Hello. This is my second post here and i am wondering if it is possible to make side money doing this. I live in a large city and there seem to be very few shops available. I did one recently and it was accepted, Things went well. But it's hard to find any other shops. I am on the verge of giving up or maybe just doing this once every few months for this one particular shop.

I thought this might be more lucrative, say an extra $100 to $150 a month. I guess not.

Don't give up, you just need to sign up with more companies. Check out the link at the bottom of this page. There are 100s of companies out there and many of them will have shops in a large city.

You might also try the Observa app, Presto app, Survey app or Field Agent app.

Wondering which "large city" you are in.....there are thousands of jobs in large cities. I live in Phoenix and could work 24x7 if I had to! Sign up with as many companies as you can - especially the top 10. There are gas stations which all cities have, apartment shops which all cities have, business verifications and I-9s that need to be done in all cities. Key here is you have to work for it - get your application out there and start working for a 100 of MSCs. The jobs just don't fall in your lap. Trust me. Then after you have proven yourself, get in with a scheduler or two or three and your life will become much easier

You get what you put into this, mystery shopping is NOT for everybody. It is hard work. I tried to get a family friend to do some shops and it did not work out. I called him one day and he was asking questions that were in the guidelines. I read my guidelines, why should I do yours?

Mystery shopping is not for you if
1. You are lazy
2 . You do not want to read
3. Hate signing up to new companys
4. Hate trying new food/ going to different places you would likely never bother
5. Do not want to research and understand your role as an independent contractor
6. If you are disorganized
7. If you do not have goals
8. If you are not motivated
9. If you are technologically illiterate
10. If you are not willing to try unconventional things like purchase and return shops or get paid to fail a test shop
11. If your grammar is bad
12. If you cannot role play or act your assigned scenario.
13. If you are not willing to say no to high pressure sales shops (car shops and electronic shops in general)
14. If you will get rich quick (thus why so many people fall for mystery shopping scams)

If you want to make decent money this forum is a great place but if your not willing to give this at least 2-3 months of hardwork to see a difference in income it is best you do something else.

Just sayin'

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2019 05:53PM by Mysteriousways.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2019 05:49PM by Mysteriousways.

I live in a large city but do not find many shops right around where I live that I actually like. I keep away from some of the more popular types of shops due to the fact that the wait time to talk to someone is often very long here, such as cell phone stores where you might wait an hour or more with a pulled number to be called. Also bank shops where you need to speak with someone.Same thing. Most times there is a sign up list to speak with a banker and you could be cooling your heels for an hour. The pay is not enough for an hours wait. But you might like them. I work very part time but earn at a minimum the amt you are trying to earn and I am not signed up with 200 companies.
Read the jobs listings this forum has. Click on show all forums at the bottom of the page to find them. My city is not often mentioned there as many of the jobs in the city get filled quickly but if you see a chain store job listed for other places in your region chances are they might also have jobs in your city for that same msc that is advertising. So sign up with them and see. For the msc you are signed with you need to spend a month or two browsing the job openings, especially starting this time of the month when they start to post jobs for July. Mid month and later there are usually very few city jobs left. So start now for July and see what is out there.
If you work elsewhere you could probably find something to do on your way home or lunch if there are retail near your work.

bottom line......you get what you put in to it......nothing is easy or free

An "extra $100-$150 per month" is all you are going for? You should have no problem whatsoever making that! It is 3 non-video apartment shops, or an oil change and an apartment shop, or 6 business verifications. Maybe you should try merchandising which a link is provided on this forum to get you in touch with them. I"m thinking your problem is not signing up with enough MSCs and not willing to take what is out there to get your foot in the door with a scheduler. It takes work but you'll be rewarded well above your $100-$150 goal

Well I don't fit some of your criteria below: I don't really have goals and there are plenty of days I am unmotivated (like today). I don't like purchase and return shops and I won't do the "paid to fail a test" shops. I won't do the high pressure sales shops, either.

There are some shops I just won't do but there are many that I enjoy. If you have a full time job that pays well, you don't need to have goals, you just shop as much or as little as you like. I'd say only do the shops you enjoy doing.

@Mysteriousways wrote:

You get what you put into this, mystery shopping is NOT for everybody. It is hard work. I tried to get a family friend to do some shops and it did not work out. I called him one day and he was asking questions that were in the guidelines. I read my guidelines, why should I do yours?

Mystery shopping is not for you if
1. You are lazy
2 . You do not want to read
3. Hate signing up to new companys
4. Hate trying new food/ going to different places you would likely never bother
5. Do not want to research and understand your role as an independent contractor
6. If you are disorganized
7. If you do not have goals
8. If you are not motivated
9. If you are technologically illiterate
10. If you are not willing to try unconventional things like purchase and return shops or get paid to fail a test shop
11. If your grammar is bad
12. If you cannot role play or act your assigned scenario.
13. If you are not willing to say no to high pressure sales shops (car shops and electronic shops in general)
14. If you will get rich quick (thus why so many people fall for mystery shopping scams)

If you want to make decent money this forum is a great place but if your not willing to give this at least 2-3 months of hardwork to see a difference in income it is best you do something else.

Just sayin'

The issues and rewards for big city shopping are much different than they are for smaller cities and rural areas.Much of what you read on this forum does not really work for big cities. We have traffic and parking meters and waits for service and usually no fancy new apartment complexes to look at. Many big cities do not have room for those. So you need to search and try out some shops and see what works. It is likely, depending on what city you are in that bonuses larger than a few dollars are rare. I just got a $15 bonus yesterday but had to spend every penny of it in order to pay the bill at the expensive restaurant I ate at. So read the rules you can see before applying for a shop. See if they are willing to pay parking expenses if you know the part of the city does not have free or easy parking. I usually take shops in parts of the city I am going to anyway for instance if I have a docs appt I look for shops around there. Big city travel in my city is soo terrible that I will not drive to a shop just for that shop. Part time shopping is also a different approach than what the posters who work full time take. So pay attention to the clues in posts to see if what they say is even possible where you live, or more likely it is possible but you might not come out ahead $$ wise on some shops that are profitable elsewhere. But on the other side of the coin you have access to shops non city dwellers dream of.

Your list is interesting and may well describe you, but not all of them describe me and I think that there are many mystery shoppers who would delete one off more items from their personal list.
For me,
a) there are some people who would consider me lazy because I don't accept every shop that I could do
b) there are locations that I will not visit to complete a shop because I feel that they are dangerous and the fee is not proportionate to the risk (and some areas of cities near me where the fee would have to cover the cost of a bodyguard before I would consider going there, and maybe not even then).
c) my goal is to "not do nothing", so I guess that I pass that one
d) "technologically illiterate" is a relative term. I have confessed to not being able to use Pivot Tables. Everyone on this forum uses a computer of some type. Just that might well constitute technical literacy.
e) I tend to avoid purchase and return shops because they rarely pay enough for two trips or enough for me to sit around in a shopping center or parking lot doing nothing for a few hours.
f) I do not do "fail the test" shops because I am afraid that I might pass them. And I do not want a record of me failing a test if I "successfully" fail it.
g) I have no desire to do the auto sales shops which require multiple trips to negotiate lower prices. Regular auto shops are time-consuming enough (and the $20 for a no-test drive auto shop is a joke and not even worth considering).

I have no idea what your #14 means unless you are saying that if you get rich quickly, you probably have no need to mystery shop. If you mean that MSing is not for someone who hopes to get rich quick, I agree.

So, that is my personal list. By your criteria, I am not suited for mystery shopping. Sorry, I feel very strongly that I am.

@Mysteriousways wrote:

You get what you put into this, mystery shopping is NOT for everybody. It is hard work. I tried to get a family friend to do some shops and it did not work out. I called him one day and he was asking questions that were in the guidelines. I read my guidelines, why should I do yours?

Mystery shopping is not for you if
1. You are lazy
2 . You do not want to read
3. Hate signing up to new companys
4. Hate trying new food/ going to different places you would likely never bother
5. Do not want to research and understand your role as an independent contractor
6. If you are disorganized
7. If you do not have goals
8. If you are not motivated
9. If you are technologically illiterate
10. If you are not willing to try unconventional things like purchase and return shops or get paid to fail a test shop
11. If your grammar is bad
12. If you cannot role play or act your assigned scenario.
13. If you are not willing to say no to high pressure sales shops (car shops and electronic shops in general)
14. If you will get rich quick (thus why so many people fall for mystery shopping scams)

If you want to make decent money this forum is a great place but if your not willing to give this at least 2-3 months of hardwork to see a difference in income it is best you do something else.

Just sayin'

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2019 06:57PM by myst4au.

Don't give up. I live on an island so I can't just jump in my car and drive 50+ miles to a different city or state. However, I still find a ton of work in my area. Get connected. Research mystery shop groups on Facebook or through this forum. You'll get to know the schedulers in your area and find out which jobs are available. I am currently registered with 50 companies and will keep registering with more companies as I do my research on them. Not all companies have shops available in my area but I keep them on my list in case they do in the future. I message schedulers all the time to keep me in mind when they have a certain shop available. There is a learning curve as well. I used to take the low paying shops just to gain experience. Nowadays, I can be selective. I do not take every job that is out there. I enjoy restaurant, grocery, and retail shops. Occasionally, I'll take a cell phone or bank shop if it's along the way on my scheduled route. I work full-time for a corporate company so mystery shopping helps to supplement my income. I enjoy getting reimbursed to eat at fine dining restaurants or entertainment venues. I've learned so much from this group alone. Like members have previously mentioned, sign up with as many companies as you can. You'll find what works for you. I can easily make $100 - $150 a week by doing a few shops in my area.

How many MSCs are you signed up with ?

Just the most popular 15 (see list below) are likely to supply more than $200 per month in fees. And, on any day when you want more shops but cannot find them, just sign up with 5 more from the near;y 200 on the longer list, below. And, remember, once you have done several low fee jobs for an MSC, you will qualify to see the list of their better paid jobs, in almost all cases. Many shoppers with full time jobs are making over $200 per month in MS fees, and even MUCH more. So, you have barely scratched the surface of what is possible, and even easy, if you sign up with more MSCs.

My experience. I have two homes. One in Central Illinois in a small area where I began my shopping business and built it up over many years and do quite well. In fact, when I come back I can easily slip into the shopping routine for a couple of weeks and do quite well.

My husband took a job in Central Florida in a big city and it’s taken me some time to build up my business there. The difference is what works for me in Illinois is very different from what works for me in Central Florida and it took time for me to figure it out.

Lastly you don’t say how long you have been at this or how many companies you are signed up with but if it’s been a short time my thinking is you need to give it more time (to see patterns, develop relationships and figure out what shops drop when ) and finally you need to sign up for many more companies.

$150.00 a month is fairly easy to make. Good luck.

Liz

Hey morocco Let's be frank. Do you like this type of work? If you do, you can in most cases reach your $150-200/monthly goals. I won't say it's easy, but hang in there and sign up with many companies. You can also explore other flavors of MS, like video shops, retail resets, phone shops, buy/returns, etc. I consider myself to be an internet forager and swear by a newsletter I've been getting. realwaystoearnmoneyonline.com has a wealth of viable ways to work from home - they even discuss MS'ing, from time to time. Good luck...sending good thoughts.

You can add MSCs, ask for bonuses, watch the boards and self-assign or apply when bonuses appear, and look at JobSlinger. These tips do not guarantee more shops or more money. They only provide opportunities for you to see what is available. At JobSlinger, you can look in various regions or nearby zip codes without signing up randomly for any MSCs. If any assignments appeal to you, you can add the MSCs that are listed for those assignments. If you can travel, you can add shops; you can get travel money from some MSCs or bonuses, generally, which will cover your travel costs. Just from experience, I can tell you that even though I am too old for most shops, there are more shops available for me than I will do. Hang in there!

@morocco77 wrote:

Hello. This is my second post here and i am wondering if it is possible to make side money doing this. I live in a large city and there seem to be very few shops available. I did one recently and it was accepted, Things went well. But it's hard to find any other shops. I am on the verge of giving up or maybe just doing this once every few months for this one particular shop.

I thought this might be more lucrative, say an extra $100 to $150 a month. I guess not.

Starting out, yes you find the lowest of low paying jobs...I don't care how many companies your signed with.
This business takes a couple months to get the hang of, learn the ropes and find companies in your area that work for you, Needing to make money, don't go for the reimbursement jobs, stick to cell phones, big box, and those types, and do a good job following instructions and you will see better jobs. 200.00 monthly is easy.
Learn to do bank jobs, they pay well, four a week will bring in cash. try KSS Scheduling and good luck.

Even if you're signed up with a hundred companies, be sure to check your mileage radius when searching for assignments. Any company on the Sassie platform or Shopmetrics, and some others with their own system, give you the ability to expand your territory beyond the default limit. My greater metro area is 40-50 miles wide, with a secondary separate metro area 20 miles to the north. To take advantage of this, I had to change the numbers, and occasionally scale them back when I'm just looking for something close.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2019 10:21PM by Aquiest.

@morocco77 wrote:

Hello. This is my second post here and i am wondering if it is possible to make side money doing this. I live in a large city and there seem to be very few shops available. I did one recently and it was accepted, Things went well. But it's hard to find any other shops. I am on the verge of giving up or maybe just doing this once every few months for this one particular shop.

I thought this might be more lucrative, say an extra $100 to $150 a month. I guess not.

I'm pretty sure that you can make more than $25 a week in any "large" city.

You'd have to tell us which large city you are in to get any real help.

@Mysteriousways wrote:

Mystery shopping is not for you if
1. You are lazy
2 . You do not want to read
3. You hate signing up to new companies
4. You hate trying new food/ going to different places you would likely never bother
5. Do not want to research and understand your role as an independent contractor
6. You are disorganized
7. You do not have goals
8. You are not motivated
9. You are technologically illiterate
10. You are not willing to try unconventional things like purchase and return shops or get paid to fail a test shop
11. Your grammar is poor
12. You cannot role play or act your assigned scenario.
13. You are not willing to say no to high pressure sales shops (car shops and electronic shops in general)
14. You think you will get rich quick (thus why so many people fall for mystery shopping scams)

How many of those can we fit and still work? ;-)

If you're just after $100/mo, try signing up for the post office and gas shops; both of those are quick shops that can be done on a lunch hour. Alternatively, you can do two apartment shops and make that. The easiest way, though, is probably to sign up with a scheduling company (like Kern) or platform (like ISecretShop) where you'll have access to several different companies at once.

@Mysteriousways wrote:

You get what you put into this, mystery shopping is NOT for everybody. It is hard work. I tried to get a family friend to do some shops and it did not work out. I called him one day and he was asking questions that were in the guidelines. I read my guidelines, why should I do yours?

Mystery shopping is not for you if
1. You are lazy
2 . You do not want to read
3. Hate signing up to new companys
4. Hate trying new food/ going to different places you would likely never bother
5. Do not want to research and understand your role as an independent contractor
6. If you are disorganized
7. If you do not have goals
8. If you are not motivated
9. If you are technologically illiterate
10. If you are not willing to try unconventional things like purchase and return shops or get paid to fail a test shop
11. If your grammar is bad
12. If you cannot role play or act your assigned scenario.
13. If you are not willing to say no to high pressure sales shops (car shops and electronic shops in general)
14. If you will get rich quick (thus why so many people fall for mystery shopping scams)

If you want to make decent money this forum is a great place but if your not willing to give this at least 2-3 months of hardwork to see a difference in income it is best you do something else.

Just sayin'

I 'workhard' in the very early a.m. Sometimes, the job starts before 1 a.m. Occasionally, it starts at 4 or 5 a.m. By the time I get home, I usually need a nap. After that, there is little time for more work at home and for home life. If I complete too many assignments, I neglect my basic home tasks. I do some assignments anyway. I do this until I cannot stand the neglected projects at home, and then I take time off and do home tasks. I am signed up with enough 'companys' and there are more shops out there for me than I can do. I could walk a few blocks and fail a test. I will do that when I am absolutely desperate. Or, I might try one after I catch up on all my neglected projects which were ignored for months and months when I did a boatload of mystery shops and little else. For the same few blocks, I could visit a university library and be ecstatic! Library is my preference. There is some adventure in my soul. I use it to try new recipes and tweak old ones at home. This fits my budget better than reimbursed meals do because I have just one category for food expenses. It also gives me the freedom to avoid mystery shopping if I want to do that. Purchase and return sounds inefficient, not unconventional. Sometimes, my grammar is bad. I improve it several times before submitting reports. Here, I let it be. I think you might have missed an unscheduled opportunity to try out for a scheduler job. When your family friend was asking questions, they were doing what many of us do from time to time. We ask schedulers for additional information or clarification. One of our responsibilities as independent contractors is to be certain that we understand the assignment-- and this is complicated by unclear or conflicting guidelines. You could have answered the questions for your family friend and gained a little experience in one of the scheduler tasks. Who knows? You might have liked that job. Just sayin'.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2019 12:12AM by Shop-et-al.

How to get in with a scheduler?

@Mysteriousways wrote:

You get what you put into this, mystery shopping is NOT for everybody. It is hard work. I tried to get a family friend to do some shops and it did not work out. I called him one day and he was asking questions that were in the guidelines. I read my guidelines, why should I do yours?

Mystery shopping is not for you if
1. You are lazy
2 . You do not want to read
3. Hate signing up to new companys
4. Hate trying new food/ going to different places you would likely never bother
5. Do not want to research and understand your role as an independent contractor
6. If you are disorganized
7. If you do not have goals
8. If you are not motivated
9. If you are technologically illiterate
10. If you are not willing to try unconventional things like purchase and return shops or get paid to fail a test shop
11. If your grammar is bad
12. If you cannot role play or act your assigned scenario.
13. If you are not willing to say no to high pressure sales shops (car shops and electronic shops in general)
14. If you will get rich quick (thus why so many people fall for mystery shopping scams)

If you want to make decent money this forum is a great place but if your not willing to give this at least 2-3 months of hardwork to see a difference in income it is best you do something else.

Just sayin'

I wish I had written this. It's pretty accurate.

People shouldn't get hung up on the details. Do I usually perform purchase and return shops? I don't anymore, but I have done a few. Currently, I am not allowed to do the "fail a test shop" because my license is done through these testing centers.

Well, I hope the OP comes back and reads all the helpful suggestions. And, like most everyone else here, I also say: Sign Up With AT LEAST the top 15 mentioned in the link below....and then, as you have a few minutes every day, ADD TO THE LIST!! You never know....I say this from experience! I signed up with Ace Mystery Shopping (Shopmetrics platform) back in 2005, and did ONE job for them back in 2005....nothing since....UNTIL TONIGHT!! I received an email about a job that interests me, applied and got it! You just never know!! I do this very part time....my goal is between $200-$300/month, and I meet that goal EASILY. You can too!!!

Welcome to the forum, Morocco! Like others have said, sign up with more companies. You will soon determine which shops you like, and which you will avoid. Everybody has different circumstances; only you can decide what is best for you. Don't overlook telephone shops! I'm "preaching to the choir" on this one, I know, but it is often a steady source of monthly income, and I swear by a steady diet of 'em. Good luck to you! Don't give up!

Any time someone says "just sayin'," they really aren't. That list made this sound like a really hard hobby!

@morocco77
Yes, you can make money doing this. I work full time and can easily pull in $2,000 in any given month. I've topped $4,000 in months where I have time off. However, I work my butt off to do it.

I have posted most of my "secrets" on this forum numerous times - as have others who make good money doing this. In fact, my "secrets" are really just the advice shared by other forum members that I have adopted and adapted to my personal situation. The biggest key is that you have to want it and take the time to develop yourself as a small business owner. You have to seek out opportunities and take them.

You want help? Answer these questions:
* What city are you in/near?
* How much time do you have to shop and when?
* With how many MSC's have you registered?
* What types of shops do and don't appeal to you - at least that you have found so far?

You'll get sound advice here (and perhaps some bad advice, too, which you will have to sort out).

If you're looking to make good money doing this, it's not a hobby at all - and it is hard work.

@meanviking wrote:

Any time someone says "just sayin'," they really aren't. That list made this sound like a really hard hobby!

@lsa wrote:

How to get in with a scheduler?

Reply to their e-mails. If they call, call them back.