I am fairly new to mystery shopping. I started in late July of 2011. I lost one of my part time jobs, that I had for almost 13 years, in January of 2011. I was doing bookkeeping for a company out of state and they decided to go with a local company and combine some of their functions.
I was getting pretty cash strapped (being very frugal) when I saw an article on AOL about mystery shopping (scams vs. reality). I checked out a few of their recommended sites and signed up for two companies (the most common for newbies). I tried a few shops just to get my feet wet and I said to myself, “this is just way too involved, I won't ever do this again”. Then I got a call from a scheduler offering me $20 for a shop I had done for $7.50 at a different location. I figured, wth I might as well try it again (I really needed the $20). I was surprised that the second time I did the same type of shop it took me about half of the time.
That got me hooked. I had completely stopped going out to eat (even fast food) to save money. Now I get groceries, meals, oil changes, etc. for free and most of the time get some extra cash in my pocket. It is so funny because my original goal was to make enough to pay for my heat (I have a propane furnace...ouch!) for the winter. I did that and a LOT more!
I still have my other part time job and depending on what needs to be done I work anywhere from 15-30 hours. This ended up being the perfect way to supplement my income.
I am in such a better position now. I am only signed on with about 15-20 companies so far, but I do pretty well. I got my sister and my brother-in-law into mystery shopping too and she told me about this board. I have been lurking her for a while and it has helped me in a lot of my shops (especially ones to never touch with that 10 foot pole!). I hope to keep up what I am doing and maybe do a bit more. This site is a great resource and I thank you all for your help!
Shopping in NE Ohio (a really bad place to shop, so don't shop here :-) (unless it is something I would not want...lol )
I was getting pretty cash strapped (being very frugal) when I saw an article on AOL about mystery shopping (scams vs. reality). I checked out a few of their recommended sites and signed up for two companies (the most common for newbies). I tried a few shops just to get my feet wet and I said to myself, “this is just way too involved, I won't ever do this again”. Then I got a call from a scheduler offering me $20 for a shop I had done for $7.50 at a different location. I figured, wth I might as well try it again (I really needed the $20). I was surprised that the second time I did the same type of shop it took me about half of the time.
That got me hooked. I had completely stopped going out to eat (even fast food) to save money. Now I get groceries, meals, oil changes, etc. for free and most of the time get some extra cash in my pocket. It is so funny because my original goal was to make enough to pay for my heat (I have a propane furnace...ouch!) for the winter. I did that and a LOT more!
I still have my other part time job and depending on what needs to be done I work anywhere from 15-30 hours. This ended up being the perfect way to supplement my income.
I am in such a better position now. I am only signed on with about 15-20 companies so far, but I do pretty well. I got my sister and my brother-in-law into mystery shopping too and she told me about this board. I have been lurking her for a while and it has helped me in a lot of my shops (especially ones to never touch with that 10 foot pole!). I hope to keep up what I am doing and maybe do a bit more. This site is a great resource and I thank you all for your help!
Shopping in NE Ohio (a really bad place to shop, so don't shop here :-) (unless it is something I would not want...lol )