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What are the best paying worthwhile shops?

April 30, 2024 12:54PM
What are your favorite shops that pay well for your time and effort, are fun and not too tedious? For example, you could say “I enjoy TD Bank shops through Jim’s Mystery Shop company where you do a teller transaction.”

I HATE doing shops where I feel I am making minimum wage or less for my time or I have too many tedious questions and essays that make me scream lol. I do audio record so I can fill out the form accurately.
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April 30, 2024 01:19PM
One cannot share both the MSC and the client as you give in your example.

I'm sure many people feel the same way that you do. However, those rare gem shops aren't likely something shoppers want to draw more attention to.

You might better results asking for the opposite, which jobs are not worth your time.
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May 01, 2024 04:45AM
Based on my record the last 3 or so years, it's bonused gas station shops on remote routes.

A couple of programs I will do at base pay + reimbursement, but I love sitting back and waiting for remote locations to offer some good extra money.

Nothing better than winding up back home after a few days with more gas in my tank than I left with, and a good inventory of 5 Hour Energy, Cherry Tootsie Pops, Cherry Zotz, Planter's Nuts, etc, and several hundred to a thousand + bucks showing up in PayPal within a few days.

I live in Utah, but wind up doing several trips up into Idaho as the slate of shops up that way never seems to get filled regularly. Almost reminds me of my days as a sales rep for music gear companies, staying at the same hotels and eating at the same preferred restaurants each visit.

Have synthesizers, will travel...


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2024 04:33PM by CoolMusic.
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May 01, 2024 10:24AM
Any shop that covers a meal for my spouse and me and I can complete the report in less time that it takes for me to prepare dinner is one that is worth while for me. I also like the ones with nice reimbursements. I usually use those to find gifts for people.
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May 01, 2024 01:51PM
CoolMusic, enjoyed your story of multiple day gas shopping trips....I might want to try that some time...thanks for sharing. Hope you listen to Cool Music in the car on the way. I gotta wrap my head around the idea of gas shops that pay enough to cover the hotels, meals and of course, gas LOL...hotels have gone up so much in price the past couple of years. I live in a part of the country where better weather is on the way that could make remote locations more worthwhile...

When we give up the need to be special, life becomes special.
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May 01, 2024 04:31PM
I do bonus gas station audits. I usual rule in nothing less than $20. I make two exceptions: ones that are monthly, on Prestomap and are not revealed. They start at $11 and are bonused if not picked up. Usually $11 to $19.

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
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May 01, 2024 04:32PM
My perspective is a bit different.

Hotel nights are 100% deductible, so I don't worry about "covering" them, even though I make sure an overnight route will generate more than enough profit. I use Hotwire to find the deals and the PayPal Pay-In-4 deal to spread the payments out over a couple of credit card billing cycles. Meals are 50% deductible, and I've got to eat (and drink beer) anyway, so they don't really factor into my calculations.

And the beauty of gas station loops is the gas companies are covering your gas! I've only had to pay for gas out of pocket a couple of times (other than the few cents difference between my purchase and the gallon price on the conditional reveal jobs) when I was off into really remote Wyoming and again when I wound up heading back on a Sunday and my last scheduled stop had a closed C-store.

The key to my routes is the Famous Highway program, and I will grab as many as I can, even if they are at base pay. Thanks to the flexible reimbursement scheme, I have put as little as $.50 in gas in the car to keep room for gas at the next stop.

Have synthesizers, will travel...


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/02/2024 03:54PM by CoolMusic.
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May 01, 2024 10:01PM
Ones where I would already consider purchasing the merchandise/food. I did an outdoor clothing retailer recently and snagged a good amount of clothing for waaaaaaay less than retail price since I was able to shop sales/clearance. Did I spend over the reimbursement? Yes. Did it cut my cost in half (after factoring in reimbursement and fee)? Also yes, and I've worn the items weekly since. I also do teen/tween jewelry/clothing shops for the same reason - I get items that I know I will later gift. That said, I won't do a food shop where I won't eat the food - for example, I know someone on the board said they did Sonic shops, but hate the food, so they take the required bite and throw the rest away. I have such an aversion to waste that I won't do a shop where I have to buy something I can't eat/use/gift.

I also like shops where I get to role-play. Maybe it's the tortured actor in me, but there's nothing I like better than casually inserting my fake backstory into an apartment shop or mattress shop or what have you. My coworkers know what I do as a side gig, and I will occasionally jokingly refer to my fake name or fake spouse or what have you, and they seem to get a kick out of it.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2024 10:04PM by mysterioso412.
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May 01, 2024 11:09PM
On the gas loops just make sure you are socking away enough profits to pay for new tires and other repairs when the time comes. Cars run on money as much as gas.. If I can't average at least $400 per day in fees, not counting gas, for loops that require hotel stays, I am staying home..
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May 02, 2024 08:54AM
Yes, there's a reason why repairs and maintenance costs for vehicles are usually baked into the mileage rate.....and even more important IMO, since 2020.

I've never heard of the Famous Highway program. I googled and didn't come with anything.

When we give up the need to be special, life becomes special.


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/02/2024 08:56AM by BarefootBliss.
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May 02, 2024 02:16PM
@BarefootBliss wrote:

I've never heard of the Famous Highway program. I googled and didn't come with anything.

I believe it's a gas station brand that is shopped.
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May 02, 2024 03:55PM
@wrosie wrote:

@BarefootBliss wrote:

I've never heard of the Famous Highway program. I googled and didn't come with anything.

I believe it's a gas station brand that is shopped.

Correct. Used even though I don't think the MSC name has shown up in the thread...

Have synthesizers, will travel...
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May 02, 2024 09:05PM
I don’t drive and can’t do most gas station audits.

Let me know any more shops you like or don’t like.
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May 02, 2024 09:13PM
why? explain why you think we should undercut our earnings and make more competition for the shops we make the best money at? Learn the business the way we did, trial and error. Learn that sometimes narratives will break you. Learn that you're not a great actress, and can't lie to save your life, let alone make money doing it. Learn which companies you have to fight to get paid from and which pay you better and faster. These are all things we had to learn on our own. Learn that sometimes you have to read between the lines in the guidelines because they don't tell the whole story. Learn that you're going to have to hedge your bets and cover your hiney at every step.
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May 03, 2024 01:05AM
@ServiceAward wrote:

I like $5 plant audits. I can buy a Grande Frappuccino with my $5.

I just cackled so loudly
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May 03, 2024 03:45AM
@shux wrote:

@ServiceAward wrote:

I like $5 plant audits. I can buy a Grande Frappuccino with my $5.

I just cackled so loudly

I also love the 6 cent per scan shops. Can't believe no one else is taking them...
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May 03, 2024 01:04PM
I've never worked for Jim's Mystery Shop Company. How are their schedulers?
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May 03, 2024 03:07PM
@KokoBWare wrote:

I've never worked for Jim's Mystery Shop Company. How are their schedulers?

It's just Jim. He can be quite the grouch on occasion.

Have synthesizers, will travel...
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May 03, 2024 06:18PM
@Mellifluy wrote:

@shux wrote:

@ServiceAward wrote:

I like $5 plant audits. I can buy a Grande Frappuccino with my $5.

I just cackled so loudly

I also love the 6 cent per scan shops. Can't believe no one else is taking them...

The platform where I see these, I can only self assign so many shops. I can't imagine not being able to get a $100 reimbursement restaurant because I'd signed up for a $.06 shop!
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