I am pretty new here and have enjoyed reading everyone's posts and replies.

I belong to over a dozen companies and most do not have jobs in my area. I am trying to find around 5 that I can use on a continuous basis. Is this something you would do or should I sign up with as many as I can??

With all the companies out there....If you were to choose your top five companies, What would they be????

Try using Jobslinger to find out who shops your area, and sign up with those companies. It is FREE.

Indeed it would be impossible to suggest 5 that would work best for you in a particular area. I am signed up with virtually every company that I can find and that mounts to several hundered. I do check through the whole list a couple of times a year to see if they are doing anything in my area because over time clients change. Jobslinger is a great way to see who is shopping your area at the moment, but it is just a first step.

You need to get a feel for it. The companies that have the MOST jobs are not necessarily the ones you want to work for if the pay is low for the expectations. In 2008 I did jobs for 43 companies, 12 companies I did 12 or more jobs for, 15 companies I did just one job for. My 5 top fee paying companies were not the same 5 that provided the best overall value for me (fee + useful reimbursement), nor were they the ones that provided me with the most jobs.

You need to build your relationships with companies over time to get the jobs that help you grow your business and my bet is that my top 5 companies for 2008 would not be the most productive in your area. In fact my top 5 companies from 2008 are not even developing yet as my top 5 for 2009 due to client moves from company to company.

It is fairly standard on mystery shopping forums to suggest that newbies sign up with CORI, Market Force and such as companies most likely to have shops in any given area of the country. Because of that, these companies tend to always have more than enough shoppers and can pay very low fees knowing that shoppers will be there to take the jobs and get excited about small bonuses that still do not get the job to a fair fee. You will find, after some experience, that the more selective companies tend to have better jobs and the pay is more fair. These companies tend to screen applicants for prior experience and writing ability.

I can't narrow it down either. I might get ONE great job from a company once, then never hear from them again becuase they don't have work in my area. Then there are the Certifieds who have a ton of work but pay as low as $4.00.

I like Kern Scheduling as my top pick, but that is not really a company. I've had some issues with some of the companies they schedule for, but never Kern themselves.

shopping4cruises Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am pretty new here and have enjoyed reading
> everyone's posts and replies.
>
> I belong to over a dozen companies and most do not
> have jobs in my area. I am trying to find around 5
> that I can use on a continuous basis. Is this
> something you would do or should I sign up with as
> many as I can??
>
> With all the companies out there....If you were to
> choose your top five companies, What would they
> be????


Sign up and keep signing up! I found quite a few through Volition, MSPA, and I did a free trial of Shadowshopper. I also signed up with as many scheduling companies as I could because sometimes the MS companies need help filling those shops in places they may not have a shopper and they ask a scheduling company to place it on their job board.