I was looking on the job board of one MSC, and noticed it shops the same clothing store in Canada, as well as the U.S.. Well, in Canada, the purchase and return job pays $15, but in the USA, it pays $25. I assigned myself two of these prior to discovering this, but that's the last time I'm doing them. I just don't think it's fair. No offense to American shoppers, (not saying you don't deserve it), but how would you feel if a job in Canada paid $10 more? I can't see this as a competition thing...there are more shops and shoppers in the USA. But, I have no idea about the discrepancy in fees.

It actually goes both ways. The Golden Arches shops start at $10 in Canada, and at $7 (or lower) in the U.S.

I wonder if that $25 purchase and return assignment was the original fee or if it had a bonus added. That seems high for a P and R shop to start.

Dhunt1 Wrote:
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> It actually goes both ways. The Golden Arches
> shops start at $10 in Canada, and at $7 (or lower)
> in the U.S.
>
> I wonder if that $25 purchase and return
> assignment was the original fee or if it had a
> bonus added. That seems high for a P and R shop
> to start.

Really, I didn't know that. I don't know if it was a bonused shop. They were all $25, and all in dense Metropolitan U.S cities (NYC, San Francisco, Miami). Regardless of which shopper gets a higher pay, I find the discrepancies in general to be unfair. The requirements are the same, the deadlines are the same, the rubric on how they mark your report is the same. Why wouldn't the fees be the same?

I think if you were able to look across all shops in the states you would find many differences in pricing. Regardless of the fact that all requirements of the job are the same, the availability of shoppers drives pricing of shops, and area is usually a determining factor. Just as a traditional position that someone has in New York City may be paid differently than the same position done in small town America, factors of cost of living are considered when payscale is established. So a marketing manager position is New York could pay substantially better than the same exact job description in chattanooga, TN. There rarely is an outcry about that inequity because each individual employee accepts employment under their own specific circumstances, not in direct comparison to what others earn in other parts of the country or world.

In our industry, it sometimes works backwards, and the rural location garner higher pay because of the lack of available shoppers. The decision to accept the shop is an individual decision based on all the factors involved - pay, distance, report requirements etc. If inequity of shop fees from region to region are one of your qualifiers for whether you will take the shop or not, you probably are going to have a tough time with this type of work. You can always contact the MSC prior to scheduling and ask for the rate you feel is equitable and they will accept or decline your offer as their needs require. We all have to ultimately decide what makes sense for our own individual business plan.

MilessMum Wrote:
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> Dhunt1 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It actually goes both ways. The Golden Arches
> > shops start at $10 in Canada, and at $7 (or
> lower)
> > in the U.S.
> >
> > I wonder if that $25 purchase and return
> > assignment was the original fee or if it had a
> > bonus added. That seems high for a P and R
> shop
> > to start.
>
> Really, I didn't know that. I don't know if it was
> a bonused shop. They were all $25, and all in
> dense Metropolitan U.S cities (NYC, San Francisco,
> Miami). Regardless of which shopper gets a higher
> pay, I find the discrepancies in general to be
> unfair. The requirements are the same, the
> deadlines are the same, the rubric on how they
> mark your report is the same. Why wouldn't the
> fees be the same?

Added to that is most MSCs cannot process Direct Deposit and shoppers have to wait 10 to 15 days longer for their check due to the slow mail, if payments are not by paypal. And, let's not forget that some US MSCs charge for the check even if it is their inability to Direct Deposit that is at fault. Ok, it's just $1 but that is another loss.

And no matter the rate, whether the US$ is higher than CDA$ or vice versa, when the US MSC deals in US$, the Canadian shopper loses, even just in the exchange. An example is in the reimbursement. The Canadian shopper spends in CDA$. When payday comes, that cost is converted to US$. The Canadian shopper deposits it in her bank which normally charges fee for the exchange, unless one has a US$ account which is another matter to maintain.

Well, in US retails doing business in Canada, this is very obvious from the huge difference in prices. So, it's best not to forget that US and Canada conduct their businesses differently. We are not one and the same. We are in North America but we are two countries.

Most important today is that the largest percentage of American MSP's pay the same in both countries even though the cost of doing business is higher in Canada. I do not want to have health care enter this because it is not cheaper in Canada. We just pay for it in a different way. That is one of many reasons our taxes are higher.

risinghorizon, US companies can DD, they don't. It would be a wire transfer as opposed to an ACH transaction and is considerably more expensive.

> The requirements are the same, the
> deadlines are the same, the rubric on how they
> mark your report is the same. Why wouldn't the
> fees be the same?

The cost of living (within the same country or not) is different. The availability of reliable and available shoppers is different.

As a Canadian I have to say it goes both ways. There are so many different factors too that go into whether a certain state/province receives a higher or lower fee. Think rural, urban, possible time constraints on the project, tax regulations, municipal guidelines, etc. Unfortunately, I see a lot of US shops a lot because it's considered within 50 miles of where I search from but I don't think a lot of US shoppers are paying attention much to what Canadians are getting paid. Maybe I'm just the one who isn't. It's not fair I guess but it's in your every right not to take the job if you don't like the fee.

As has been mentioned, there are tons of factors that go into pricing between Countries, and comparing with NYC and SF is lunacy because they are in top 10 most expensive places to live period. And, as self-employed people, unless we are doing something wrong and not turning a profit, we pay higher taxes than "employed" people. We pay for our insurance, which is not provided by the State, yet, until Obamacare comes in. Our expenses are higher.

LisaSTL Wrote:
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> risinghorizon, US companies can DD, they don't. It
> would be a wire transfer as opposed to an ACH
> transaction and is considerably more expensive.

The reason I said some US MSCs are not able to DD is based on the explanation from
one of the colour portals. At the start, both claimed to do DD, one paid me by DD, but the other
kept on sending me checks because they said I provided the wrong banking info. For
months I kept receiving messages to correct my banking info. As instructed by my
bank manager, I sent them her contact info. Lo and behold, I received a message from
the other coloured portal that actually they were 'not capable' of doing the DD for Canada
and that until they are able to, they would have to pay me by check. Which could mean they
just don't want to DD and opts to go by snail mail.

It's $28 for purchase &returns, but some ms pays $12. I don't take $12.