Hello fellow mystery shoppers! There must not be many (if any) video shoppers in my area, because I have the seen the same shops on the board month after month, with the fees getting bigger and bigger. There is one I see now for $200 and it has got me to thinking. Where do you get the equipment, how much does it cost, how do you submit it to the company? I would appreciate any insight from other shoppers who have completed video shops.

Thanks!

Hard no, technical yes. You have to be able to keep the target framed while wearing a body-mounted camera. The cost of the cams used to be in the $450 range, but right now they may be much higher, $800 plus. Training is also recommended. In addition to the camera, you will need shirt(s) altered to accommodate the button camera.

I started by purchasing a camera and traveling to attend a full day seminar for training so my investment was near the $1,000 range. Now some of the video shopping companies will loan the camera, a shirt and provide training for you. A loaner camera is not totally free since the MSC will pay a reduced fee to cover shipping to you and back. In the case of a loaned camera the shop will be on the SD card and the company gets it when they get the camera back. Otherwise, most have a way for the video to be uploaded to their site or a third party site. Some also use a program called Filezilla which has to be installed on your computer.

I bought a near-new PV-500 about 6 months ago and it cost me $400.00. It came with an extended battery too which is great. So far I've really only done video work for one company but it's simple enough to upload the video. I just plug the equipment into my computer and drag the file into FileZilla. As I said I've really only worked for one company since I had my own equipment but it has definitely paid for itself. If I was you, I would snap it up.

LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hard no, technical yes. You have to be able to
> keep the target framed while wearing a
> body-mounted camera. The cost of the cams used to
> be in the $450 range, but right now they may be
> much higher, $800 plus. Training is also
> recommended. In addition to the camera, you will
> need shirt(s) altered to accommodate the button
> camera.
>
> I started by purchasing a camera and traveling to
> attend a full day seminar for training so my
> investment was near the $1,000 range. Now some of
> the video shopping companies will loan the camera,
> a shirt and provide training for you. A loaner
> camera is not totally free since the MSC will pay
> a reduced fee to cover shipping to you and back.
> In the case of a loaned camera the shop will be on
> the SD card and the company gets it when they get
> the camera back. Otherwise, most have a way for
> the video to be uploaded to their site or a third
> party site. Some also use a program called
> Filezilla which has to be installed on your
> computer.


Hi Lisa!

Just wanted to ask, would it be a violation of the ICA if I were to ask which companies loaned the camera out at a reduced shopper fee? There is a $200 dental shop out in the suburbs that has been sitting on the board of one MSC for some time and I'd love to take it BUT right now can't afford to invest in the equipment.....Thanks if you name a company or companies, and I totally understand if you can't.

I have a pv-500 camera. I have never used it and I need a charger for the batteries. I don't know any MSC that do video shops but I haven't looked too hard. I guess if they pay that much I should start looking for some.

Measure Consumer Perspectives used to have a deal for the cameras. I'm going to be checking with them. I'm back on my feet after laying out nearly two years recovering from a heart attack and am going to try my hand at video. I'll let you know what I find out from MCP after I call them.

iblessyah Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Measure Consumer Perspectives used to have a deal
> for the cameras. I'm going to be checking with
> them. I'm back on my feet after laying out nearly
> two years recovering from a heart attack and am
> going to try my hand at video. I'll let you know
> what I find out from MCP after I call them.


Thanks! And I wish you good luck with video too.

Ellis, EPMS, will loan cameras plus shirts and my understanding is they offer some good training. Any fee you see for a video shop on their site already includes the loaner, bonuses for having your own equipment are added in after accepting the shop. Measure may still loan cameras but you would have to check with them on training and rental fees.

Most video MSCs have at least a few "loaners". Just email and ask. BTW, $200 is not a typical video fee.

Clear Evaluations rented me equipment when I first started. I bought my own equipment soon after and the only regret I have is not having done it sooner. It is a bit of an investment to buy your own equipment so my advice would be to borrow/rent a rig first, do a few video shops to see if you like it, make sure there are some in your area (or if not, that you are willing to travel), then dive on in. I think you will be glad you did.

I really want to get my own hidden video equipment. I have already tried to buy it on my own twice, BIG MISTAKE. Then I found this forum.....so I ask my fellow video mystery shoppers, what hidden video equipment is your favorite? Please provide type, as in pen, button, etc. Also the exact name of the video equipment and of course, where you got it, website, etc.

I thank you all in advance for this vital and helpful information.

The answers are already on this thread. Pens are not acceptable for video work.

deja vu

I would like to know why that pens are not acceptable for video work. Is the video quality too poor for the MSC's? The button camera without a specialized shirt is a b**ch to work with to keep things in focus and frame. I am new to video shopping and was thinking of buying a pen camera to do these shops in my area. Thanks.

The pen cams do NOT meet the clients' tech standards. For a discussion of the technical issues, please check out that topic at VSN.

You are not meant to use the button cam without a modified shirt to stabilize it. Don't try to reinvent the wheel on this one. One or two video shoppers have managed to wire the button cam into a broach or a handbag, but that's the known extent of best practices for stabilizing it other than a shirt. Using the handbag mount to track a target adequately on a long shop has generally not been worth the effort. AND, if you place your handbag on the desk of an experienced sales or leasing agent, they will assume that you are the shopper. I can just see them relax when I place my purse on the floor, or even enter without a purse, lol.

Video shopping it not of those who are not willing to invest in the proper equipment and training, or to rent the equipment from a video MSC and get the training from the MSC before investing $400 to $900 or more in equipment.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/08/2013 07:04PM by walesmaven.

Thanks for the information. I will check out the VSN site.

I am in a powerchair for most of my shops...was wondering if instead of the modified shirt I could have my camera mounted on my joystick and continually point it at the target. It would not be so conspicous with my hand over the control. I too am sitting on the fence about all of the video shop stuff and wondered if it would work for me in my circumstance. Any thoughts?

Where would I get the modified shirt?

Hi,

Measure Consumer Perspectives does a number of video shops per month and we are always looking for help.

You can contact amy@measurecp.com and she would gladly give you some information. We do have equipment to loan so even if you do not have any, you can still shop with us. Please let her know you saw this posting in your email.

www.measurecp.net

Thanks
Robin Luchko
robinl@measurecp.com
Director of Scheduling Services
Measure Consumer Perspectives
www.measurecp.net

About the modified shirts.
This is dirt simple. Any shirt with a buttonhole at the correct height will do. Take off the button, if you have to, replace all the buttons to match those that come with the camera.
Where you cut off the button make either a buttonhole or just cut a hole big enough for the camera (without the button screwed on).
Get some sew-on Velcro tape and sew a strip on each side of the hole. You will have to mount a Velcro strip on the camera. I used extra strong packing tape and cut it to size. I did that over two years ago and the tape is still holding as well as it did when I first put it on.
I like the Lawmate brand equipment, even tho my DVR has gone flaky. It still works, but goes into recording mode as soon as I turn it on.

@RobinL....I appreciate your response. I have sent Amy three emails since I saw your post.....so far no response.

I am very interested in going the full time video mystery shopper route. Please feel free to PM me.