If a shop is an hour away = 2 hours of drive time - what would be a fair pay that would include time and mileage?

This is a deeply personal question. How much money do you need/want to make an hour. The federal minimum wage is $7.50/hour. It ranges from that to $17.50 based on state legislation. You are doing yourself a disservice if you don't at least get the value of minimum wage in your area -- you may value your time more than that. I personally try to average a minimum of $25 per hour although I sometimes misjudge the time to complete the report and/or traffic.

My response will only be predicated upon drive time and mileage, as the shop fee is too variable. I charge 30 cents a mile and $20 an hour for a job. If, however, there are multiple visits and/or I will be in the area on non-shopping business, I factor that into the number.

@shopperbob wrote:

My response will only be predicated upon drive time and mileage, as the shop fee is too variable. I charge 30 cents a mile and $20 an hour for a job. If, however, there are multiple visits and/or I will be in the area on non-shopping business, I factor that into the number.

May I ask what your reasoning is for charging half of what the recommened rate of .67 cents a mile is?

JSuing inquires--May I ask what your reasoning is for charging half of what the recommened rate of .67 cents a mile is?

Bob replies--That number is for a tax deduction. I drive a 17 yr. Miata with 2 seats and 4 cylinders, so my cost is much lower. I am comfortable with 30 cents a mile.

@JSuing

What interests you about this shop that is 1 hour away? Are you headed that way already or just willing to do a shop that far away for the "right price?"

I try to "parlay" shops when I'm going further. Heck, I even parlay the close ones. But try to find the chinese fast food or another national chain that has shops and pick them up together. You may be able to get bonuses from each company for doing theirs.

I drove 45 minutes to an area with 3 of the same type shop (less than 10 minutes for the each job). Because I picked up as a package, i got $100 for the 3. But then I found our favorite $50 reimburse restaurant shop out that way too. So i took that in addition because we like the place and might as well get a "free" dinner in the process.

For me, I'm not willing to drive somewhere to do 1 shop, unless I'm headed that way already or can get more shops. It would have to be $100 or more for me to do something for 1 shop if it required 2 hours of driving. Then I have to figure in the time/suckiness of the shop and report.

TerminatorBob....please tell me you have a convertible Miata.

I rode in a Miata one time. It was a convertible and my head was higher than the top of the windshield. I'm too big for little cars like that. I was in a Corvette a couple years ago and felt like a stuffed sausage. I had to "fall into" the car and then roll out to get out. That car is so low.

@shopperbob wrote:

JSuing inquires--May I ask what your reasoning is for charging half of what the recommened rate of .67 cents a mile is?

Bob replies--That number is for a tax deduction. I drive a 17 yr. Miata with 2 seats and 4 cylinders, so my cost is much lower. I am comfortable with 30 cents a mile.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

@JSuing

What interests you about this shop that is 1 hour away? Are you headed that way already or just willing to do a shop that far away for the "right price?"

I try to "parlay" shops when I'm going further. Heck, I even parlay the close ones. But try to find the chinese fast food or another national chain that has shops and pick them up together. You may be able to get bonuses from each company for doing

These are all good points. I usually dont do long distance because i hate driving. There is not any valuable reimbursement. My only thought was that it would give my husband and i a chance to get a bit out of town and explore someplace new while in the area and be compted for travel or paid.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

TerminatorBob....please tell me you have a convertible Miata.

I rode in a Miata one time. It was a convertible and my head was higher than the top of the windshield. I'm too big for little cars like that. I was in a Corvette a couple years ago and felt like a stuffed sausage. I had to "fall into" the car and then roll out to get out. That car is so low.

@shopperbob wrote:

JSuing inquires--May I ask what your reasoning is for charging half of what the recommened rate of .67 cents a mile is?

Bob replies--That number is for a tax deduction. I drive a 17 yr. Miata with 2 seats and 4 cylinders, so my cost is much lower. I am comfortable with 30 cents a mile.

I don't think they have ever made a Miata that WASN'T a convertible.

Daddy, I am 5'9" and 240. I too need to wedge in and maneuver out of the left side, but the right side is a difficult situation. Since 1981, is my fourth 2 seater and third Miata. Mazda, over the yrs., has built both a removable and a retractable hard top, but, to my knowledge, has never imported a fixed hard top.

For that distance, and considering that was the only shop available on the route and I have no other reason to go there, I probably wouldn't bite for anything less than $100 total in pay. I would deduct any reimbursed fuel from that, but I wouldn't count reimbursed food or unneeded things in that pay amount. This is also assuming that the shop itself would take an hour or less to complete and report.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2025 09:18PM by thunderdeacon.

@thunderdeacon wrote:

For that distance, and considering that was the only shop available on the route and I have no other reason to go there, I probably wouldn't bite for anything less than $100 total in pay. I would deduct any reimbursed fuel from that, but I wouldn't count reimbursed food or unneeded things in that pay amount. This is also assuming that the shop itself would take an hour or less to complete and report.

My husband said $100 also. I told them $110 after i mentioned i was an hour away and she still asked how much i thought was fair. I figured mileage plus time and mentioned i would be open to discussing another offer if that was outside their budget.
I got a reply back that was a bit too high. I thought it was fair. Not sure what they thought was fair since i did tell her i was an hour away.
I wish i had the paitence to find other shops in that area - that woukd have helped us both.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2025 02:08AM by JSuing.

In regards to them saying that $100 was a bit high, I'm guessing that it's high in comparison to what their budget is and perhaps on the historic amount that the location has required. I don't necessarily think they're saying that what you asked for was too high based on your situation.

Depending on the way shops are scheduled, especially with the rise of Presto and self-assigning, there are often orphans left at the end of cycles. They are not always the same locations every cycle either, and it's interesting. I've done shops for 100 and $200 a piece that I have seen done for $25 during other cycles. And vice versa. I have done a shop for $25 and then see it sitting on the board for $100 during the next cycle. Maybe I wasn't too smart in doing it for 25 The first time around.

Sometimes a particular shop gets orphaned with no other work around it and a due date coming up. If there are no shoppers close by or anyone passing through the area, mystery shopping companies have to pay a lot more than they want or risk angering the client.

I imagine you probably did, but I would definitely let the scheduler know that they are welcome to reach back out to you if that number becomes viable. There's a decent chance they could come back and say that they can do it.

@JSuing wrote:

@thunderdeacon wrote:

For that distance, and considering that was the only shop available on the route and I have no other reason to go there, I probably wouldn't bite for anything less than $100 total in pay. I would deduct any reimbursed fuel from that, but I wouldn't count reimbursed food or unneeded things in that pay amount. This is also assuming that the shop itself would take an hour or less to complete and report.

My husband said $100 also. I told them $110 after i mentioned i was an hour away and she still asked how much i thought was fair. I figured mileage plus time and mentioned i would be open to discussing another offer if that was outside their budget.
I got a reply back that was a bit too high. I thought it was fair. Not sure what they thought was fair since i did tell her i was an hour away.
I wish i had the paitence to find other shops in that area - that woukd have helped us both.

An hour drive is deceptive, especially around here. I can drive to the next closest city, another small town like the one that is part of my address (but I don't live in the city), about 14 miles and it takes a full hour to do so. Simply because of the roads, and the lack of civil engineering that goes into making our roads. It also takes close to an hour to drive the 30ish miles to the nearest large city, but it takes 2 hours to drive 80 miles to Birmingham. Or I can drive the shortest mileage to Birmingham that will take 4 hours or more.

I'll go to Birmingham for $100.. but I'll also do as many other jobs with decent pay on the way there and back as I possibly can.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2025 10:17PM by Morledzep.

A few times a year I have appointments about 80 miles south of me. It's almost all highway driving. I always pick up whatever shops I can. This week I did two bonused mattresses for over $40 each, one WaWa, & 2 Chase banks making about $130 plus the sandwich. Sometimes I can get closer to $200 or more. I would not make a special trip at that distance for one shop whether it was for $100 or not, but if I'm going there anyway, I'd absolutely do it.

Your mileage may vary, pun intended!

As others have already pointed out, it's very much an individual thing.

Biggest question is 1-shot deal vs. stopping on (or deviating from) a route?

1-shots demand more scrutiny, so here's an example.

I'm a gas station route shopper when I can make them happen, and I like remote loops with nice bonuses*

One of the remotest Phillips 66 locations in my area was once offered for $300 + the $10 reimbursement, and there was no other work available on the way. 10 hour day including driving, so $30/hr (less some gas) for those who count it that way.

As I have posted elsewhere, I typically do not factor in drive time because I'm writing off the mileage. The way I roll, that represents money to me as it's money that is not going to the IRS the following April. I simply look at the job pay/reimbursement vs. time spent completing the task.

So by my count, this gig paid better than $600/hr and was well worth the drive for that wage.

That it took me through some of the most dramatic views in the entire country and I got to enjoy a burger with Swiss cheese, mushrooms and raspberry jam and a side of outstanding onion rings at the kick-ass little roadside stand next door was the icing on the cake.

*I've done that location while on a route for a lot less. Just got back from that area, and somebody else had snagged a majority of the usual suspects on the loop. There were 2 available on the tail end that had bonused up to $60.