an hour or less from home) where I probably clear $100 after you figure the cost of gas. Considering I'd probably have been at home doing nothing (and not earning anything), it was worth it for me to go. Sometimes, I'd get lucky and pick up extra shops in the area.

My sister lives in a large city, so most of my high-dollar profitable routes are in her direction. I can pick shops up along the way, coming and going, and snag a bunch during the week that I spend at her house.

If an MSC asks me to do a route in an area where I don't have a couch to crash on, I tell them they'll have to make it worth my while. I will only do an overnight one if I can clear $300+ after expenses.

I also factor in the time investment - in the two-hour roundtrip it takes me to do the small route, could I make that much or more on my home turf? (Most of the time, I'm doing the small route because there isn't anything going on in my local area.)

I should also state that this is how I make a living. The fact that this is my only source of income probably skews my logic a bit. [i.e., "some profit is better than zero profit"] A person who does this to supplement a regular income may answer differently.

What are your routes typically like?

(edited to remove the inadvertent smiley face emoticon from my punctuation)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/2023 10:36AM by drdoggie00.

@drdoggie00 wrote:

Hey, metro.

That's hard to answer. Excluding routes where I have to be somewhere for a personal matter and pick shops up as I go to help with the travel expense -- I've done small ones (an hour or less from home) where I probably clear $100 after you figure the cost of gas. Considering I'd probably have been at home doing nothing (and not earning anything), it was worth it for me to go. Sometimes, I'd get lucky and pick up extra shops in the area.

My sister lives in a large city, so most of my high-dollar profitable routes are in her direction. I can pick shops up along the way, coming and going, and snag a bunch during the week that I spend at her house.

If an MSC asks me to do a route in an area where I don't have a couch to crash on, I tell them they'll have to make it worth my while. I will only do an overnight one if I can clear $300+ after expenses.

I also factor in the time investment - in the two-hour roundtrip it takes me to do the small route, could I make that much or more on my home turf? (Most of the time, I'm doing the small route because there isn't anything going on in my local area.)

I should also state that this is how I make a living. The fact that this is my only source of income probably skews my logic a bit. [i.e., "some profit is better than zero profit"] A person who does this to supplement a regular income may answer differently.

What are your routes typically like?

(edited to remove the inadvertent smiley face emoticon from my punctuation)

Well, I would never say that this is the right way to do it (whatever "right" is) but here is what I did on the day after Thanksgiving. I rented a car for $54.00. I put in $51 in gasoline. So my expenses were $105. I got fully (or within a dollar) reimbursed for every expenditure at the various Sonic, Panda and other places I visited. But the fees I will get eventually paid... MSC-A, $193, MSC-B, $83, MSC-C, $35, MSC-D, $30 and MSC-E, $45. The downside was that I left at 8:30AM on Friday, did the "outbound" shops that took me away from the House and then slept at a rest stop overnight and did the "inbound" shops that took me back home. I was gone about 24 hours. So that is $386-$105...I guess I netted $281. Like you...If you look at the per hour, I did slightly better than $10 an hour but compared to the $0 per hour I would be making playing X-Box...I think it was worth it. I sort of like the adventure myself.

@metro25782 wrote:

compared to the $0 per hour I would be making playing X-Box...

I'd put the laughing tears emoji here if I could. That's hysterical.

Good on you, metro! I'd say you did pretty well on that one, all things considered.

Waaaaay back in the day, I'd plot large routes through northern Texas, where they'd have heavily bonused post office shops that were out in the middle of nowhere. I'm talking crazy-stupid money - like $100 or more each. I'd drag my mother along with me to drive while I did the reports in the car. We'd stay at a fleabag motel and laugh about it the entire time. Those were the days.....before I was banned (for an unknown infraction) from the post office shops.

The biggest (and nuttiest!) adventure I ever did was make a last-minute trip (300 miles) to Eagle Pass, TX, to look at Christmas trees at Lowe's for $240. (Like you, I slept at a rest stop.) I made that trip more than once, and it was highly profitable with a bunch of other shops added. Unfortunately, the days of crazy money seem to have passed. -sighs-

@drdoggie00 wrote:

@metro25782 wrote:

compared to the $0 per hour I would be making playing X-Box...

I'd put the laughing tears emoji here if I could. That's hysterical.

Good on you, metro! I'd say you did pretty well on that one, all things considered.

Waaaaay back in the day, I'd plot large routes through northern Texas, where they'd have heavily bonused post office shops that were out in the middle of nowhere. I'm talking crazy-stupid money - like $100 or more each. I'd drag my mother along with me to drive while I did the reports in the car. We'd stay at a fleabag motel and laugh about it the entire time. Those were the days.....before I was banned (for an unknown infraction) from the post office shops.

The biggest (and nuttiest!) adventure I ever did was make a last-minute trip (300 miles) to Eagle Pass, TX, to look at Christmas trees at Lowe's for $240. (Like you, I slept at a rest stop.) I made that trip more than once, and it was highly profitable with a bunch of other shops added. Unfortunately, the days of crazy money seem to have passed. -sighs-

Oh yeah! Did that Eagle Pass Run many a time. Bibb Street....all of the traffic in the world is on Bibb Street it seems! I did the North Texas tour through Breckenridge and some other back-water town. The guy in front of me was mailing live poultry. I am not kidding. Live poultry!!!! Yeah...I had a shop rejected for the PO because of the "meta data".

-dies laughing- Omg, you know Bibb St., the Mecca of Eagle Pass. I always wanted to go across the border and check things out, but was advised against it. I don't recall most of the post office places, but I remember doing Paris, TX. Yeehaw.

Are you in Texas, metro?

The short answer, for me personally, is if I can go out and make $200 or $300 in a day, I'm good with that. That might be 5 jobs, or it could be 15 jobs.

The long answer to your question is that it really is subjective, and not only between shoppers. There are times when I may accept less money for the same route I've done for more money (overall). I might be more in need of the cash in the near future, and will not want to risk someone else scooping up the jobs. Instead, I'll take them for less. Or, I might want to do other things on the route other than shops and audits. I LOVE to thrift, and I buy from thrift and bin stores and flip online. I make more money doing that than shopping. If I have 15 shop and audit jobs, I generally do not have time to make extra stops like that. Then, there are factors like fuel. Some routes are simply cheaper for me to run overall because fuel prices are cheaper in the areas I travel too. I live on a border between states. State fuel taxes are higher in one state, which makes routes in that state more expensive overall. I have other routes that are more rural in nature, and my fuel expenses are more as a result.

I try to be as strategic as possible when building a route. Ideally, there is flexibility with the shop dates. Sometimes I may take a leap of faith and select a few jobs, then have to wait a few days or a week to add to them. I pretty much know when the jobs will hit that I want to do.

Since we're talking about routes - when building one where you may not be familiar with all the stops (like in a metropolitan area), what routing software do y'all use? Mapquest was my go-to, but I got fed up with it and switched to RouteXL.com.

@drdoggie00 wrote:

Since we're talking about routes - when building one where you may not be familiar with all the stops (like in a metropolitan area), what routing software do y'all use? Mapquest was my go-to, but I got fed up with it and switched to RouteXL.com.

For in-town and metro routes, I use Google Maps. For long routes, I still start my route planning with Microsoft Streets and Trips. Its last revision was 2013, but it allows more than 10 stops, unlike Google Maps. When I leave home, I enter my next stop into Google Maps on my phone. It give me real-time information, such as speed, ETA, and ability to change or add on the fly via voice while I am driving en route.

Rules:
1. Always google the operating hours of each shop on your route.
2. Google the gas prices and know when/where each of your gas stops will be.
3. Research hotels and book them before you set out; Include them as stops on your route planning software.
4. Estimate times that it will take your for each stop or shop, and include that in your route planning software.

I use Google Maps when I'm on the road, but for pre-planning, I use something that will rearrange my stops for me. I like knowing what the most efficient order is to get them done.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/2023 09:50PM by drdoggie00.

Oh, so many variables! For me, the most important are how far and how much. Can I find enough to do at the pay that I want to make it worth traveling 400 - 800 miles? What are the shoppable hours? What are the store hours? Is there a highway rest area along the way where I can sleep? How is the weather, too hot to sleep in the car? Expecting storms, snow? Have all the decent shops in my area already been done? (Usually, yes because it is a very shopper-heavy area and they are done at base rate most likely.) Is there a lot of narrative involved or are the reports quickly submitted on site before moving on? Will I have reception or do I need to look for libraries and spend time there?

Aside from all that, I enjoy a route much better when most of the jobs are with an MSC that I like, respect and actually want to work with. I don't have to tell you who that excludes!

Also I miss when gas stations were open 24 hours because that expanded my shoppable times for some brands and I was able to complete a large route without having to stop and wait for them to open but most no longer are 24 hours.

I always check this website days and a couple weeks before I plan my route: [www.timeanddate.com]
Just substite the location where you are going for the xxxxxxxx in the link above. It gives a fairly good idea of weather up to 2 weeks in advance. I rarely add shops to my route after I leave home, except on the occasion that I get additional travel pay, nice weather, and have time to add on a shop(s) that a scheduler requests. If there is no reception, I will submit the shop when I get to an area with reception, even if I have to use my smartphone carrier hotspot data. Figure all the variables into the price you bid for the route.

@sestrahelena wrote:

Oh, so many variables! For me,...How is the weather, too hot to sleep in the car? Expecting storms, snow? Have all the decent shops in my area already been done? Will I have reception or do I need to look for libraries and spend time there?

For a long time I never left the house with less than $100 pay worth of shops to do. Most days when I went out I managed $200 - $300. And I didn't go out every day, especially after we moved here because EVERYTHING is 30 or more miles away. Since my son has been door dashing, I've been more flexible, because he can make up the difference in a couple hours on a good night.

And, I only go ONE direction. If I'm going South on 431 that is the only direction I go. I don't turn around and go North past my house again on the same day or same route. And I always top off my gas tank before I go home, usually at a Circle K with a shop so it costs me less to fill it up.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/2023 02:45AM by Morledzep.

@Morledzep wrote:

And, I only go ONE direction. If I'm going South on 431 that is the only direction I go. I don't turn around and go North past my house again on the same day or same route.

Yes, one direction here, too. For December I will go south, west and north. Right now no plans to go east, because there are a lot of rural areas and there simply won't be very many shops that way leading into Christmas. There will probably be one or two post office shops that get bonuses, but probably not enough to move that direction.

@drdoggie00 wrote:

-dies laughing- Omg, you know Bibb St., the Mecca of Eagle Pass. I always wanted to go across the border and check things out, but was advised against it. I don't recall most of the post office places, but I remember doing Paris, TX. Yeehaw.

Are you in Texas, metro?

Yeah SE Texas Houston region. My user name is the bus system in Houston and two bus route numbers I used to take to go to work.

@AZwolfman wrote:

@drdoggie00 wrote:

Since we're talking about routes - when building one where you may not be familiar with all the stops (like in a metropolitan area), what routing software do y'all use? Mapquest was my go-to, but I got fed up with it and switched to RouteXL.com.

For in-town and metro routes, I use Google Maps. For long routes, I still start my route planning with Microsoft Streets and Trips. Its last revision was 2013, but it allows more than 10 stops, unlike Google Maps. When I leave home, I enter my next stop into Google Maps on my phone. It give me real-time information, such as speed, ETA, and ability to change or add on the fly via voice while I am driving en route.

Rules:
1. Always google the operating hours of each shop on your route.
2. Google the gas prices and know when/where each of your gas stops will be.
3. Research hotels and book them before you set out; Include them as stops on your route planning software.
4. Estimate times that it will take your for each stop or shop, and include that in your route planning software.

I'm not sure if it still does it or not but waaaaay back in the day when Retail Me Not was actually a site to share discount codes and the like (maybe they still do???) I got a corporate code for a flea bag motel chain. Proud to say that 13 years later, the code still works. When I do need to get a hotel because I'm doing an audit/merchandising the next day...I use the code and sleep in the bed wearing socks and my pants tucked into them.

For overnight trips, I want to clear at least $300 a day (after hotel and mileage,) although I might go a little lower if they are easy, repetitive shops and it looks to be a slow month. One day trips the amount depends on the distance and time involved. My number will be different on different days, and will be different from your number, It just depends on what else I have going on.

Nice! I'm just up the road from you a smidge.

@metro25782 wrote:

@drdoggie00 wrote:

-dies laughing- Omg, you know Bibb St., the Mecca of Eagle Pass. I always wanted to go across the border and check things out, but was advised against it. I don't recall most of the post office places, but I remember doing Paris, TX. Yeehaw.

Are you in Texas, metro?

Yeah SE Texas Houston region. My user name is the bus system in Houston and two bus route numbers I used to take to go to work.

I like to make $20 for work time which includes driving time to the locations and to get back home plus time on site and reporting time. I add expenses on top.
Example
12 hours round trip driving time and 5 jobs on that route all included in that 12 hours driving time.
Each job takes 30 minutes on site and 15 minutes to report.
So just time wise were looking 12 hours driving plus 3 hours and 45 minutes for jobs equals 15.75 hours times $20 or $315.
Then we add expenses of gas and tolls and meals and lodging.
For this example, let's say $80 gas and tolls $35 meals and $70 lodging of one night. Total expenses $185
Total needed for route $500.
Now I can always adjust up or down based on types of jobs number of jobs and how I feel like if I want to travel that far or not.

@BuffaloNY101 wrote:

I like to make $20 for work time which includes driving time to the locations and to get back home plus time on site and reporting time. I add expenses on top.
Example
12 hours round trip driving time and 5 jobs on that route all included in that 12 hours driving time.
Each job takes 30 minutes on site and 15 minutes to report.
So just time wise were looking 12 hours driving plus 3 hours and 45 minutes for jobs equals 15.75 hours times $20 or $315.
Then we add expenses of gas and tolls and meals and lodging.
For this example, let's say $80 gas and tolls $35 meals and $70 lodging of one night. Total expenses $185
Total needed for route $500.
Now I can always adjust up or down based on types of jobs number of jobs and how I feel like if I want to travel that far or not.

You've got it down to a science.

I will say that my mania for traveling long distances in a car plays against me. There was this crazy route I was looking at last night. I have no plans on doing it from a financial standpoint...but I have to say that my inner child is toying with doing it anyway. I live in SE Texas and Rangely CO is about 1,200 miles away. Getting there would be cost prohibitive. Not enough business along the way to pay for itself. Anyway, once in Rangely which is in NW Colorado, there are some pre-paid card removal missions that pay about $100. Likewise in Fillmore UT, Ely, NV, and Meadview, AZ. I would add in some other stops along the way to fatten the cat a bit (along with Sonics and Panda of course). The total driving time would be about 16 hours without doing the shops but it would take me from outside of Rocky Mtn NP across Utah, through the Cedar Breaks in Western Utah out into Nevada and the Great Basin. Then down through Vegas and into the Grand Canyon area. I'd probably break it out into 2 days. The Great Basin (National park area) is on my bucket list and I want to see it at night on a New Moon evening. I'd definitely lose money on the trip. But man...what an adventure.

Are you just-for-grins setting your distance filters to 2,000 miles on the job boards?

@drdoggie00 wrote:

Are you just-for-grins setting your distance filters to 2,000 miles on the job boards?

Well...if you want the whole story...

My birthday is in late March. So I had factored a week off (10 days in total) to rent a car and drive up into Colorado with my girlfriend. Well, to cut to the chase, she's out of the picture now so I have a car reservation and 10 days off coming up. The plan is evolving to spend the first "half" making money and the last 5-6 days, hitting the Great Sand Dunes NP, Rocky Mountain NP, maybe Mesa Verde, Black Canyon. Sort of playing it by ear really. Go wherever I want. As for MS goes, the first four days, I was going to go to Amarillo and do a hub/spoke type of deal to where, I do two apartment shops every morning then spend the rest of the day (noon to six) wiping out anything that is up near $50. Lots of rural towns with bonused shops. Anyway, I got to thinking 'why not see what is in and around the national parks'? It turns out that there are some nice paying shops on the way to nice places to visit. Whether they will be there in 90 days or whatever...who knows. But if nobody is taking them in the dead of the fall, I doubt you'll find a lot more takers in the dead of the winter. Who knows? As long as I can get a pound of grapes and pistachios to snack on, a podcast or book on CD and an open road, I'm pretty happy.

Awww, I'm sorry about the former girlfriend situation, but what an opportunity to have an amazing trip (and have the cost offset a bit, to boot.) Go for it! I always say: If you're gonna be a bear, be a grizzly.

(Get those green grapes at HEB - they almost crunch when you bite into 'em.)

@metro25782 wrote:

@drdoggie00 wrote:

Are you just-for-grins setting your distance filters to 2,000 miles on the job boards?

Well...if you want the whole story...

My birthday is in late March. So I had factored a week off (10 days in total) to rent a car and drive up into Colorado with my girlfriend. Well, to cut to the chase, she's out of the picture now so I have a car reservation and 10 days off coming up. The plan is evolving to spend the first "half" making money and the last 5-6 days, hitting the Great Sand Dunes NP, Rocky Mountain NP, maybe Mesa Verde, Black Canyon. Sort of playing it by ear really. Go wherever I want. As for MS goes, the first four days, I was going to go to Amarillo and do a hub/spoke type of deal to where, I do two apartment shops every morning then spend the rest of the day (noon to six) wiping out anything that is up near $50. Lots of rural towns with bonused shops. Anyway, I got to thinking 'why not see what is in and around the national parks'? It turns out that there are some nice paying shops on the way to nice places to visit. Whether they will be there in 90 days or whatever...who knows. But if nobody is taking them in the dead of the fall, I doubt you'll find a lot more takers in the dead of the winter. Who knows? As long as I can get a pound of grapes and pistachios to snack on, a podcast or book on CD and an open road, I'm pretty happy.

@drdoggie00 wrote:

Awww, I'm sorry about the former girlfriend situation, but what an opportunity to have an amazing trip (and have the cost offset a bit, to boot.) Go for it! I always say: If you're gonna be a bear, be a grizzly.

(Get those green grapes at HEB - they almost crunch when you bite into 'em.)

@metro25782 wrote:

@drdoggie00 wrote:

Are you just-for-grins setting your distance filters to 2,000 miles on the job boards?

Well...if you want the whole story...

My birthday is in late March. So I had factored a week off (10 days in total) to rent a car and drive up into Colorado with my girlfriend. Well, to cut to the chase, she's out of the picture now so I have a car reservation and 10 days off coming up. The plan is evolving to spend the first "half" making money and the last 5-6 days, hitting the Great Sand Dunes NP, Rocky Mountain NP, maybe Mesa Verde, Black Canyon. Sort of playing it by ear really. Go wherever I want. As for MS goes, the first four days, I was going to go to Amarillo and do a hub/spoke type of deal to where, I do two apartment shops every morning then spend the rest of the day (noon to six) wiping out anything that is up near $50. Lots of rural towns with bonused shops. Anyway, I got to thinking 'why not see what is in and around the national parks'? It turns out that there are some nice paying shops on the way to nice places to visit. Whether they will be there in 90 days or whatever...who knows. But if nobody is taking them in the dead of the fall, I doubt you'll find a lot more takers in the dead of the winter. Who knows? As long as I can get a pound of grapes and pistachios to snack on, a podcast or book on CD and an open road, I'm pretty happy.

Man, I was just thinking...if they still had the billboard audits, I could make a killing out there.

As with most things mystery shopping, YMMV, pun intended.

Gas station shops are my bread-and-butter these days, and I do remote loops for all but one of the major brands. I would not do a route without them, so I don't fret too much about gas expenses. My goal is always to come home with more than I started with, but that's not always the case.

I also look at things from a cash flow standpoint, so I'm all about gross pay when taking assignments. With the MSC paying weekly (or better during the holidays, yay), I can keep my thing rolling.

Analyzing my latest activity:

I just completed a couple of loops over the last few days. Mostly Yellow Crustaceans, with a Red/White/Blue Conditional Reveal and Red/White/Silver/Sometimes Orange&Blue, and a couple of meals (Dine-in Chinese fast food and Drive-In Stall burgers). All were heavily bonused.

Total time including driving/working was 26 hours, and I had a hotel night for $51. I'm not going to factor in the beers and snack I had after working, because I'd be doing those regardless.

Net after deducting the hotel comes to $785, or about $30 an hour. I did have to buy some gas to get home (this was really remote, into BFE Wyoming), but I'm still close to $29/hour, and I haven't even figured out my mileage yet.

Well worth it for me, plus I got on the rewards program for Old Chicago, so a free appetizer for me on my next loop through there.

@drdoggie00 wrote:

Since we're talking about routes - when building one where you may not be familiar with all the stops (like in a metropolitan area), what routing software do y'all use? Mapquest was my go-to, but I got fed up with it and switched to RouteXL.com.

I use the app Circuit, which optimizes the route, and lets you set up to 10 stops for free. If I need to do more than 10 stops, I just make a 2nd route that picks up where the first left off. As far as I know, there aren't any free optimization apps that let you add more than 10 stops on a route.

I would pay for a full version of an app that optimizes more than 10 stops, but all the ones I know of use a monthly subscription instead of a one time payment, which I am not interested in doing.

I hate apps and software that are subscription-based rather than a one-time payment. (Photoshop is my nemesis for that very reason.)

RouteXL allows up to 20 stops for free, and Mapquest is 26 (I think.) I looked at some of the ones that factored in the amount of time you'd allot for each stop, but that was way too complicated for me.

@whatwhatdb wrote:

@drdoggie00 wrote:

Since we're talking about routes - when building one where you may not be familiar with all the stops (like in a metropolitan area), what routing software do y'all use? Mapquest was my go-to, but I got fed up with it and switched to RouteXL.com.

I use the app Circuit, which optimizes the route, and lets you set up to 10 stops for free. If I need to do more than 10 stops, I just make a 2nd route that picks up where the first left off. As far as I know, there aren't any free optimization apps that let you add more than 10 stops on a route.

I would pay for a full version of an app that optimizes more than 10 stops, but all the ones I know of use a monthly subscription instead of a one time payment, which I am not interested in doing.

No police knock on the window for sleeping overnight at a rest stop? I have always been afraid to risk rest stops for anything but a quick break.

The ones I've slept at overnight were large and had many truckers stopped for the night. If it's okay for them to do it, it's okay for me to do it. Besides, no cop is going to tell you to move along after you say you pulled over because you didn't want to drive tired.

I’m a route shopper. My goal is always $300 per day profit. Most shops I take are in small towns in Texas and are heavily bonused. I usually take a few shops for food and gas to compensate for those expenses. I camp on my routes depending on weather for long multi day routes but the majority are 300-400 mile day trips where I do 10-15 shops and I pack an ice chest, gas cans and my computer. My main income comes from shopping but my benefits come from my part time job at the brown truck. It works for me and I’ve been doing it over 30 years. I’m picky about my shops and will take some things others won’t. If you want to route shop I suggest you get to know schedulers and project managers and be a dependable part of their plan.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/2023 12:51AM by mmsackett.