I just signed up and wanted to introduce myself. I am a Social Worker by profession and am looking to supliment my income as I am sure most people are doing in this tight economy. I have been reading through some of the postings and have already come across a lot of very useful information. Thank you so much to all of you who take the time to inform. I am new to this mystery shopping and have yet to get an assignment, but I am interested mostly in weening out the bogus offers and dealing only with legitimate companies. I would be interested to know if anyone has been doing this for a long time and if it is really a good source of additional income.
Thank you all for any information you can provide and I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Welcome to the forum!

Hello Mircia,

Welcome to the forums here! Everyone is very friendly, and especially helpful.

My advice? Read. Read again. Rinse & Repeat! Scroll down to the bottom of this page, look for the link "NEW MYSTERY SHOPPERS" (lower left side), click there and read all of the STICKY notes - those threads which appear at the top of the forum permanently. Print out if you need to, that's up to you.

Start signing up for companies using (again at the bottom of this page) the link for "OFFICIAL LIST OF MYSTERY SHOPPING COMPANIES". When you click on that link, you'll see a long list of MSC's (Mystery Shopping Companies) to sign up with. Beside each company name you'll see a link for something like this:

[0 Discussions], or [4 Discussions]

**BEFORE you sign up with a company on the list, READ the Discussions. I did not do this, I would have saved myself several hours of companies I would prefer to not be associated with. You'll also learn a lot from using the SEARCH feature on the forums. Go back at least 90 days, possibly a year to find information on different companies.

Most important? DO NOT CASH CHECKS sent to you where you are told to "Keep your fee of $100.00 or $200.00 or whatever out of here and wire the rest of the money." IF YOU RECEIVE one of these BOGUS Checks - ASK HERE. "Too good to be true, it is." You will find jobs for $5.00 - $15.00 as a new mystery shopper. You will get paid AFTER you submit your survey/report.

As far as income... I've only been a shopper since October 2 this year. So far I've completed a total of 120 shops by the end of this month. I've only made about $1350 for the two months. Not much by some comparison, right now I'm trying to learn everything I can, so I do take those $5.00 and $10.00 jobs. HOWEVER - I do NOT count on this income for 60 days. So money I made in October, I *HOPE* to have in my bank account by December 31st. Money for the month of November - hopefully by the end of January. (some companies I'll get much sooner, others maybe not for 90 days, but in a rounded off calculation, I use the 60 days).

Enjoy shopping - it is fun, and I am loving it! I also work full-time, but from home/telecommute, so my shops are done on Wednesday afternoons and Sat. & Sun. The only downside is I'm exhausted. I have not had a "day off" in almost a month. Thursday is Thanksgiving, but I'll still be scouring the MSC job boards to try and fill in December (I've got only 3 jobs for December, which is really going to hurt my February income).

Sorry for the novel! If you see any of my postings here on the forums - I have a bad tendency to do that! *laugh*

KH

Thank you, I really appreciate the honesty. I have had some emails offering me $200 in advance and freebes, etc and it was all much to good to be true! Thats why I am glad that I found this forum. I will read and read and read, I will definitely take your suggestions. Thank you again and I hope that you find the time to enjoy your Thanksgiving.

Mircia