1. Forums
  2. Mystery Shopping Discussion

Shipping shops are back… but

June 20, 2024 08:37AM
Still 30/30 here. Says due date is in 2 days.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2024 02:50PM by JSuing.
Reply
Log In
x

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

Already a member? Log In.

More About Post Office/Shipping
June 20, 2024 09:10AM
T-5 hours until I do mine. Why do I feel like such a guinea pig? -lol- I will report back as soon as I'm able.

If your path dictates you walk through hell, do it as though you own the place. -unknown
Reply
June 20, 2024 10:08AM
Back up to 17/17 within ten miles of me still on the board. Guess whoever grabbed that single one a couple days ago decided it wasn't worth it.
Reply
June 21, 2024 03:35AM
In a previous post, I noted that 99 had shown up in my area, and only 2 had been taken. Today, the total available is 100. I suspect that whoever accepted 3 of them decided not to do them once they realized that there was no reimbursement. I have zero interest in completing one as long as there is no reimbursement for expenses.

Shopping South Jersey, Southeast Pennsylvania, and Delaware above the canal since 2008
Reply
June 21, 2024 10:28AM
@Rho* wrote:

Pirate Ship?
Pirateship.com is a third party service that offers commercial rates for postage (packages only, not regular mail). You're basically using their account to get the commercial rates. You buy the postage online and need to be able to print out the labels yourself. They sell USPS and UPS labels and it's free to join. There are other companies that do the same thing but I believe most of them charge a membership fee.

Most resellers use Pirate Ship (although personal use is absolutely allowed!). You don't have to ship a minimum number of packages either. Even if you only send a package every now and then, it's worth joining. It's a lot cheaper than paying retail rates at the PO. That's why it is painful for someone who is used to getting their postage for packages at Pirate Ship to pay so much more at the PO - especially when you don't know if your shop will be approved, grrr.

.

Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/2024 10:42AM by shopnyc.
Reply
June 21, 2024 03:41PM
I didn't do a count of them when they were initially posted, but every location in my area that I can think of, many of which would have been taken by me, are still on the board. I'm not even doing my local postal office, which is a quarter-mile away from my house and shopped.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/2024 03:42PM by KA047.
Reply
June 21, 2024 04:33PM
Wouldn't it make more sense to send that food pantry the shipping fee you paid as a cash donation?
Reply
June 21, 2024 04:35PM
@MMMM wrote:

Wouldn't it make more sense to send that food pantry the shipping fee you paid as a cash donation?

Right?!
Send $20 and move on with life.
Reply
June 21, 2024 05:21PM
Not on your life. Mosta re still on the board where I live.
Reply
June 21, 2024 11:57PM
18 of 21 still on the board in my area. So someone in the past 2 days has taken 3 of them. Not me.
Reply
June 22, 2024 03:44AM
39 of 51 on the board in my area....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/2024 03:44AM by West90001.
Reply
June 22, 2024 03:50PM
I have to return a travel mug my boss' husband gave me before I hit the road for a long drive to catch my flight home. Will look for a remote (and maybe bonused?) location on an upcoming route.

Outside of that, maybe I'll use these on the rare occasion I send a physical gift somewhere.

Have synthesizers, will travel...
Reply
June 25, 2024 04:31PM
17 of the original 21 still on the board, all with now a $5.00 bonus....not interested yet.
Reply
June 25, 2024 10:12PM
The 100 in OK.my area is now down to 88, so 12 have been accepted. 6 of the 12 are due to me. I decided that if I am driving by the location and I ship the package to a location that only costs $10.35, this is worth doing as a route filler. Marginal, but OK.

Shopping South Jersey, Southeast Pennsylvania, and Delaware above the canal since 2008
Reply
June 26, 2024 03:25PM
Bonus up to $10 per shop now in my area. Too hot for me to think about it!
Reply
June 29, 2024 04:13PM
In my area, shops were bonused for $10. The same number of shops are sitting there today, that were there a few days ago. I'm still not going to stand in line, pay for the box and pay for the shipping for a few $.
Reply
June 29, 2024 04:34PM
Shops for July are posted with a three day window and new pay structure. $5 Pay and $15 Reimbursement. So they still have this all wrong. Seems they would have gotten a clue when people started to take a few when total pay was $25, but, no…
Reply
June 29, 2024 09:28PM
ours were bonused to $25 so I went ahead since thats about the same I got before. AND I needed to ship something. The report was not bad at all, actually felt it was easier on this app.
Reply
June 29, 2024 09:30PM
When it was $15 plus a $5 bonus, I could make about $9 if I mailed to a destination where it would cost only $10.35. With a $10 bonus, it went up to about $14. Now that it is a reimbursement of up to $15 plus a $5 fee, it doesn't make sense for me to do one to net only $5 even if I am driving by the location.

I also discovered that there is an 18-day rotation.

Shopping South Jersey, Southeast Pennsylvania, and Delaware above the canal since 2008
Reply
June 29, 2024 09:51PM
The july shops are worse than the june shops. I dont understand how this is working for them. What do they tell the client when so few shops were filled?
Im also curiouse as why the client switched msc?
Reply
June 29, 2024 10:26PM
I did three yesterday with the $10 bonus. I mailed them from the nearby town to myself ($10.35) but forgot to check in on the app. I may not get paid.
Why are these companies adding so much stuff that does not matter. The pictures should have the time one them It seems that they jus keep added stuff to make the shops so much more difficult.
Reply
June 30, 2024 04:41AM
I guess that it helps them enforce the 30-minute between-shops rule. The 30 minutes begin when the receipt prints. Pressing the button for the next location before 30 minutes have elapsed could be grounds for rejecting the second shop.

For what it is worth, the MSC that handles the Wawa convenience store shops also requires the use of the button on arrival. I am unsure why since they do not have a required waiting time before the next store. I have suspected that it is a way to help ensure that the person doing the shop is the person with the app on their phone (presumably the contacted shopper).
@Insight wrote:

I did three yesterday with the $10 bonus. I mailed them from the nearby town to myself ($10.35) but forgot to check in on the app. I may not get paid.
Why are these companies adding so much stuff that does not matter. The pictures should have the time one them It seems that they jus keep added stuff to make the shops so much more difficult.

Shopping South Jersey, Southeast Pennsylvania, and Delaware above the canal since 2008
Reply
June 30, 2024 02:24PM
With the Wawa shops i almost always do the report at home on my computer and don't hit the check in button because I don't open the app. I didn't even know about it until the first time I used the app. I've never been questioned and shops were always approved. I can't say this applies to usps shops though. My Wawa photos also aren't time stamped and have always been accepted.

*****************************************************************************
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain
Reply
July 01, 2024 02:11AM
I've been doing these shops for years; they were quick and easy. I was offered the same shops from another company but they don't pay as much. Guess that gravy train is over.
Reply
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login