I have recently signed up for mystery shopping, I thought it would be interesting. I recently retired wanted something to get out of the house.I am looking foward to getting good advise I sure need it.

Hi, is this worth doing.

Yup. Welcome to the Board!

I am really wondering this myself. I think you have to do them and then decide.Idid a Two Guys and when I made my report I didn't find it user friendy, it took me a long time to do it. I think I am going to try different types of shops before I give up. Are you having problems?

It just takes a bit of getting used to...

I am glad I found this website. Thanks for the encouragement!

Dear lovetravel, don't give up! It gets easier with experience just like anything else. Good luck!!

Hello Lovetravel - Welcome to the Forums! Shopping will definitely get you out of the house!!


Here's what I post to New Shoppers:

Welcome to the forums!

If you've been reading the forums, then in the "New Members" you may have read this "help sheet" below.

Try and spend as much free time as you can find READING the forums. Too many new shoppers come in, post 1 time, and then skeedaddle. There is so much valuable information you can find just by visiting (even lurking), and reading!


~~~~~~~~~~~

You are probably feeling somewhat overwhelmed, wondering where to begin. Here are some facts and tips:

1. Mystery Shopping is NOT "quick money" or a "way to make a living". (True, few people do, but they are gone on over-the-road video trips for several weeks at a time, and they BUILT their Reputation by starting at the beginning.)

--> (A) Mystery Shopping is work - hard work.
--> ( You are self-employed.
--> (C) You pay taxes on ALL of your income (YES, EVEN on that single $7.00 Shop Pay you got from one company you did work for once in the year!).
--> (D) You need to keep a spreadsheet and/or track of ALL of your expenses.
--> (E) You should have an office with a good computer, internet, printer, paper, ink, a good camera (if you decide to get into auditing), or a good cell phone with a camera.

2. You get paid (starting usually) $4.00 to $10.00 AFTER you complete a job, submit a survey free of errors, have your survey accepted, and hopefully had no deductions!

3. You get paid - 95% of the time - 45-60-90 days AFTER your survey is accepted. (There are a few companies that may pay in 30 days, just don't count on it, and it really helps to learn how to balance/budget your future earnings.)

--> (A) Most of the time, you will need to lay out money first. Example - that Fast Food shop? You need to pay in *CASH*. You'll get reimbursed - and also a "fee" - but that will come later (See #2 above)

4. You need proper Grammar, Spelling, Capitalization, and Punctuation. Yes, that should include our forums. We consider ourselves professionals, even on a forum.

5. READ - pull up a chair and Read. Tired of reading? Don't like to read? Well, you are not going to learn anything unless you start reading. Grab a soda, coffee, tea, whatever your preference and start going through all of the threads - at least threads on the first page of EACH forum. Forums are listed at the bottom of all of the pages.

--> (A) When you get to "New Mystery Shoppers" Forum: [www.mysteryshopforum.com] - there are "Sticky Threads" at the top of this forum. READ through ALL of the information that a long time shopper/member (Flash) wrote for new shoppers. Then, go back and read it again. Some people have been known to print out the information that Flash has written (not all of the follow up threads, just her first post).

6. Get yourself set up with a spreadsheet to keep track of your future jobs. Search here on the forum "spreadsheets" - and you should pull up ideas on how others set them up. You NEED to keep track of your expenses - you will need those for tax time!

7. Get yourself set up with a PayPal account.

--> (A) I would also suggest that you set up an Email ONLY to be used for Mystery Shopping - and use that email to connect with your Paypal account and the one you use signing up with MSC's.

8. I'd also recommend that you start a new checking account - Again, ONLY to be used for Mystery Shopping. At tax time - especially if you stay interested in shopping - you will be SO glad that you had separate accounts! Someone recommended it to me when I first started - and I am definitely glad that I did get one!

Have fun shopping - but you do have to do the work yourself. It's the only way you are going to learn - and find out what type of company works best for you.

I Wish I had found this website before. I really appreciate the information. I don't mind reading, and I can certainly use the advice. I have done a couple shops. and I don't know how I did with them. If you don't know if you made mistakes how do you fix them? I will however take your advice and read.

Hi, peach girl; Thanks. I don't cive up very easy. I love all the encouragement,as well as the good advise. I am so glad I found this website!

Hello lovetravel and sgrothaus

Welcome to the board. Hang in there and take it slowly. I've been doing this for a while and I still get edgy sometimes if I'm doing a "new" shop (means "new" to me). A "new" report form can seem bewildering, but take it line by line and you can get through it. Be sure you read the report form carefully before you do the shop. Sometimes they slip in little surprises you don't pick up in the guidelines. I found when I started it was better not to book a bunch of shops in one day. It works well to book one per day until that seems easy, then two per day, and so on to work yourself up to a full day. You'll find as you gain experience this gets easier and easier.

Is this worth it? That depends. If you're thinking will this pay off like a regular job, probably not. If you're thinking you'd like to supplement other income with this or you need something to do while you're looking for a job, maybe so. If you want to work independently and alone, and you're willing to give up some potential income from regular employment in exchange for flexibility and personal freedom, absolutely.

As to how much money you can make, if you're young and strong and you live in the right area, I expect you can do pretty well. I know you want numbers. Here are my numbers for May 2012: 93 shops and audits, $1,500.85 in fees and reimbursements, 21 days working, 1,507 miles driven. That sounds like full time and it felt like it but I'm 74 and you're not. Factor that in. You can do more than I can do. As a monthly average I did three shops a day, which any experienced shopper/auditor will tell you is a cakewalk. My daily average for days gone out was roughly 4 1/2 shops a day, still not a difficult average to pull. I had a few hard days involving lots of miles and multiple shops, but that didn't happen every day and I scheduled them to suit myself.

I don't do video shopping, fine dining, hotels, cruises, or airport circuits. My shopping is the vanilla stuff available everywhere, and for the most part the reimbursements are gasoline, inexpensive meals I need on the road, and other miscellaneous items I can actually use myself or use as gifts. I have no interest in a shop unless I get bankable money, and getting to take a cruise or stay in a hotel or dine in a fine establishment do not appeal to me. I understand there are many shoppers who are primarily interested in enhancing their lifestyles, but I am not that type shopper.

My average shop in May was $16.12. It took a while to reach even that modest number. You will need to sign up with a large number of companies if you want to find a lot of jobs. This can turn out very well for you if you're in an area with a high level of shopping and auditing activity. How well it works is up to you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2012 04:45PM by MDavisnowell.

I am 61 and not able to lift 50 pounds any more. I will take your advise and start slowly. I just want to make alittle extra money as well as something to do. I think it is wonderful that you can do as much as you do at 74, I hope I can do the same. Thanks again,

lovetravel,
I am over 65 and cannot lift much. My advice is to try at least 6 very different kinds of shops. Some of the fast food and casual dining shops require more work for less compensation than other kinds of shops. I always suggest the new shoppers try out bank teller shops and "platform shops" (where you meet with a banker at a desk in the bank), simple grocery store shops (NOT the ones with 6+ interactions required) oil change shops, hair care shops, senior living shops, etc. You get services worth $$$, with short, relatively simple reports, sometimes plus a fee. Remember that once you have done the same report form about 3 times, both the shop interaction and the report will be much easier.

Shops I DO NOT reccomend for new shoppers are fine dining, hotels, video recorded shops, and new car shops. Of those, new cars will be the first things you might do after getting a few months of experience and confidence.

ENJOY!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2012 01:20PM by walesmaven.

LoveTravel - be careful of those "new car" shops, LOL. I'm too easy for a good car sales person and I'm aware of that weakness. So I get focused on getting out there without buying a new vehicle and sometimes forget all my steps. Some shops can be nerve racking!

I need a new car so I will definetly stay awy from those! Thanks for the warning I don't want to get taken advantage of.

But you will then miss one of the intangible benefits of mystery shopping, getting to comparison shop and being paid Since you can't purchase on a new car shop anyway, it's a good opportunity to see what is out there.

I didn't think about it that way. I was just thinking about getting talked into something I didn' want or couldn't afford, but you are right. Are they hard to do?

Lis is right on about comparison shopping. Before qualifying for Medicare, I lowered my health insurance costs by more than 50% a few years ago when doing a shop. More recently, found a better Medicare product and cut my Medicare and prescription costs dramatically. I changed banks when a bank that was newto my area turned out to be so much better for me than my bank of the past 25 years. I decided where I would shop for my next car based on a while bunch of new and used car shops. Did all of the research to decide on what sort of smart phone by doing shops. Discovered two places that I will now NEVER consider for purchasing tires or car care!

I was also paid to shop for my last two cell phones. A shop comparing three insurance companies got me lower car insurance and when that company raised their rates I actually went to the agent who had come in second two years prior. A shop got my mother a lower rate on her Medicare supplement. Just this month I got some professional advice on how to keep my two huge maple trees healthy through this drought. And, like wales, I also discovered places that will never again be allowed to touch my car, lol!

I found my cell phone company - Sprint - while on a T Mobile shop. I didn't buy right then but I went back to the same salesman a couple of weeks later. I use the purchase shops to get small things I really need or gifts. I shop for large items that I have no intention of buying - like a Mercedes or top-of-the-line Volvo.....I did feel pangs of jealousy when I shopped the Volvo. I used to drive a Volvo station wagon but moved to a smaller cheaper more gas-efficient car about 15 years ago .... but I still miss my Volvo.