Is Bestmark known for low pay and inconsistency?

@FLguy65 wrote:

500 shops with the same MSC in only 2 years?!


That is pretty easy to do if you are shopping full time. I have 200-300 shops each with several companies and I have been shopping a little over a year. I did well over 400 shops with one company in less than a year.

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You can get up that high even if you don't shop full time. I've been shopping for one company for only 4 months now and already have over 100 shops, and this is just a part time gig.
When it comes to payments, they are the best as far as i'm concerned. I've received 2 payments from them since the 1st shop i did on 6/20. I've received 0 payments from confero in that same timeframe...
I've only done a few for Bestmark.They don't usually offer me much but the one or two I've done have been food related which I enjoy. They were last minute so the pay was good.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2015 06:23AM by Antinater.
low pay depends on who you ask the $10 electronics store shops are very quick so i dont see the $10 as a problem... but consistancy has never been a problem between me and bestmark... they are very consistant and fast in their pay

shopping north west PA and south west ny
$3.00 does not even get me out of bed! I you work for that amount of money, wages will NEVER go up.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2015 05:11AM by IWORKCHEAP.
really underprice their shops, and you can rarely negotiate with them. they act like they're doing you a big favor if they bonus you a few dollars. like the electronics shop they have which pays $14. you gotta interact with 2 people in different departments, and then they don't even reimburse you for the small purchase. they do pay quickly though which is their strong point.
@jay225 wrote:

really underprice their shops, and you can rarely negotiate with them. they act like they're doing you a big favor if they bonus you a few dollars. like the electronics shop they have which pays $14. you gotta interact with 2 people in different departments, and then they don't even reimburse you for the small purchase. they do pay quickly though which is their strong point.

absolutely correct..they now have electronic assignments (only one interaction) that pays MORE ($15.00) but it still takes about 30 minutes for the visit + about 30 minutes for the report which equates to $15 per hour? i don't know about you but i will not work for $15 an hour.

ask for bonus $$$ and sometimes (not too often) they will comply and after all they can only say no.

too many pussys out there that will grab at the low-hanging fruit which contributes to the ridiculously low pay that MSCs feel they can offer and hope for the low-quality shopper to grab with not too many context/spelling/grammar errors on the report that most of those who accept low paying assignments make.

you know who you are, folks.
I have done a ton of shops with them over the past few years. I have always praised them as fair, paying on time, etc. Lately though, I think they have some new editors. Rather than ask a question, they just reject your report. I have had some rejected because I was supposed to have a "chat" with a dealership website chat person, but the chat feature did not exist... So, I detail that in my report and it gets rejected... I'm not sure what's going on over there but things seem to have changed.
Bestmark isn't bad. Initial shops are low pay but usually have nice bonuses. They do pay consistently and quickly. The reporting is not hard at all. Easy shops. Descent company.
Has Bestmark raised payouts over the years or dropped them? I heard they use to pay $30 for car shops they now offer at $15, is that true?

After a few hundred shops there has been no bonus you've mentioned, what shops provided you with a bonus because over the last year I have not seen any. They pay fast, their a company who is used by newbie shoppers as a stepping stone toward's high payout pastures. I see car shops for $60 for the same amount of time I spent with Bestmark, how can other companies pay 4x what Bestmark pays?

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2016 10:47PM by Pennies4Shops.
I like Bestmark because I do a lot of work from home and they have phone and web inquiries.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2016 12:51AM by breestjon.
You do two inquires per day as restricted by their policy, so how do shoppers move beyond the phone calls and web inquiry to a bigger BestMark project? They pay fast, don't mess around with good reports and treat their agents with respect. I mentioned the MSC who only pays I.C.s in 50%-Off worthless coupons, at least BestMark does not insult people's intelligence like them! Besides doing your two "web inquiries" or "two sales shops" per day what else are you working on and do you have clearance for the upper end jobs?



What other shops can be unlocked by shoppers who have worked for them for a few years? To date I don't see the bonus pool or bonus shops people mentioned, are those in areas where its hard to find shoppers? The Web Inquiries and Calls are great but your only allowed one each. If people enjoy working for BestMark how do they gain access to premium shops or do those get taken to quickly?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2016 05:53AM by Pennies4Shops.
@parkcitybrian wrote:

absolutely correct..they now have electronic assignments (only one interaction) that pays MORE ($15.00) but it still takes about 30 minutes for the visit + about 30 minutes for the report which equates to $15 per hour? i don't know about you but i will not work for $15 an hour.

I will do cheap work if I feel it is worth it, and I am not going out of my way, or if I can walk there with my children (they are rare, but sometimes children CAN come along). However, phone shops are rarely worth it, and I need to call when it is reasonably quiet. I usually consider the time taken for reading guidelines, driving, and the desire to do the shop.
I regularly do lottery ticket shops for $10 each. On the surface, you might not think that is worth it. But the interaction is usually about 2 minutes if I don't have to wait in line. About 5-10 minutes on the report. I recently did 6 in an hour, reports should have taken about a half hour. I'm pretty happy to do shops for $40-60/hour.
I'm finished with best mark. They docked me 2.00 because I was 5 min late with the report.
There are no extra special secret shops beyond the curtain Mr. Wizard, funny I heard that rumor years ago. After doing hundreds of shops those magic mystery shops that are suppose to open up for loyal shoppers never appeared. You work your behinds off on the reports for the Casinos and Hotel Shops, I wish the person who started the rumor that BestMark open's up a magical door with better shops would stop telling fibs.
A lot of reliable shoppers have mentioned those shops. They were years ago and I haven't heard of them in at least six years or so. If memory serves it was not some magic number of shops performed to open the vault, the alleged "fun" shops were used in more of a carrot and stick type game. "Take these crap shops and I will give you this good one." It also seems opinions varied on whether they were worth it anyway.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
I did an assignment over the weekend, currently working on one and signed up for another that will be due next week. Now when I go to the shops page it says there are no shops currently available. Has anyone seen this today?
@LisaSTL wrote:

A lot of reliable shoppers have mentioned those shops. They were years ago and I haven't heard of them in at least six years or so. If memory serves it was not some magic number of shops performed to open the vault, the alleged "fun" shops were used in more of a carrot and stick type game. "Take these crap shops and I will give you this good one." It also seems opinions varied on whether they were worth it anyway.

exactly, the carrot & stick. kinda/sorta like the hero citations = worthless
You can't escape the feeling that you are being manipulated and exploited by some of the MSCs.

Bestmark has been accused of the carrot-and-stick approach to getting some of their "crappy" shops scheduled at low fees, or dumping shoppers who won't do them.
@AustinMom wrote:

Absolutely. This needs to be said again - - so I quoted it.

The idea that it would "be illuminating to the shoppers and potential shoppers for @BestMark_Inc to address their high work/low pay reputation" is one of the most ridiculous things I've read in a long time. Who cares why Bestmark pays what it pays? Who cares why Market Force, Intellishop, Stericyle, and other companies pay what they pay? Who cares how they determine their profit margin and designate how much they will pay their shoppers? That puts no money in my pocket. I care only about how much money I will make, and I accept those assignments that meet my needs. If an assignment does not pay enough, I do not accept it...

And, said again. Agreed! This is getting rather ridiculous.

If you don't like the pay, move on. Asking about their pay structure is a different topic. This was an interesting topic at first. Now, it's just repeated rants about the same thing.

I'm moving on. This is now quite boring.
@deelitefullyme wrote:

@AustinMom wrote:

Absolutely. This needs to be said again - - so I quoted it.

The idea that it would "be illuminating to the shoppers and potential shoppers for @BestMark_Inc to address their high work/low pay reputation" is one of the most ridiculous things I've read in a long time. Who cares why Bestmark pays what it pays? Who cares why Market Force, Intellishop, Stericyle, and other companies pay what they pay? Who cares how they determine their profit margin and designate how much they will pay their shoppers? That puts no money in my pocket. I care only about how much money I will make, and I accept those assignments that meet my needs. If an assignment does not pay enough, I do not accept it...

And, said again. Agreed! This is getting rather ridiculous.

If you don't like the pay, move on. Asking about their pay structure is a different topic. This was an interesting topic at first. Now, it's just repeated rants about the same thing.

I'm moving on. This is now quite boring.

no offense but (wait for it)...how about you just not accessing this topic? that should satisfy your thirst for non-boring topics. your input is illuminating, enlightening as well as contributing to the topic at hand (snark meant, tho).

no offense but...just sayin'.
This is true, they would offer premium very well paying shops to dependable shoppers who had done some of their harder to schedule lower paying shops throughout the month. I really miss those. Some of them would give you a $50 to $100 gift card to shop in a store and it was yours to keep. They also had some very high end, well compensated fine dining shops near where I live that were also only given out if you did some of the electronics shops through the month.
BestMark was never meant to be a Shopper's long-term solution, a entry company to teach you how to follow directions. When you can do a BestMark Casino, Fine Dining or Hotel shop its time to move on to better, higher paying companies because talent needs better terms. BestMark pay's their shoppers fast, their consistent and you know what your getting in to.
@GuyFawkes wrote:

BestMark was never meant to be a Shopper's long-term solution, a entry company to teach you how to follow directions. When you can do a BestMark Casino, Fine Dining or Hotel shop its time to move on to better, higher paying companies because talent needs better terms. BestMark pay's their shoppers fast, their consistent and you know what your getting in to.

yep, well said
The subject line made me think, yes Bestmark is known for consistently low paysmiling smiley

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
@LisaSTL wrote:

The subject line made me think, yes Bestmark is known for consistently low paysmiling smiley

Ha, yep
I think Bestmark shops are usually low-pay and I don't do them very often, except for a few restaurant shops that are nearby. I think the threatening language is because the people that take the super cheap shops are more desperate and less picky, and that translates into their write ups. I don't know though. They definitely should pay a little more if they want higher quality work, and then they wouldn't need to resort to threats (I have been threatened by a scheduler before, scolded really, it was weird).
Their God-Awful car dealership sales shops are some of the worst in the industry when considering the time, hassle, and reporting in relation to the pay.
@thunderdeacon wrote:

Their God-Awful car dealership sales shops are some of the worst in the industry when considering the time, hassle, and reporting in relation to the pay.

Who does car sales visits for $14, I thought you were joking! I saw that number when BM posted some great jobs for people who have the correct make and model. I saw a job offering $1.50 for Travel Fees, pretty cool!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2016 06:59AM by GuyFawkes.
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