I fully understand and appreciate your messages.

You ever play crapless craps? I played a few times. Never can beat the game regardless of how you play. It was a game that Bob Stupak offered. Just like his double exposure black jack.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

You ever play crapless craps? I played a few times. Never can beat the game regardless of how you play. It was a game that Bob Stupak offered. Just like his double exposure black jack.

Vegas World. I won back all of my money and more back in the day (1980's). My baby brother got drunk and got pulled into a lounge with an Elvis impersonator, while I won money hand over fist at the double exposure back jack table. Good times! I am glad somebody else remembers that.

There is a good youtube documentary on Bob Stupak and the whole Vegas World thing. Really interesting stuff.

@BayShopper22 wrote:

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

You ever play crapless craps? I played a few times. Never can beat the game regardless of how you play. It was a game that Bob Stupak offered. Just like his double exposure black jack.

Vegas World. I won back all of my money and more back in the day (1980's). My baby brother got drunk and got pulled into a lounge with an Elvis impersonator, while I won money hand over fist at the double exposure back jack table. Good times! I am glad somebody else remembers that.

Add me to the list of old people who remember! It used to be that crapless craps was only found at Stratosphere a few years ago, thanks to Bob, but now it's becoming popular and a lot of major strip casinos offer it.

Just back from a Vegas trip last night and @hbbigdaddy, this is probably a side conversation we can PM about, but I have craps system I have modified for crapless craps...and it's even better on those tables!

And this is how we bring it around to MSing and relate it this thread; Three nights in Vegas. Everything comped except a $43 tip from dinner and the one meal we ate outside of the resort. For that, I took the winnings from crapless craps and my wife and I walked over to the outrageously priced steak place that's always looking for a shopper in Europe, dropped $100 bill from the winnings down for the three-course lunch special and we could not eat another thing for more than 24 hours.

No reports due! We also ordered whatever we wanted at meals and left the DND on the hotel room door for the whole stay. I slept in until 11 AM one morning.

I have a minor tax burden due to getting my first hand pay at a slot machine (I am not a slots player but my wife is, and I was keeping her company) but this also relates: January 4th and I have 1099-G's for more than double my Coyle 1099 from 2024, when I did more than one shop a week for them for a year! Both of those 1099's involved drinking a lot of free liquor.

I am not saying that we, or anyone else, should become professional gamblers, but with occasional wise use of a researched betting system that allows me to mitigate losses, I can guarantee a free quarterly vacation that's more enjoyable than most mystery shops, so it makes me wonder further why I continue to chase a dream that's been fading for years.

I have had the thought recently that I should move to travel vlogging instead of MSing, but I cannot be bothered to even post the video of my hand pay because it all feels too much like reporting and I really needed a break from that.

Headed to the bank to deposit my winnings instead of writing a report today.

P.S. The trip did feel a bit like a mystery shop in some ways because we were having a fantastic multi-course meal with wine one evening, and then scarfing down Jack in the Box in my car while parked at a charging station outside the Walmart in Barstow the next day.

I primarily do grocery store evaluations and merchandising at said grocery stores. I can fold 3 different ones on the same day. I'll do other shops to fill in. I've noticed that the 5G in my metropolitan area rarely have a fee to $16 when they used to get above $20 on a regular basis. Same with the gas station audits. However, these are available more and with bonuses during the next three months. Living in the cold area discourages many from these shops. They go fast in the spring and summer months.

@SteveSoCal

I've seen those chargers when doing a JITB shop off Montara Rd. I have Tesla, so I don't use the generic charging stations. I would drive from LA to Baker and use the massive super charging station there.

As far as craps goes, remember, a casino does not offer a game where the player has an advantage. You can reduce the house odds, but you can never get the numbers in the players favor. You would think betting 83% of the numbers (everything but the 7) could be a winner, but the 17% will wipe you out. Craps is an excellent math game and should be required for kids to learn fractions and math, but it can be very brutal when the dice are "cold."

I remember playing quarter craps at Gold Coast and even Horseshoe. Those were the days. You could cover 4/5/6/8/9/10 all for $6.75. Then you would HARDpress from there!

Waiting to charge is one of the reasons I'm staying with good ol', mostly reimbursed, petrol. I drive too long and far to sit around somewhere waiting to charge. Gotta go.

@sestrahelena

I agree with you. I would never take my tesla past Vegas (from LA). That would be the max distance.

When the cybertruck was announced during Trump's first presidency (around 2017-2018) and the broken window demo took place, they were promising 500 mile range. I was totally looking forward to that. But they rolled out nothing close to that. I have had 2 Teslas now. I love the single pedal driving and all the other advanced technology. But I will not buy another electric vehicle until the range exceeds 500 miles.

@hbbigdaddy I also learned the EV lesson this week about the milage differential when driving uphill to Vegas. You get way better milage coming home!

And @sestrahelena I can get to all hotels in San Diego, Santa Barbara and Palm Springs without a charge, and usually get free charging at the hotel, so there's usually no waiting and they are still reimbursing me mileage on shops! (until they catch on to that)

The only times I am waiting for charging are the Vegas and SFO trips, but I would also not take the car cross country.

@ServiceAward wrote:

The folks who survive will be the ones who don't drop shops, follow the guidelines, don't make excuses, communicate clearly, don't ask a lot of questions, don't complain, and are consistent at doing an overall good job.

I think most here follow through and do a good job, but that won't help if someone is jumping in and taking the jobs for a lower fee.

I have noticed fewer shops being offered overall and fewer/lower bonuses. That environment makes it difficult to survive. This is not a situation that will be solved by registering with more MSCs. The big "EYE" in the sky has fewer shops when there were times in the last 30 days that they only had 1 type of shop that I was out of rotation or nothing was available. Someone else mentioned that in 2023 the big eye sent an email year in review listing the most shops done by a person and the biggest earner, but they haven't done that for 2024. I wonder if they didn't bother since there was a huge drop off in both categories and it wouldn't be a good look.

When the burger shops launched we saw bonuses of 30, 40, and 75 the first few months and as time passed and they revised the fee/reimbursement the biggest bonus was under $10 towards the end of the program. The mailing shops used to have $50 bonuses and went to no bonuses and now the new MSC is paying less where the only people taking it must be people who sell on Ebay and are padding their profit there or the person that might to send a package to a friend. I only did these if there was a bonus since I get great rates with a service I use that a reimbursement on postage is not worth it since the price to ship is a lot lower and no report, no pics required.

The home improvement shops went away for a while and when one brand returned, they posted fewer locations and those got scooped up at base $14 plus $2 reimbursement. I saw old emails where they were offering pay of $45 and $150 to move the shops.

I see fewer/lower bonuses on the gas station shops. They lowered the gas reimbursement from $5 to $2 on the red/white/blue shops that it I question if they are worth doing. The red/yellows aren't with all the pics and information that it can easily take close to an hour to complete for $14 and a couple of gallons of gas which does not include the driving time to get there. I agree with others here that you have to go in your pocket or fee to cover the shop purchase requirements. Some of these stations don't sell anything for under a buck and the MSC hasn't changed the in store reimbursement in 10 years. I even tried buying a cup of ice, but it is the same price as if I purchased the $1.75 drink. Ditto if I tried buying the cup.

I agree with MO4.

Now, for a suggestion: The following will probably be easier for shoppers who do not reply on completions for income.

Sit down and formulate a plan that is workable. If one does not exist, walk away from the shopping business. If, though, you are successful, and your personality is similar to mine, problems will become like "water off a duck's back." Read on for a situation I experienced a few months ago..

In 10/24, I completed a shop that required a business card. Unfortunately, the store neither had cards nor any literature with their name. I reported this to the MSC, Intelli-shop, a company with whom I had a 19 yr. relationship covering 265 shops; I was denied payment. I waited to see if they would reverse that decision and pay me in Nov. When my fee was not forthcoming, I terminated our agreement. They exercised their prerogative not to pay me and I to move on from close to 2 decades of association.

I'm finding the same as others.
There seem to be fewer and fewer shops. And the pay does not increase, in some cases it has decreased.

Thank you.

I am finding the same issues. My mystery shopping tied in very well with my full time profession. It was “icing” on the cake. The tax write offs were beneficial.

I have done many forms of mystery shopping for over 25 years. Since Covid the shops have deteriorated on many levels.

The comments on this forum are appreciated. I thought it was my location, age, etc. that was the reason.

I think the virtues of reliability and quality were more important in the past when fees and deadlines could be negotiated. Now they have enough shoppers lined up that if one doesn't come through, they can usually find another with little problem by focusing on quantity over quality.

I think I remember the 2023 email. They highlighted a guy in the LA area who did tons of shops. What struck me is a line where they said his most redeeming quality was that he did most of the shops at base rate.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

"The Nikster" according to Terminator Bob....schedules for CA. She posts several of the RBG clients in CA. It's really crazy how they have their project broken up. There are 2 main schedulers for the national pizza/brewhouse client. They both post for CA. One does self-assign. The other picks the shopper they want. But it's not split by Northern/Southern CA boundaries. It's all over the place for that client. I have not studied the split for the steak place from the "big" state.

I didn’t know Alaska was famous for steak

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/2025 08:15PM by Msilk.

@shopperbob i agree with you most of the time, but I think you can be too rigid at times. 265 shops with Intellishop meant you liked them enough as a MSC, they paid you everytime (except this last one) and it met your criteria for accepting the work. I do not remember the specifics of your shop, but whenever I cannot do something that is "required," I go above and beyond to salvage the shop. I do not know if you did this, but did you take pictures of the exterior of the location? Did you take pictures inside? Did you take a picture of any of the employees?

Neither one of us shop out of a need for money, but you had a good relationship and threw it away over something I think was minor. Now if you did these extra things to salvage the shop and they still did not try to work with you, then okay, I would be miffed too.

@Msilk wrote:

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

"The Nikster" according to Terminator Bob....schedules for CA. She posts several of the RBG clients in CA. It's really crazy how they have their project broken up. There are 2 main schedulers for the national pizza/brewhouse client. They both post for CA. One does self-assign. The other picks the shopper they want. But it's not split by Northern/Southern CA boundaries. It's all over the place for that client. I have not studied the split for the steak place from the "big" state.

I didn’t know Alaska was famous for steak

Everything's bigger in Alaska!

Daddy, I did not snap any pics, as the thought never crossed my mind. In addition, I did not have my Kodak in my pocket. My point is that it was not my responsibility to ensure the business had either a card or literature. I explained that the salesman stated they not longer offered either item. That could have been why the manufacturer, this was a motorcycle store, contracted for the shops.

I was/am not, in the least, angry with the MSC; this IS business. They exercised their prerogative and then I mine. My positive business attitude is far more important to me than any MSC.

@shopperbob Understandable. I, too would not do anything over and beyond to prove anything. State the facts/experience.
The MSC should have accepted your report. I am incredulous they did not.

@Madetoshop,

I agree you should NOT have to do above and beyond to prove you were there, but we already know the MSC is going to expect that you prove it (not just claim it.). That is why I will do extra things if I cannot meet one of their mandatory things (like a business card). Yes, the MSC should have looked at Shopperbob's track record of shops and made an exception, but at the same time, if @shopperbob would have done something extra as alternative proof, then he might have had the shop covered. Meanwhile, @shopperbob has nothing to show for his effort and now has another notch on his MSC termination belt. Guess what, the MSC isn't going to care and it is @shopperbob who will miss out on future opportunities with this company. He must have liked the MSC enough to do over 250 shops for them.

Daddy,

!-This is business; LIKE, for me, does not enter into the situation.
2-I do agree with your comment of the MSC not caring; I am in the same boat.
3-I have zero need for their work, so missing out is a misnomer.
4-I did regret the need for my action, but not the action itself.

I am able to absolutely state, I have not a shred of ill feeling. I accepted the shop with full knowledge a card was required. In my opinion, which was not the company's, when an IC has completed, over almost 2 decades, 265 jobs to your satisfaction, that is a monstrous PLUS. In addition, and assuming I have been accurately informed, the flake rate among MSCs runs from 10 to 50%; I had never flaked on Intelli-shop.

Yes, I know you don't need to shop. You do it because it meets your criteria. But you obviously were willing to work with them until this happened. You say you won't miss out, but you never know what shops they might have/get in the future and also the other shops you were willing to do that met your criteria you will not be able to do again. This is why I am willing to do extra things (within reason) to salvage a shop if a report might not be accepted. That includes making a purchase (and return) just to get a receipt in place of a business card.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

Yes, I know you don't need to shop. You do it because it meets your criteria. But you obviously were willing to work with th.......

Why are you criticizing how he runs his business? Why do you care what MSCs he chooses or not chooses to work with for whatever reason.

Daddy, to the best of my recollection, none of the work I completed for Intelli-shop ever fit category 3. Many yrs. ago, there were a few in cat. 2; that places the overwhelming number in 1. where I do not have any need.
As previously typed, my business attitude is far more important to me than the entire shopping industry, much less a single MSC.

On a related note: Over the yrs., 3 MSCs I terminated contacted me at a later date concerning a re-establishment. I did not accept any of the invitations. In addition, a different 3 MSCs I terminated continue to send me notices; all have been relegated to my SPAM folder. Once I have moved on, I possess zero interest; in both business and romance, the die has been cast.

JSuing inquires of the paternal golden bear--Why are you criticizing how he runs his business? Why do you care what MSCs he chooses or not chooses to work with for whatever reason.

Bob replies to LSuing's inquiry--Daddy and I have exchanged posts through both threads and PMs. It has always been on the level of business courtesy. Neither he nor I have been intrusive.

@shopperbob wrote:

JSuing inquires of the paternal golden bear--Why are you criticizing how he runs his business? Why do you care what MSCs he chooses or not chooses to work with for whatever reason.

Bob replies to LSuing's inquiry--Daddy and I have exchanged posts through both threads and PMs. It has always been on the level of business courtesy. Neither he nor I have been intrusive.

Thanks for assuring.

I notice the lack of shops in my area too. I had been getting more selective, over the years. Within the last six months or so, a new shopper(s) have taken EVERYTHING on the IPSOS Sassie, job board, I mean every last job! I live in a rural area and was able to wait for the price increases. No more! I can only hope they get tired of running around for very low fees!

Kathy, They almost always do.. I see two different scenarios with the newbies around here. They run through all the low paying jobs in a few days, and do them wrong, so the jobs come back on the board in a week or two. Or they get to the end of the month and look at what doing the jobs cost them, because they didn't make enough to cover the expenses incurred, and they go and find a regular job. So in one or two months most of the jobs come back.