Another instance of a company hiring "mystery shoppers" to do a job that's not mystery shopping... basically having us be couriers

I just got an email from SeeLevel about a "product recall". They want you to buy 700 units of dishwashing detergent (which, in the email, is said to be about $7000!), rent a truck and drive all that stuff to a warehouse in New Jersey where it'll be shipped back to the manufacturer.

I'm guessing the manufacturer is working with SeeLevel to somehow get around some legal or financial hurdle for making defective products... because I imagined the normal way to do this would just for the manufacturer to call up their stores or distributors and have them ship the project back. Why do they need to have a mystery shopper, and a mystery shopping company for that matter, do all of this?

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/2021 08:42AM by Misanthrope.

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One of the apps has similar projects, but nowhere to that magnitude. You buy seed packets and donate them.

There is a lot of room for error with those types of shops.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

I saw this last night and did a full "Waaaaaahhhhhh?" I don't know how they expect people to do that initial outlay of funds. Beyond that, I can see this working if you had at least a two person team and already had/rented a truck. Someone drives, someone else runs in, buys the stock, and runs back out. But there should be a reloadable pre-paid card involved.

Buying out the stock a store has would probably cause them to reorder the product.

Perhaps it's loosing it's shelf space in the store because the product isn't moving.

Somebody will do it and then come here and justify it.

Unless the two of you saw this job posting on the actual website this job screams scam to me. Scammers work in mysterious ways but I cannot imagine a job requiring a truck rental and $7000 outlay being real. If so I am flabbergasted.

@sandyf wrote:

Unless the two of you saw this job posting on the actual website this job screams scam to me. Scammers work in mysterious ways but I cannot imagine a job requiring a truck rental and $7000 outlay being real. If so I am flabbergasted.

I've done jobs like this. I had to order a Fed Ex Freight truck to come to my house. This was close to 15 years ago though. I got paid a bundle too. I did not have to transport it. I was given the company owner's personal Fed Ex account with his password to create the labels (over 50 and the boxes weighed up to 75 pounds or so). It was a huge project. I enlisted my elementary school kids to help me in an assembly line in my garage. 5-7 years old. I paid them $15 an hour each, and I still cleared a couple grand.

Pretty unusual though.

Since I live in NJ, I responded to the email for more info. I've decided against doing it since I don't have the room to store all those boxes until transport. I thought I could just drive them there myself...ha ha ha. Sounds like something I would do, but NO...just NO...maybe in a younger lifetime.

BTW, it's not a scam. It's a legit company.

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Just out of curiosity, what was the fee?

The fee is $2000.

Reminds me of Kramer driving all those bottles to Michigan to get the 10 cent deposit money instead of the 5 cents in NY.

$2000?!

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

@HonnyBrown wrote:

$2000?!

Seems a bit low, especially since the person is having to outlay all of the money for the purchase. I guess if you have nothing else to do?

That sounds like a storage shop where you need to rent a place for a little while!

@MsJudi wrote:

Since I live in NJ, I responded to the email for more info. I've decided against doing it since I don't have the room to store all those boxes until transport. I thought I could just drive them there myself...ha ha ha. Sounds like something I would do, but NO...just NO...maybe in a younger lifetime.

BTW, it's not a scam. It's a legit company.

I wonder if the $2000 includes the truck rental and gas and tolls — and how many stores you’d need to visit to get the 700 units. $7000 of reimbursed charges would earn me a lot of airline or hotel credit card points.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2021 03:18AM by NinS.

@NinS wrote:

I wonder if the $2000 includes the truck rental and gas and tolls — and how many stores you’d need to visit to get the 700 units. $7000 of reimbursed charges would earn me a lot of airline or hotel credit card points.

I wouldn't mind it depending on how many locations it was.. just for this reason!

@sestrahelena wrote:

Reminds me of Kramer driving all those bottles to Michigan to get the 10 cent deposit money instead of the 5 cents in NY.

Ha ha ha my first thought as well. At least Kramer got use of a free mail truck from Newman.

All the expenses are to be reimbursed, including the rental.

So, did anyone take this shop? How did it go?

And this story comes from truth. California was having a big issue with people driving over the border with trucksfull of bottles etc wtih CA crv on them, something they do not get in Arizona. For several years Calfi was paying redemption value ofn many more tons of bottles and cans than they sold in the state and finally put a limit of recycling large amts of trucks full of stuff. It is prob still happening to some degree tho.

@KokoBWare wrote:

@sestrahelena wrote:

Reminds me of Kramer driving all those bottles to Michigan to get the 10 cent deposit money instead of the 5 cents in NY.
Ha ha ha my first thought as well. At least Kramer got use of a free mail truck from Newman.

I laughed at IPSOS and their storage shop offer.....What it came down to is me renting a storage space at my risk and my dime, and HOPING they approve the shop, then I cancel the rental and work with the (often shady) storage rental company for a reimbursement. Meanwhile, I get about $20 for the fee. Wow.

@sandyf wrote:

And this story comes from truth. California was having a big issue with people driving over the border with trucksfull of bottles etc wtih CA crv on them, something they do not get in Arizona. For several years Calfi was paying redemption value ofn many more tons of bottles and cans than they sold in the state and finally put a limit of recycling large amts of trucks full of stuff. It is prob still happening to some degree tho.

@KokoBWare wrote:

@sestrahelena wrote:

Reminds me of Kramer driving all those bottles to Michigan to get the 10 cent deposit money instead of the 5 cents in NY.
Ha ha ha my first thought as well. At least Kramer got use of a free mail truck from Newman.

So yes I used to live in Arizona. I drank a lot of beverages and almost all have the CA CRV on them. I would save all my bottles and cans and when heading to CA for mystery shopping or vacation load them up in my car. so here are the interesting notes on the CA CRV. Any container that holds less than 24 oz you get 5 cents back. Any container 24 oz or more you get 10 cents back. So 2liters worth 10 cents and 12 oz cans 5 cents. Now in order to get that price you had to insert one by one into a reverse vending machine. or you could get paid by weight and put all cans into a big garbage can they would weigh and pay you by weight. All plastic would go into separate can. The best value was the reverse vending machine.

Shopping Western NY, Northeast and Central PA, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Have car will travel anywhere if the monies right.

I miss it. More states should do this. It was good money!

Did anyone do the dishwasher detergent shop? Where they were to be reimbursed around $7000 and paid a $2000 fee?

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Another instance of a company hiring "mystery shoppers" to do a job that's not mystery shopping... basically having us be couriers

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