I am afraid to pay a company cause I think I ma going to get scammed.Is this company real.Am I going to get payed?In this economy I can't afford to put up my money.How does it work?

Mystery shopping is real, but you must go to it, not expect it to come to you. You never need to pay to shop an you will never be offered payment up front to do work.

Go to the New Mystery Shopper area and read through the posts marked "Sticky" at the top of that section of the forum. That will give you some idea of how this works and what you need to do it. Then feel free to ask questions. That area of the forum is a great place to ask questions and look at other threads because the questions you have are probably the same as others have had.

Thanks

HI bassystacy! where in Cal. are you located? I'm a MS IN Northern Cal

bassystacy. are you looking to make money? if so this is not the business for you. it is geared for the housewife that wants to make a few extra bucks at the end of the month for a present or extra Victorias secret item, but do not expect to pay off the national debt. And by no stretch of the imagination are you to pay anyone for the 'privilege' of making a few dollars a month. slavery is outlawed. That is why you will be a 1099 (independent contractor) the only way they can legally get away with 'paying' less than minimum wage. If you do the math, you will best stay home or get a job at Micky Dees. at least there you can eat.

Thanks
Barry

Perhaps that is how you do shops, Barry, but with my fees + reimbursements of around $1400 last month for a part time 'business' it is sure a heck of a lot more than buying gifties or lingerie. Quite frankly it pays more than 50% of household expenses month in and month out. Certainly not 'pin' money!

Flash, factor in your gas and printing costs and your time(whatever you think your worth) if you 'made' half that amount I would be absolutely amazed. Fees and reimbursements? you must be joking yes? reimbursed for something that you would not normally shop for or a restaurant that you would not normally go to. I want cash,not barter, I can buy my own meals. This business is just not set up for anything other than a part time housewife and yes a few dollars pin money. If you had to support a family on that you would be writing obama like mad to hurry with the stimulus. It is not a business, it is a hobby. You would be doing a disservice to those who think they are going to make what you claim. Not possible,

Thanks for agreeing

barry

Hmmm . . . If I was not shopping my vehicle would still be depreciating, I would still be paying insurance and tags. I would still be using the vehicle to run personal errands that currently I make stops along my shopping routes to handle without adding any extra miles. So the difference is that if I was not shopping I would be paying for my own oil changes out of my pocket instead of reimbursements. I put 773 miles on my vehicle doing shops while without shopping I would have put about 400 miles on my vehicle out of my own pocket. So yes, using my vehicle meant probably 20 gallons more of gas than I would have used if not shopping. So shopping cost me about $50 in gas (less than that because of some gas shops performed) more than I would have paid in gas if I didn't shop and it save me about $30 in an oil change (I do changes by the calendar every 3 mos rather than by miles). But using mileage deduction I get from shopping I get to protect $425 in fees from being taxed because it is a business expense.

Printing? The 77 shops done required a total of 56 pages be printed--many of my shops I do often enough than absolutely nothing needs to be printed. 16 pages were faxed to a toll free number--so no cost there. Reimbursements were about $460--$170 of which was reimbursement for groceries and the rest was useful to me stuff as well. No nonsense like being 'reimbursed' shipping expenses of no use to me personally. And yes, we were reimbursed for 4 restaurant dinners we might not have done without them being shops but they are definitely places we would go on our own dime. And there were 6 lunches at a casual burger place that we do love--no McD's or Arbys or similar junk there.

It does not matter to me whether you believe me or not. June was a pretty decent month. May was somewhat low at only about $1100 in fees + reimbursements. Experienced shopper friends also did well in June. One friend did about 120 shops with more than $2000 in fees + reimbursements and another shopper friend did 67 shops for about $1425 in fees + reimbursements. For July I have already scheduled 27 shops for close to $450 in fees + reimbursements and my main companies have not announced their shops for the month yet.

This business will net you nothing but pin money if you provide nothing but minimal reports to a limited number of companies. 8 shops in June paid $40 or more in fees alone. Others either offered a fair fee for expectations or a good combination of fee and useful reimbursement. But heck, that takes work to develop those relationships and perhaps that is more time than you are willing to spend on this. It is indeed possible to make reasonable money shopping.

As for raising a family, I did that as a single mom and I learned very early on that it takes creativity to provide a well rounded diet for $1 per day per person. You need to figure what your means are and live well enough within them that you can put aside money every month for emergencies. My only debt is my mortgage and even doing just shopping I pay extra principal on it each month in addition to paying my health insurance and my credit cards in full. It is all part of "living within your means".

beisin, Why are you here? All your recent posts are very negative, except the one about going to the shoppers conference. If what you wrote above is TRULY how you feel about shopping, then I fail to see why you think the conference is a worthwhile investment.

In June, I did the following:
67 shops; $1021.50 fees and bonuses, $406 reimbursements, $1427.50 total, $21.30 per shop.

I'm happy.

Perhaps it is you who should find the new job, instead of advising bassstacy to do so.

What came to mind for me with his posts are the statistics that 80% of small businesses fail within the first few years. If you talk with folks who have had a small business that failed you will rarely hear ownership of the failure. It is almost always someone else's fault that caused their failure, it is never that they offered the wrong product in the wrong place at the wrong time or that they made poor decisions. Serious small business start ups that have done their homework so they are providing the right service in the right market and are controlling their costs carefully while making due efforts to promote and grow their business are the companies most often in the 20% of successes.

I have yet to hit a thousand dollar month, though I've come close. Working with the companies I do, I'm not sure I can hit that mark. But, it was way too many shops for me anyway. Reimbursements work for me if the shop is a product I buy anyway, or an establishment I'd go to on my own dime (or wish I could). I try to work smarter every month. July is shaping up nicely.

beisen, if you don't mind me asking, why do you shop and are you a housewife? We may all shop for different reasons. I am a housewife with a seasonal job. I don't shop for pin money or lingerie. But, so what if I did?

The so what in his fancy opinion is that only someone who is not in need of the money and that finds shopping "fun" would be dumb enough to do this. Let him think it. Watch us laugh at him. :-)

Per the IRS and my wallet, I am apparently running a business. My hobbies don't allow me tax deductions or make me money. But what do I know? I'm just a housewife doing this part time.

I think all the negativity and put-downs of our profession, as well as the denigration of housewives is over compensation for phallic inadequacies. There's no place for that on this board.

Cettie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think all the negativity and put-downs of our
> profession, as well as the denigration of
> housewives is over compensation for phallic
> inadequacies. There's no place for that on this
> board.


There's an interesting opinion. :-)

For July, I already have 62 shops scheduled. beisen, lucky you don't live here. I get all the good shops. Maybe others in your area are getting the good ones there, and that's why you think you can only buy gifts and the extra nightie. I'm sure you look great in the one you bought with your shopping "pin money." I'm buying a new macbook with what I made last month.

I enjoy doing mystery shops,I am still trying to find companies to shop for. I think you will enjoy the experience.

beisen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Flash, factor in your gas and printing costs and
> your time(whatever you think your worth) if you
> 'made' half that amount I would be absolutely
> amazed. Fees and reimbursements? you must be
> joking yes? reimbursed for something that you
> would not normally shop for or a restaurant that
> you would not normally go to. I want cash,not
> barter, I can buy my own meals. This business is
> just not set up for anything other than a part
> time housewife and yes a few dollars pin money.
> If you had to support a family on that you would
> be writing obama like mad to hurry with the
> stimulus. It is not a business, it is a hobby.
> You would be doing a disservice to those who think
> they are going to make what you claim. Not
> possible,
>
> Thanks for agreeing
>
> barry

B, I am going to take stab and guess you are buying your "own meals" for one?

As for part time options for a house wife, it sure beats turning cheap tricks...

I know this is an older thread (relatively newbie here and enjoying working my way through this valuable source of tips and friendships).
When I started mystery shopping nearly 4 years ago and realised many jobs paid only $15 I scoffed at the stories of those who 'had a holiday in Bali' or 'bought a new car'.
I realised you needed to be patient with building up your number of jobs, getting recognised by companies as a hard working and consistently good shopper and then maybe being offered extra work, having a kitty of funds for all those reimbursement jobs and budgeting until pay day.
On top of 'me money', I've used my $$ to buy two lap tops, a new lounge suite, painted a number of rooms and did small cosmetic renos (on the rooms - not me!) and the biggest? Got a brand spanking new kitchen installed with appliances.
I've obeyed God's promptings and anonymously given away a large amount of money on several occasions and the joy and satisfaction of seeing how it's met people's needs at the time has been priceless.
It's been hard work though. I've had to learn self discipline, staying up into the wee hours doing reports, overcoming my phone phobia to do phone call assignments and the list goes on.
My teenage son is between jobs at the moment and as he's studying needs some income. I suggested he mystery shop.
He looked at me and said "mum...I watch you. It's really hard work."
For $ per hour... yes it is.
For a job that suits my lifestyle, (I'm a carer for a severely disabled child)
it's perfect.
I could never ever live off the money I earn. Not by a long shot.
But it's been an enormous blessing, given me the self respect that a tattered self esteem needed at the time and I can't imagine doing anything else.
*steps off my soap box*

So what's wrong with taking advantage of getting out, exploring new places, using our brain...the perks for me is great food, my food bill is nill and I make spending money. That's the choice this gives us, you can work as much or as little as you like, be your own boss, and for me, it's fun and I can shop with focus and feel from time to time I make a difference. Take it seriously and you will get alot back, however, if you need a steady paycheck and health Ins. it's not for you. Where would or what would a senior (like myself) do all day, sit in an office, I think not.