Killing It

Been doing some great routes and scored some nicely bonused locals too. Maybe Spring break took a lot of the soccer moms out of the picture???? Anyway, had an 800 dollar trip—personal best. Anyone else getting good results?

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Noice!

In the midst of booking out what should be a worthwhile loop (my perspective is different than many around these parts) the genesis of which was a $400 video apartment shop with a decent reporting process (Grace Hill).

Scrolling around on the instant assignment map site uncovered a $100 Site Experience, and 3 Famous Highway dark shops at $75 each. Because Daddy will be needing gas, I also grabbed the 3 available Yellow Mollusks along the way which should gross over $40 with current gas prices in my area.

So that's around $850 gross before I fill in with at least a couple of dozen Green Dinos, a majority of which are now @ $25 + $10 reimbursement.

If the doubly dinosaur website weren't so freaking slow I'd be done by now, but it takes about 2.5 minutes to book each assignment, so I took a little break to visit here.

Should gross about $400 per day when all is said and done, while doing easy work tooling around some often gorgeous scenery during beautiful weather for a few days.

Have synthesizers, will travel...
February to early March was very good for me, mainly 'cause of tax office audits and alcohol display photo audits. I also scored my first Vans shop and picked up a bonused shop with a company I hadn't previously worked for. Then I scored a few first-time shops with another company. Oh, and some $35 car counting shops.

I don't think there are any Russians / And there ain't no Yanks
Just corporate criminals\ / Playin' with tanks


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2026 05:21PM by retrodaddy.
March had to be my worst month in a while. It was ok but lost some of the long term stuff I worked on previously. Still was able to grab some bonuses for end of quarter. Still a week left and I have my eye on a few jobs that I will do if the price goes up enough. Some jobs just require more money to motivate me. In the past I would do anything and everything, now I have become picky.
Hi Coolmusic, Can you let us know when Grace Hill pays you? I heard mixed things about them on here.
Hi Coolmusic, Can you let us know when Grace Hill pays you? I heard mixed things about them on here.

@CoolMusic wrote:

Noice!

In the midst of booking out what should be a worthwhile loop (my perspective is different than many around these parts) the genesis of which was a $400 video apartment shop with a decent reporting process (Grace Hill).

Scrolling around on the instant assignment map site uncovered a $100 Site Experience, and 3 Famous Highway dark shops at $75 each. Because Daddy will be needing gas, I also grabbed the 3 available Yellow Mollusks along the way which should gross over $40 with current gas prices in my area.

So that's around $850 gross before I fill in with at least a couple of dozen Green Dinos, a majority of which are now @ $25 + $10 reimbursement.

If the doubly dinosaur website weren't so freaking slow I'd be done by now, but it takes about 2.5 minutes to book each assignment, so I took a little break to visit here.

Should gross about $400 per day when all is said and done, while doing easy work tooling around some often gorgeous scenery during beautiful weather for a few days.
@Tinamayflower wrote:

Hi Coolmusic, Can you let us know when Grace Hill pays you? I heard mixed things about them on here.

A lot of the work I did was for Grace Hill. Very long reporting form but they pay well. The pay is consistent but it's slow. Like I did two projects on the same day and I think I reported them on the same day. I was paid a month apart for them. But I was paid. Unlike some not-so-elite companies out there...if you know what I'm saying.
@CoolMusic wrote:

Noice!

In the midst of booking out what should be a worthwhile loop (my perspective is different than many around these parts) the genesis of which was a $400 video apartment shop with a decent reporting process (Grace Hill).

Scrolling around on the instant assignment map site uncovered a $100 Site Experience, and 3 Famous Highway dark shops at $75 each. Because Daddy will be needing gas, I also grabbed the 3 available Yellow Mollusks along the way which should gross over $40 with current gas prices in my area.

So that's around $850 gross before I fill in with at least a couple of dozen Green Dinos, a majority of which are now @ $25 + $10 reimbursement.

If the doubly dinosaur website weren't so freaking slow I'd be done by now, but it takes about 2.5 minutes to book each assignment, so I took a little break to visit here.

Should gross about $400 per day when all is said and done, while doing easy work tooling around some often gorgeous scenery during beautiful weather for a few days.
Great to hear. If I could get out of my bubble and take on some things that the Big I has, I could probably actually do somewhat better. For whatever reason I just am happy with the mix I have right now and the non-revealed projects I do.

What video equipment do you have?
I've never had as good of a March as I having this month. I feel like I am picking up a lot of pieces of nicely bonused quarterly shops that just stayed on the boards due to how freezing cold this winter was. I avoided them too, but now I'm not sure my competition ever really went back to look to see if they were still lingering as the weather gets a little better. (40's being "better").

I'm presently on a $680 route for four days/three nights. (close to $1000 before hotel costs)
Like CoolMusic, there are several mollusks involved, so I have yet to spend a dollar out of pocket for gas.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2026 11:19AM by KA047.
I imagine the SWAT team busting down metro's door right now because of the thread title. It happens.
March is always one of my best months of the year with some projects offering nice bonuses at the end of the quarter. Speaking of which...I just happened to jump on the Insta app and VERY quickly snatched up a lighting audit at $250. Easiest money I'll make all year.
@Tinamayflower wrote:

Hi Coolmusic, Can you let us know when Grace Hill pays you? I heard mixed things about them on here.
.
Typically by the third week of the following month. Never really had a problem with them, and EPMS seems to be paying quicker since GH bought them.

I find the GH reports to just fine. Perhaps a bit narrative-heavy, but I only do apartment mystery shops when the bonuses are good, so I'm happy to spend the time. I really like their revealed community standards gigs.

The EPMS online experience continues to be horrible, but I'll suffer when bonuses for their video shops take the fee to over $250. I don't do them often, but between the two companies I've done $685 for 2 jobs in the last week or so, with a total of 3 hours' work tops.

Interestingly, this loop's apartment shop was total deja vu. The building/office layout was identical to another property from the same company in an adjacent state that I had shopped the last time the bonuses went cray-cray, so I had a bit of a flashback.

And then the agent turned out to be subbing and was the one I had video shopped previously. I don't think she remembered me, thankfully.

Have synthesizers, will travel...
@CoolMusic wrote:

@Tinamayflower wrote:

Hi Coolmusic, Can you let us know when Grace Hill pays you? I heard mixed things about them on here.
.
Typically by the third week of the following month. Never really had a problem with them, and EPMS seems to be paying quicker since GH bought them.

I find the GH reports to just fine. Perhaps a bit narrative-heavy, but I only do apartment mystery shops when the bonuses are good, so I'm happy to spend the time. I really like their revealed community standards gigs.

The EPMS online experience continues to be horrible, but I'll suffer when bonuses for their video shops take the fee to over $250. I don't do them often, but between the two companies I've done $685 for 2 jobs in the last week or so, with a total of 3 hours' work tops.

Interestingly, this loop's apartment shop was total deja vu. The building/office layout was identical to another property from the same company in an adjacent state that I had shopped the last time the bonuses went cray-cray, so I had a bit of a flashback.

And then the agent turned out to be subbing and was the one I had video shopped previously. I don't think she remembered me, thankfully.

Here in Corpus Christi, we had these three apartments that would be shopped like twice a month, every month. The MSC was not either GH or ELLIS but BARE of all people back when they did the SASSIE jobs. One of these three shops I did multiple times had a leasing agent who was very distinctive in terms of appearance. She remembered me from the previous two times I had done the shop over the last six months or so. I was able to sell my backstory and discussed how the apartment was so elegant and had such an air of affluence, I had to give it another look.

Well, Ellis had a situation where they needed to get a shop finished like immediately out in Uvalde--about 180 miles away. It was at this low income property. When I arrived, guess who was there. I thought she had sounded familiar on the telephone. We went through the motions and I got out of there as fast as I could.
@metro25782 wrote:

What video equipment do you have?

The PV-500 button rig.

Love the latest version I purchased after borrowing older ones from EPMS.

It paid for itself at some point into the 3rd job I did with it. It only goes out when there is more than $200 being paid, and has proven to be a worthwhile investment.

Have synthesizers, will travel...
@CoolMusic wrote:

@metro25782 wrote:

What video equipment do you have?

The PV-500 button rig.

Love the latest version I purchased after borrowing older ones from EPMS.

It paid for itself at some point into the 3rd job I did with it. It only goes out when there is more than $200 being paid, and has proven to be a worthwhile investment.

After a lot of internal debate about it, I think I need to get into the video shopping.

How many "trial runs" did you do before you were comfortable with it?
@metro25782 wrote:

How many "trial runs" did you do before you were comfortable with it?

Each gig with an EPMS loaner was a trial run as there were a couple of different series of cameras in their inventory.

I've been good with it pretty much right out of the chute. No issues with report acceptance, even when my camera angle was off.

The current version represents a big improvement: more solid connection of the button to the cam, and now the mic is built into the button. The loaners had a separate mic that you had to safety pin inside the shirt. I just checked the video from my most recent shop and my camera positioning is holding up just fine after a few velcro adjustments.

Have synthesizers, will travel...
@CoolMusic wrote:

@metro25782 wrote:

How many "trial runs" did you do before you were comfortable with it?

Each gig with an EPMS loaner was a trial run as there were a couple of different series of cameras in their inventory.

I've been good with it pretty much right out of the chute. No issues with report acceptance, even when my camera angle was off.

The current version represents a big improvement: more solid connection of the button to the cam, and now the mic is built into the button. The loaners had a separate mic that you had to safety pin inside the shirt. I just checked the video from my most recent shop and my camera positioning is holding up just fine after a few velcro adjustments.

Probably time for me to take the plunge.
I think you'll find it a worthwhile investment.

Plan on spending a chunk of time around your house shooting practice video and getting the button set. I use a velcro cable tie that has a slot in it so it can be looped.

I cut off most of the excess velcroing leave enough if I need to make an angle adjustment, but my positioning seems to be holding up OK.

I've now done 3 shops in the last couple of weeks without having to make any adjustments.

FWIW, I do not submit a separate test video for each EPMS shop. I uploaded a test video when I did my first job with a borrowed camera years ago, and since then I just check the section as completed. No issues so far...

Have synthesizers, will travel...
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