Is it just my area or is it happening in other areas. Now that marketforce has shops again they’re reimbursing for the shops but they’re not paying a fee for doing the shops. That’s insane. The fees were low to begin with. Who in the world are the people taking the shops for no fee?

They did stop paying a fee for the chicken finger shops in my area.

I sent them an email asking about the shopper fees. They said July shops were issued with no fee and they didn't know when they would be reinstated.

Probably once they sit on the boards for a while, they will get reinstated.

I'm wondering how the No-fee thing is working out for them in other areas. In my area, they posted with no fee several locations for two different fast foods, a grocery, and 2 different types of shops for a discount store. All are gone, except for 3 of the fast food locations that usually have to be bonused to get them done.

I think the' no-fee approach' works for some people, sometimes. These are the ones who might need to watch every cent of their income. So, if they receive unemployment and other benefits, it might not be bad to barter for food. They eat, maintain work skills, and have nothing to count against their unemployment income. Beyond that, they don't have the burden of losing other benefits because they have reached some higher income threshold. Even if they surpass the threshold, it might not last. Just now and for the unpredictable future, they might not be able to sustain that level of income. For how long would they be without income and benefits? Bartering might make it possible to leverage more of their unemployment and other benefits. No one knows if/when more stimulus checks or other benefits will materialize, and the fed unemployment benefits expire at the end of this month. I think I would applaud this choice instead of questioning it. ?

MSCs and clients have a good sense of who their shoppers are. They know that not paying fees probably runs on two basic tracks: some shoppers will wait for a change. They do not need anything from these shops and can leave them alone. Other shoppers factor the absence of fees into their economics of unemployment equations and do the shops as a barter. Everyone wins. Or, no one loses.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2020 02:24PM by Shop-et-al.

Well, I'm not taking any of their no-fee grocery shops. However, they have posted several wireless audits for the insect-logo carrier that are very quick and easy, even though they state to give yourself 2 hours. It usually takes 15 minutes. And the standard fee is $14, and was last year too, so that didn't change. I signed up for 3 of those. At least I'll get the regular fee for those!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2020 03:18PM by guysmom.

Market Force is paying regular fees (and some bonuses) in my area.

This round of chicken finger shops in my areas are now with no fee.

@allsea wrote:

They did stop paying a fee for the chicken finger shops in my area.

You all already know what you need to do to stop the "no-fee" shops.

In my area they have reinstated fees (albeit small) for a fast food restaurant and a general retailer (these appear to be just "no one is taking these shops so someone please do them" shops. But it is what it is.). Also bumped up the fee on another prominent fast food place. I guess the "work for coupon, please" strategy isn't working.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2020 08:48AM by KokoBWare.

None of the chicken shops are being picked up at no fee in my area... they are sitting until close to the due date and then they are adding a fee and then I’ve seen a few picked up after the fee is added.

They put up a dine-in restaurant shop, and it is illegal to have dine-in right now. Outdoor patio or take-out, but not dine-in.

Sarah, I don't want to upset you, but I find the headline "MF not paying for shops" alarming and misleading. Do you mean "MF shops posted with no fees"? The first implies perhaps that shoppers are not getting paid for properly executed assignments, which is not now and never has been the case with MF.

I agree with ceasesmith, as her heading for the situation is far more accurate.

I'm glad I no longer shop for Market Force. Or, maybe I should instead say Market Farce.

My speculative guess is that MFI is low balling to start. I received emails from other MSC stating there was a massive sign up of shoppers in March and April. I've done a series of gas station audits that started out $0 and I signed up at EOM for $25 Fee + reimbursement.

@whosear wrote:

My speculative guess is that MFI is low balling to start. I received emails from other MSC stating there was a massive sign up of shoppers in March and April. I've done a series of gas station audits that started out $0 and I signed up at EOM for $25 Fee + reimbursement.

Yes, those that know should be playing the waiting game with MF. Yet there are always going to be a few out there taking whatever lowball starting price MF (or another MSC) puts on them, and that's where our problem lies. It borders on unethical to push the low end down that far, knowing it's not a fair offering price at all. But the bigger an MSC gets, the more incentive there is to fatten the profits: ridiculously low (or nonexistent) shopper fees, cutting the turnaround time down to 8 hours (or maybe 6 hours by now, for all I know), etc.

In mystery shopping, I might take a low ball offer if for instance, I am already in an area or going there and have the time to do an extra shop. I have do so in the past. Otherwise I wait until the fee is at a reasonable amount. I sometimes lose a shop when I miscalculate what a reasonable fee is and someone else picks it up.

DrSquash opines--Yes, those that know should be playing the waiting game with MF. Yet there are always going to be a few out there taking whatever lowball starting price MF (or another MSC) puts on them, and that's where our problem lies.

Bob agrees--That "hits the nail on the head."

DrSquash adds--It borders on unethical to push the low end down that far, knowing it's not a fair offering price at all.

Bob disagrees--Were we employees, I would definitely agree, BUT, as independent contractors, the term fair does not, from a fee standpoint, apply. MFI fired me in 2010, but when I worked with them, the overwhelming number of available shops were fast food. That is a category of assignment, as we are all aware, geared more toward convenience than money.

I think a lot of MSCs are lowballing right now. Every one is struggling. I had a scheduler (not MF) tell me yesterday "We just HAVE to stop paying shoppers $20, even $30, for these fast and easy shops!", for a shop that she wanted me to take for $8 plus reimbursement 60 miles from my home!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/2020 05:18PM by ceasesmith.

This is why I always want more shoppers here. More shoppers close to local shops can lower the overall costs. No shopper works very hard or travels very far. No shopper incurs much more than the reimbursement cost. Voila! Low cost for shop completion. Mind you, this is not quite a barter, and is not a firm foundation for career earnings. It just gets the job done in a cost-effective way. Simplicity itself!

But then reality sets in.... rotations, shopper burn-out, finicky eaters....

I agree! If you want a service done you need to be willing to pay for it. My guess is that people are using the shop for lunch food because you have to order from the deli. Other than that why on earth would you work for no pay?

Interesting! Wonder if SHE would work for such low pay. The words "quick, fast or easy" really mean low pay for shopper.

My schedule is not very flexible this month, and I appreciate Marketfoce's ability to self-assign if I happen to have an empty day. HOWEVER, I've been rounding out my schedule mainly with "make an offer" shops. Even if I have nothing else to do I will not work for peanuts.

Same here Kathy. My schedule is tight. When the schedulers call me, if they can't offer me my pre-COVID fees, it's a no go.

They're back to offering no-fee shops for a certain fast-food client.

I saw that. They have to know that is not working.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

I saw that. They have to know that is not working.

Yeah I had in mind the LTO chain, but now I see they're also trying it with the peanut-offering burger chain on August shops. This will not stand, are they kidding?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/2020 08:52AM by KokoBWare.

I suspect they are testing the waters to see if they can still have shops completed for reimbursement only. It comes down to if no one takes them without a fee, then things will change. I suspect MF will likely still be able to schedule these shops without including a fee. I did one shop that had a small fee included but to my surprise the minimum purchase exceeded the reimbursement maximum (never use to be that way) so the fee got gobbled up by the food cost. I kind of felt duped. Oh well, live & learn. Fool me once, same on you, fool me twice well shame on me.