As a brand new in the box, not unwrapped , person interested in Secret Shopping, can people here tell me which companies pay the best? Which companies to avoid?

Maybe read the posts? That's the purpose of the group, after all. Learn to use the search function so you can research a company before proceeding.

Part of getting into this is just trying things and figuring out what you like/dislike and what you find an acceptable pay rate for the work.

Each shopper seems to have their own favorites. One person's ten foot pole list is another's bread and butter so it's hard to generalize. As a newbie though, you might want to avoid the more intense shops (such as the Coyle fine dining shops) until you get your feet wet. Some people also feel the ACL shops are too narrative intensive, so you might want to do a few other shops before tackling their shops. As far as pay goes, you'll never get rich doing this. The pay is generally less than local prevailing minimum wage, so you have to factor in things like reimbursement to make most of the shops make financial sense. Like Deedee said, look through some of the old threads and just read through the ones that look interesting. You'll pick up some things just by doing that.

I just want to tell you good luck. We're all counting on you.

Well.. some folks get impatient, I do too sometimes, waiting for editing and payment. Some companies take extraordinarily long times to process and pay for completed jobs. Some companies you have to chase down to get your pay after your reports are approved. Some promise to pay over and over and over again, but never actually do, the most talked about one currently is Elite CSX. I don't remember ever working for them, and I know I haven't worked for them since folks have been complaining about not getting paid.

Some companies pay quickly, but the payment for the jobs is small, you'll have to do a lot of them, and it won't come close to minimum wage. If you wait, and leave the base pay jobs alone for a few weeks, you'll find that they get bonused, and you can make enough money to get by, if the newbies and the city folks don't gobble them all up at base pay.

Mystery shopping is not for the faint of heart. My best advice is never argue with an editor, and listen to what your scheduler says, if they say anything at all. And NEVER lie and NEVER give details that would identify you as the shopper.

I wholeheartedly agree with the 'never disagree with an editor'. Even if they want you to change something in your report.
Save a copy of the original report and then change whatever they want. Even if you are 100000% right. It's not worth it in the long run. There are several editors/ schedulers that are ego driven & vindictive.




[
quote=Morledzep]
Well.. some folks get impatient, I do too sometimes, waiting for editing and payment. Some companies take extraordinarily long times to process and pay for completed jobs. Some companies you have to chase down to get your pay after your reports are approved. Some promise to pay over and over and over again, but never actually do, the most talked about one currently is Elite CSX. I don't remember ever working for them, and I know I haven't worked for them since folks have been complaining about not getting paid.

Some companies pay quickly, but the payment for the jobs is small, you'll have to do a lot of them, and it won't come close to minimum wage. If you wait, and leave the base pay jobs alone for a few weeks, you'll find that they get bonused, and you can make enough money to get by, if the newbies and the city folks don't gobble them all up at base pay.

Mystery shopping is not for the faint of heart. My best advice is never argue with an editor, and listen to what your scheduler says, if they say anything at all. And NEVER lie and NEVER give details that would identify you as the shopper.[/quote]

My post will take a different slant. It will detail how I turned failure into success.

In 2007, after almost 4 yrs. of literally wasting my time and efforts, I knew I needed to either move on from shopping or formulate a plan that was
acceptable. I analyzed why I had failed and created the below, which has worked beyond my expectation.

I divided all shops into one or more of the following categories:

1-Money
2-Leisure
3-Expense defrayment

If the job were financially profitable, that sealed the deal. If, though, it were not, does it entail an activity of interest? Again, it not, would the work cover, or at least reduce, non-shopping travel dollars? If none of the 3, I ALWAYS pass.

A final comment as it applies to category 1--money. For me, there were yrs. in the past that number ran in the triple digits; this yr. there have been fewer than 10.

stay away from cirrus; longest company to pay, have to send invoices, then you will probably have to chase down payments.

The advice new folks always hear is to sign up for as many companies as possible. That is an educational experience but not a great long-term strategy. I would encourage you to try a lot of different MSCs and clients to see what you like. Do that for a few months, then sit down and reflect on the experience. You'll need to make a spreadsheet for tax purposes anyway that lists the MSC, client, pay, reimbursement, costs, and mileage. Look at each line and think about the time it took you to read the guidelines, prepare, perform the shop, and write the report (and count mileage, and search the job board and prepare taxes and respond to editors...). Was time, mileage, and costs not reimbursed worth the pay (after deducting your regular tax bracket plus social security tax)? The answer for most jobs and clients will be no, but there will be a handful of MSCs or clients that you really like working with. After a while, you'll develop a sense for what to do and what to avoid. You'll also notice jobs that sit without shoppers taking them despite the MSC being very popular (like a certain bank call). Others require a lot of work or money out of pocket with the possibility of not getting paid. I look for jobs that are repeatable (many available and over a long period of time) and low-risk (guidelines don't require unnatural behavior and it isn't easy to ruin the whole shop). I shop less now than I did when I started, but I get better value for my time.

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Avoid Ipshitz. They’re the worst.

Trendsource (AKA "The Source") and Market Force pay quickly, although the jobs don't pay a lot. But they are newbie friendly and good companies to get your feet wet with.

Maybe they are the worst for YOU....but i love the shops i do for them and do not have any issues.

they have quite a selection of shops to choose from.

I really don't touch the oil industry (did 1 recently after many years of not doing them).

The stage coach checking stuff is easy

The Chinese food is easy

The Chase shops are easy.

@Minime wrote:

Avoid Ipshitz. They’re the worst.

Also they pay quickly! I have no issue with IPSOS.

@charleybuddy wrote:

stay away from cirrus; longest company to pay, have to send invoices, then you will probably have to chase down payments.

It seems Charleybuddy reminded me that I didn't share the ONLY 2 hard and fast rules that my son and I use for shops:
1. Never work for Cirrus
2. Do NOT do POP audits

There are other qualifications and preferences, but these rules are NEVER broken.

@Morledzep wrote:

@charleybuddy wrote:

stay away from cirrus; longest company to pay, have to send invoices, then you will probably have to chase down payments.

It seems Charleybuddy reminded me that I didn't share the ONLY 2 hard and fast rules that my son and I use for shops:
1. Never work for Cirrus
2. Do NOT do POP audits

There are other qualifications and preferences, but these rules are NEVER broken.

Yep.
Never:
Cirrus
Elite CX

CHC Solutions

@Minime wrote:

Avoid Ipshitz. They’re the worst.

Hahaha!

Market Force is best if new. But do them carefully. I did two fast food shops, ordered two chili dogs, on same day, made two tiny mistakes, and they fired me. Yes, it's a dogs life. I then got a job as a security guard. Carrying a gun made me feel better after getting the boot from that company.

Doesn’t Market Force pay once a month around the 20th? I’m not sure I’d consider them a “fast payer”. ACL pays weekly, maybe you meant them?

@Hossofcards wrote:

Doesn’t Market Force pay once a month around the 20th? I’m not sure I’d consider them a “fast payer”. ACL pays weekly, maybe you meant them?

ACL pays? The only assignments I’ve seen them post don’t pay a fee at all.

@SBP wrote:

ACL pays? The only assignments I’ve seen them post don’t pay a fee at all.

Sometimes there's a $5 attached to a take out shop (can't name the client) but yeah, they seem to be successful luring people who will work for free food.

They have non food shops like senior living communities...

@SBP wrote:

@Hossofcards wrote:

Doesn’t Market Force pay once a month around the 20th? I’m not sure I’d consider them a “fast payer”. ACL pays weekly, maybe you meant them?

ACL pays? The only assignments I’ve seen them post don’t pay a fee at all.

The only company that did not pay me for my work in 2025 was Elite CX, so I would not suggest them. I have done a lot of work for IPSOS, without issue. I use the Presto app to find shops near me.

In my opinion, as a new shopper, you need to decide what you like. You need to experience each company to see what you like. The majority of the people in this group have been around for years. This needs to be your learning process, not someone hand feeding you the stuff. Our experiences will not be your experiences.

I'm just going to say, a lot of people won't give you information if they think you're in their area, because unlike a regular job mystery shopping is a competition, the ones who have been around for a long time have established relationships with companies and schedulers and they will be offered jobs sometimes before they get on the board. You have to build your own relationships and don't expect to bring in a lot of money, especially in the beginning. I've been doing this for more than 10 years, the companies I work with may not work for you. The more experience you get, the more you'll know what you want to do.

Now with that being said, I will give you some free advice.
Keep meticulous records. Start with a google sheet. My sheets are monthly they have companies, locations, addresses, mileage, fee's, tolls/expenses, reimbursements, a section to check off when paid and keep everything you need to prove you were at that location, at that time, for that payment for the IRS. Especially if you have a lot of expenses and mileage. My CPA said better safe than sorry.

Print off your sheet that has the information for that assignment and make sure the fee is correct, just incase there is an issue later and also keep emails for big assignments when you negotiate higher than offered fee's, make sure you hold onto them, until after you're paid. Sometimes mistakes are made and you should always have a paper trail.

Read all of the guidelines, for every assignment, because they do change from month to month and if you are doing photo audits for gas stations, take extra photo's and save yourself a trip, because they will send you back out at YOUR expense or you won't get paid. While you're working assume someone will be checking your work. Some shops put in their guidelines that they will be reviewing your visit, so make sure you follow them. Don't be afraid to ask questions, most schedulers will answer them.

Good Luck! and as for companies I would start with the Presto app and get some experience.