I have looked over the list of MS companies to find the ones that offer video shops and did not see many. Does anyone if there are companies that offer them if it is not listed specifically in the snapshot description? I recently purchased my own equipment and need to get it paid for! I have enjoyed the shops done so far and would love to do more.

amie,
Many traditional MSCs are trying out video shopping by contracting with the "big 7" to schedule and edit the shops, so you have the best shot by sticking with them while you systematically sign up with a couple hundred others that may soon start video shopping. For info on the "7" see the list of site sponsoers at VSN.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/2012 12:25PM by walesmaven.

Hi Walesman and other video shoppers...I have seen several threads on video shopping and am wondering if you could enlighten those of us who have never experienced it...i do have a video camera and might someday want to try my hand at it but I have no idea what it entails. I do understand it probably takes some practice to get good but.....are these revealed shops, are you undercover, are you recording with sound, is it like doing a regular shop but you have some equiptment hidden somewhere??? please explain. thanks.
-------------------------------------------------------
> amie,
> Many traditional MSCs are trying out video
> shopping by contracting with the "gif 7" to
> schedule and edit the shops, so you have the best
> shot by sticking with them while you
> systematically sign up with a couple hundred
> others that may soon start video shopping. For
> info on the "7" see the list of site sponsoers at
> VSN.com

I was interested in finding out about video shopping and just checked VSN.com as suggested. It came up with a site called LeapLightly?

It requires specialized covert video equipment and at this point absolutely none are revealed. The recording does include sound so we are only allowed to complete shops either in one-party states or for clients whose employees have agreed to the possibility of being recorded as part of the employment agreement. These are typical shops that you would find and are starting to cross into a variety of industries. Originally, and still predominantly, they are for industries that involve more involved scenarios such as, new homes, apartments and both new and pre-owned car sales. There has been some branching out into fast food and retail among other things. It does take practice. In addition to all of the required scenario information you need to keep the subject in frame for a large part of the interaction. While this may sound easy, keep in mind there is no opportunity to check while the job is going on To make it more fun there are sales associates of all different heights and most do not seem to stay in one place for long, LOL!

walesmaven Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> amie,
> Many traditional MSCs are trying out video
> shopping by contracting with the "gif 7" to
> schedule and edit the shops, so you have the best
> shot by sticking with them while you
> systematically sign up with a couple hundred
> others that may soon start video shopping. For
> info on the "7" see the list of site sponsoers at
> VSN.com


Could this be vsnstrategies.com? That site seems to have something to do with mystery shopping. I don't understand the reference to "gif 7". I really appreciate any advice on this because I am also interested in getting into video shops. Thank you so much for any help.

I don't recognize gif 7. It might be "big 7." I don't have the link handy. Google Video Shopping Network and it should come up. While you are researching do a search here on video and on Volition.com. Keep in mind you do not have to register to just search and read over at Volition. There are a lot of threads over there. I love this side of the business, but it requires some different commitments and the purchase of specialized equipment. Better to be thoroughly educated.

Sorry, I meant the "big 7" video MSCs at [www.videoshoppingnetwork.org]

These are ALL done with covert miniature cameras concealed. Your video cam will not do! The set up for a basic covert video cam is from $280 to $420. Please do a search here on "video" to find a ton of information.

To me, video shopping is a classic example of "the higher the risk, the higher the reward" scenario. Typically, they pay a lot more than traditional shops, but there is a somewhat decent chance that the shop will get completely ruined due to equipment malfunction or user errors. The recorder's battery could go dead, the camera connection could be cut off, the SD card could be bad, the SD card could run out of memory, the fabric of your shirt could make noise that muffles the sound (i.e. NEVER wear a windbreaker jacket or other materials that could be noisy), the camera moves so you video the ceiling the entire time of your shop, the camera falls out of your jacket or pocket in front of the person you are shopping, etc. I certainly don't say this to scare anyone off from it, but I have been given these examples by other shoppers and schedulers who have experienced one or more of these issues. The worst part about it is that you don't know that any of it happened until the shop is over and it is too late to do anything about it. Good news, bad news.....I am told that at least one of these mishaps will happen to everyone at some point. While frustrating, it is nice to know you are not the lone ranger of a totally botched shop. On the other hand, video shops usually take much longer than "normal" shops so you commit a lot of time to each one which can make the whole day seem like a waste if you are unable to submit a shop because of recording problems. If all goes well (luckily I have not YET been bitten by any of those mentioned possible problems), the shops are enjoyable, require minimal input time other than uploading the videos, and the pay is great. If you are thinking of doing it, give it a go! After my nerves got to me earlier this week, I had to remind myself that it won't be the end of the world if everything goes wrong and there will still be more shops tomorrow.

Thanks everyone. I checked with Robert at EPMS and he thought the PVS-500 Lite would probably be sufficient for their shops, but I need to see if the camera resolution is the same as the one that comes with MC Perspective's PVS-500 package. As I've been doing research on button cameras I've found some cameras that are hidden in neck ties, baseball caps and pens, among other places. Nothing I would use but pretty entertaining.

I'll check out Video Shopping Network. When I got back into mystery shopping I meant to limit myself to one day a week but I'm afraid I'm getting a little obsessed.

I bought the PV500-lite for less than $300 with the button camera and it works great. Simple to use, small, light weight, and produces a good video. When I bought it, I committed to doing at least enough shops to pay for it, whether I liked it or not. Then I would see where I wanted to go with doing more video shops after I paid myself back for the purchase. After 2 weeks of owning it, I have earned just a few dollars shy of what I need to recoup the cost. Let's just hope those "earnings" turn into actual paychecks and then I will be one happy shopper!!
I am like you StacyP - I started out mystery shopping as a hobby and I think I now commit more hours to this "hobby" than I ever would at a traditional full time job. The good thing is that I love it, so it doesn't feel like work.....usually.

One other thing Stacy - I don't know for certain as I have not purchased it, but from my research, I read many times that the pen cameras do not produce quality videos and have more issues than other cameras.

It's good to know the PV500 Lite works well! Where did you get it?

I got mine on ebay. You can also check out this site: [www.pimall.com] for additional information on various cameras. I have no affiliation in any way to this site and I did not buy my equipment from there. I just thought it was a good site for information and it was one of the first sites that continually came up when I searched for hidden video recorders. Once I was settled on the camera I thought would be the best for me, I went full force on finding that camera at the lowest possible price. That was my way of making a purchase, but I am sure there will be many other great suggestions.

Thanks all of you...Since I have often taken a picture of feet with my still camera, maybe I will wait a while for video. I did see one of those pen audio recorders and was tempted. But it was so small I thought it might not make it through a shop longer than 10 minutes. My husband is in the Directors Guild (movie directors) so he should be able to teach me a thing or two about this but still, I think I will leave you all to it. Thanks for the education.

amie did a great job of summing it all up. I wouldn't say they take longer. They take about the same length of time as their equivalent written shop. For me apartments average 30 minutes, new cars 30 (no test drive) to 60 (test drive), fast food 5 minutes or less and retail 20 to 30 minutes. From what I hear new homes do take the longest and anything requiring appointments is going to be more challenging and limiting. My preference has been automotive and apartments and with each have been able to complete 6 to 8 in a day.

amie,
One of the great things about the PV-500 series video rigs is that 99% of the equipment failure problems that people had with the Argos units have disappeared. One learns the best way to position the buttom cam to suit your own body shape so that you minimize ceiling shots. And you will learn that you can check your camera orientation and adjust it "on the fly" if it looks like you are apt to be recording your nostrils. I like to think that we are paid extra for having mastered the art of video shopping, not because the risks are higher.

Most active video shoppers are more than ready to coach anyone who has used the forums to learn the basics and taken the opportunity by buying her/his own rig. We are well aware that much of the growth of MSC willingness to market video to their clients depends on increasing the number of well trained video shoppers. Far from seeing fewer or lower paid video shops as then number of video shoppers has increased exponentially over the past three years, the opportunities for video work have expanded faster than the number of experienced shoppers.

You are right, it is not necessarily more of a "risk" to do video shops, it just requires a little more attention and skills. Just as when I did my very first mystery shops, I just knew I had "Hello, I am a mystery shopper!" stamped right on my forehead, I was also paranoid that my hidden camera would fall out when doing my first video shops. I only have 6 video shops under my belt and really want to pursue more of them.

I could use some of your advice on how you secure your equipment to your clothing. My first shops were back when the weather was colder and I secured the camera to a denim jacket and the unit was easily concealed underneath the bulk of the material. Now that it is getting hot, I need to get my "summer video shirt" set-up. Obviously with lighter weight fabrics, it is harder to hide the equipment. How do you all conceal your camera & equipment underneath your clothing? I have 4 video shops lined up for next week and want to make sure I get a new set-up put together this weekend so I am not roasting all week.

I haven't had any problems with concealing the mic and the cam. The DVR goes in my pocket and while there can be a small bulge it is no larger than a phone or a pack of cigarettes and normally my phone stays in the car.

My camera has never fallen out (knock on wood), although it has been close with the DVR trying to work it's way out of my pocket. Once I got up from a chair when a car salesman was going to get some brochures and caught my reflection in the window. That was lucky since my mic was hanging down My back was to everyone so I quickly clipped it to a belt loop on my jeans and just hoped the remainder of the audio was good.

I safety pin the mic inside my shirt and NEVER us that attached clip. The "boxy" part of the rig is tucked into a pouch on a stretchy neoprene belt that places the pouch under my armpit. That easily hides even the larger PV-500 unit. I would put the Lite version into a pocket, though. I use all cotton shirts year-round as my video shirts. They are less likely to allow any equipment to shop, since they are not flimsy enough to "drape" over wire, etcw

The belt that I use is sold on ebay as a "Tune Belt" which is a trade mark.

Remember, it is almost never the equipment that gets a video shopper IDed; it is lack of a good scenario that is the greatest danger. So, robe and wire out of sight of your target, mutter, "Break a nail," (We're not big enough movie stars to say "Break a leg," and it's "showtime".

amie068 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I bought the PV500-lite for less than $300 with
> the button camera and it works great. Simple to
> use, small, light weight, and produces a good
> video. When I bought it, I committed to doing at
> least enough shops to pay for it, whether I liked
> it or not. Then I would see where I wanted to go
> with doing more video shops after I paid myself
> back for the purchase. After 2 weeks of owning
> it, I have earned just a few dollars shy of what I
> need to recoup the cost. Let's just hope those
> "earnings" turn into actual paychecks and then I
> will be one happy shopper!!
> I am like you StacyP - I started out mystery
> shopping as a hobby and I think I now commit more
> hours to this "hobby" than I ever would at a
> traditional full time job. The good thing is that
> I love it, so it doesn't feel like
> work.....usually.
I gave an old Pv-500 and I don't know how to remove the numbers that are running during recording and playback...any thoughts..??

walesmaven Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> amie,
> One of the great things about the PV-500 series
> video rigs is that 99% of the equipment failure
> problems that people had with the Argos units have
> disappeared. One learns the best way to position
> the buttom cam to suit your own body shape so that
> you minimize ceiling shots. And you will learn
> that you can check your camera orientation and
> adjust it "on the fly" if it looks like you are
> apt to be recording your nostrils. I like to
> think that we are paid extra for having mastered
> the art of video shopping, not because the risks
> are higher.
>
> Most active video shoppers are more than ready to
> coach anyone who has used the forums to learn the
> basics and taken the opportunity by buying her/his
> own rig. We are well aware that much of the
> growth of MSC willingness to market video to their
> clients depends on increasing the number of well
> trained video shoppers. Far from seeing fewer or
> lower paid video shops as then number of video
> shoppers has increased exponentially over the past
> three years, the opportunities for video work have
> expanded faster than the number of experienced
> shoppers.

Argos is the worst equipment on earth....

With the camera plugged into the unit, go to recorder settings. From there choose "Video Line in REC." Hit the button on the lower left hand side below setup. From there you can scroll down to "Display Information" and "REC Date Time." When you turn of REC Date Time it should stay off. You will need to go in before each shop to turn off Display Information because it defaults back to On. After turning them off hit the Play button and it should then show you the screen with no information.

It's getting confusing for me because several times a MSC has asked to have the counter and/or date time stamp on.

Thanks a million Lisa....I'll treat you to dinner when we meet...

I'll hold you to that!

What worries me is, how do you know if there are any video shops in your area?

I'm scared of buying a $300+ camera and not getting any work.

You don't. In reality, you cannot count on enough jobs in just a small geographic area. That is why we all emphasize being willing to travel.

Cake,
Just sign up with the big 7 video companies, plus EPMS and then check their job boards frequently to see how many shops turn up within about a 100 mile radius of your home. Also, be aware that if a builder or apartment management company has one of their locations in a region shopped, they probably will shop all of them, probably on a quarterly basis, or more frequently. So, you can check out the web site for each and see how many locatiobs they have near you, once you know that they are shopped.

Finally, you can use the video MSCs equipment for your first few shops, to see if you like this sort of work. People either love it or hate it after about 3-5 shops.

walesmaven, other than EPMS and now Measure, I rarely see video shops posted on the job boards. Are the others posting now?

In my opinion, the toughest part about doing a video shop is securing the camera and DVR so that you get the right angle of the person you are shopping. Video shops will likely be rejected if you don't capture the target in a certain percentage of the film. Sometimes the company will still take it at a reduced fee IF the client will accept it just for the audio. I would not count on that happening much.
I have my "video outfit" that I use for every shop. I have sewn and attached the camera button into a black shirt, rigged a device to ensure that it holds in place, and secured the camera connector to the DVR. The skirt or pants I wear have deep pockets with a button at the top to make sure the DVR does not fall out. Once you gain confidence that your set-up is nearly ironclad, the rest is a breeze. I have done more than a dozen of these shops in the last month and once the shop begins, I all but forget I am wearing the camera.