MSPA certified

I have not been mystery shopping that long, 6 months or so. Some sites ask and some don't if you are MSPA certified. Is it worth it or not?

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If you are getting shops and getting decent scores with them, that is probably of a lot more value to you than any certifications. Whether there are advantages or not to certification are anecdotal--some will swear it helps, some mention that it has done nothing, some mention that they think some times they may be offered a shop before other shoppers. Obviously it is a personal choice.
Google the MSPA and I'm sure they will direct you to where you can part with your $$.
Hi! the MSPA silver certification is easy. You join MSPA as a shopper and that's about $20.00 for the year. This is the website. [www.mspa-na.org]. I was mystery shopping for about 6 months when I got the certification. The certification included a short interactive presentation and a few questions along the way. The organization also lists legit mystery shopping company's and has a job search feature. I use the site sometimes to verify companies before I sign up. It was easy and cheap. I can't say I feel like it helps or not, but with such a low investment it wasn't a big deal. They have a few other new certifications I have not investigated yet, but I would get those too if they look beneficial. I feel like if it's the costs are reasonable why not? Can't hurt.
@mysterymomma wrote:

The organization also lists legit mystery shopping company's and has a job search feature. I use the site sometimes to verify companies before I sign up.

There is also a list of legitimate companies on this site. There are two benefits to researching your MSCs here rather than at the MSPA site. First, not all good MSCs are members of the MSPA. They are no less legitimate and often great companies to work for anyway. Second, here there are links to discussions about each of the MSCs on the list. The discussions are where you can get important information not available at MSPA. Specifically how they pay and if they are having payment issues. In the past we have had a few cases of MSCs experiencing cash flow issues which eventually lead to them going out of business leaving shoppers out hundreds of dollars. Those companies were still members in good standing with the MSPA up until the bitter end.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
Thanks for the info. I wasn't suggesting using MSPA as a substitute for this site. I was thinking in addition to. More resources the better .
Cool. Absolutely more information is better.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
Hey, though there are plenty of people who do really great with mystery shopping without getting certified, but I do think it is helpful. I got silver and gold certification back in 2003. I know for fact that I get some shops that aren't available to non-certified shoppers--but I repeat, plenty of seasoned shoppers who are not certified do very well without it.
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