I loved these jobs because the employees cannot fail, they were usually glitchless and worth the time if there was no wait to speak with someone. That was then, when they paid $35 (and up). Now they are $10. Nope. Not even worth getting out of my car for, much less using ink and paper AND making a call first. I guess someone will do them.

The MSC must have decided these shops were worthy of the Arab:camel model. If they required little travel, I completed some at $20, but most were for $30, with $55 being my high.

To paraphrase Helena, if a shopper applies for $10, they surely must be desperate. In toner/ink, paper, electricity and printer wear, one has from $1.50 to $2.00 invested.

Not seeing any available in my area.

I've done six at $25 apiece. Would like to get more, but I know that's unlikely in my area.

Most of the employees who do the review, including managers, miss a lot of the questions. And there are a few questions no one gets right. I try to break down the question to make it easier for them as they don't seem to be grasping the question, but that doesn't help. One employee was clearly prepared and read off correct answers from a screen or script. And others struggled with half the questions.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2026 12:52PM by retrodaddy.

That there are none in your area, reinforces my point that someone is willing to do them for $10. And they did. There are very few in my area left also, even at that price.

I have only done these when they are $40 or more. Seems like only one or two locations are left from the 10 or so that were posted in my area. Such a shame, so many bonused opportunities are gone which means I now have to work more to get the same money that I am used to getting each month. I can tell that there are at least 2 shoppers in my immediate area that have grabbed anything and everything they can. Basically, all of the CI jobs have gone to them because I won't work for peanuts.

@sestrahelena wrote:

I loved these jobs because the employees cannot fail, they were usually glitchless and worth the time if there was no wait to speak with someone. That was then, when they paid $35 (and up). Now they are $10. Nope. Not even worth getting out of my car for, much less using ink and paper AND making a call first. I guess someone will do them.

Yep, the situation here is why I do only very limited mystery shopping anymore. The market is just overrun with people who will work for whatever the MSCs feel like paying.

I used to love these Cricket audits as well. Administering an open-book test is pretty stress-free. I'm surprised retrodaddy ran into so many issues with employees getting things wrong. I had one instance where there was a bit of a language barrier because the associate was an ESL learner, but fortunately, I speak some Spanish, and once I got it across that she could use an "answer key," she aced it.

But $10? My absolute minimum is $20. $25 is good, $30 is better. My mystery shopping income in January was a whopping $71, the lowest since the depths of Covid in 2020. February will be better but probably no more than $250 or so. Around 2023-24 it wasn't unheard of for me to do a few thousand in a month.

I'm retired but like to do part-time stuff because who can't use extra money? But I've found other revenue streams/sources now that don't require driving half the day for pittance fees. The MSCs are in full control of the MSC/shopper relationship now. Plenty of willing shoppers scuffling for whatever they're initially offered.

I don't blame the MSCs one bit, it's a business after all. I guess I'm just venting some sadness because I really used to enjoy mystery shopping.

They're $15 in my area, but I won't do them for less than $20.

I've noticed quite a few shops with this MSC that now have new lower fees. I've done fitness center audits for them as well and now they have dropped those fees $15. Too tedious and time consuming for $45. I'll wait for bonus, if they come. No one is picking them up....so there's hope.