Mystery Shopping

Discussion in Fashion & Apparel started by kjonesm1 • Feb 4, 2015.

  1. kjonesm1

    kjonesm1Active Member

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    One of my biggest money saving strategies is mystery shopping. Not only do I get reimbursed for my purchases, I also get paid extra to do the shops. I try to gear my mystery shops towards things I actually need. Because it doesn't pay enough to make it a full time gig for me I just use it to save on things I need. For example my birthday is Thursday so I picked up a bar shop. Basically I get reimbursed for two alcoholic beverages, two non alcoholic beverages, and an appetizer. So my visit will be free, but I will also get paid $25 for submitting my shop. Not a bad deal for this birthday girl.
     
  2. jewarren

    jewarrenNew Member

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    I've heard mystery shops can be a lot of work though, and even sometimes that if you didn't take the exact right photo, they will refuse to reimburse you. Have you had experience with any of that?

    I'd love to try mystery shopping. I signed up for a few companies, but all I ever get sent are offers for car dealership shops. I wish I had restaurant and bar shops! But I guess it is specific to your region as well as the company. (P.S...happy early birthday!)
     
  3. isabbbela

    isabbbelaWell-Known Member

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    I have just registered to 3 or 4 mystery shopping companies! It was just a couple days ago so I still didn't get replies, however I'm hoping I will have stuff to do soon since I really need some extra income!
     
  4. kjonesm1

    kjonesm1Active Member

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    Mystery shops can be a lot of work, but I try to do ones that pay higher, are for products I need or that I can do at home. I am signed up on Job Slinger which is a main hub for hundreds of mspa approved mystery shopping companies all over the world. Basically you type in your zipcode and how far you are willing to travel and a list comes up with all the shops available within that area. Right next to each shop is all of the details and how much it pays. The thing to keep in mind is that there are HUNDREDS is companies, so as you find ones you want to do, you sign up for the individual company. It takes no time to get started. You can sign up today and start tomorrow.

    Thanks a bunch for the birthday wishes :)
     
  5. Theo

    TheoWell-Known Member

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    I did this for many years and I did enjoy it, but I had to work everything around visits to make it worthwhile. You do have to consider the pay isn't high, but a reimbursement for your time as you read the brief and then upload photos and reports. I used to do restaurants and hotels and occasionally when a report is challenged you get questioned and it can be annoying as you have to return calls or justify your comments as the staff will lose bonuses with a bad visit. I never try to do a bad report, because I know how it can be in retail and the service industry, but when I give them a chance and they still fail then I have to be honest.
     
  6. steph7h

    steph7hActive Member

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    I have done a few mystery shops in the past, mostly for things that are fun activities like a meal at a restaurant or something I need like an oil change for my car. The oil change was pretty easy really. The restaurant one was kind of difficult because they had certain timeframes that they wanted me to keep track of for our meal service, like if we were greeted within 3 minutes of being seated or something like that, and they had those all throughout the meal. I would do it again because it was at a restaurant I like anyway, but it did make the meal a little bit more distracted for me. If you pay attention to detail and follow the shop instructions, you shouldn't have too many problems getting the report approved.

    I will have to check out the Job Slinger site. I am signed up with several individual companies, but it would be nice to have more variety and see what else is available.
     
  7. Kitty Reeves

    Kitty ReevesActive Member

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    I've always been really interesting in doing Mystery Shopping, but since I live in an area with very little big box stores and technically "middle of nowhere", I never qualify for anything. :( It sounds like it can be really tough sometimes though! I think I might stick with surveys, haha.

    Though, can you say what the pay range generally is? (If you can't, that's totally cool.)
     
  8. steph7h

    steph7hActive Member

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    Most of the pay range for the ones I see offer a small shopper's pay, such as $5-$10, plus reimbursement of whatever the required purchase amount is. So if it's something you need anyway, like an oil change, you could get the product or service for free, and then a cash payment for your time.

    You should check out the Job Slinger site too! I just signed up and there were lots of options on there I hadn't seen before, and I consider myself to live in the middle of nowhere too=) Not saying they will have a ton for you, but you might find something interesting!
     
  9. SweetMamaKaty

    SweetMamaKatyActive Member

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    I'm curious about mystery shopping, but I've always assumed it wouldn't work for me. Is Job Slinger the best one to use, or are there other reputable companies we should be checking out? Has anyone had a bad experience with a particular company we should avoid? Fingers crossed that my local Starbucks is in desperate need of a mystery shopper! :)
     
  10. LAGuy

    LAGuyMember

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    This is fascinating... I had always assumed mystery shopping was a scam... Who knew it was real? I might have to look into it.... Thanks for the info.
     
  11. kjonesm1

    kjonesm1Active Member

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    Jobslinger isn't a mystery shopping company it's a hub for mystery shopping companies that are association approved to post jobs. So there are hundreds of companies who are all approved by the MSPA (Mystery Shopping Providers Association) that put these jobs up on Jobslinger. It's actually not hard to find jobs that pay $50-$100, but yes most range from $10-$25. There are actually income tax return shops right now that will pay up to $300 for tax preparation fees and an additional $80 on top of that. Yesterday my sister did 6 mystery shops that totaled $200 in pay for the day. Today I did two mystery shops and only made $24, but one was a phone call that I did right on my couch for $9 and the other was for an office supply store across the street from where I live. I think $24 is more than fair for about an hour and a half of work. So how much you make depends on the type of jobs you are picking up and how many you are doing.
     
  12. SweetMamaKaty

    SweetMamaKatyActive Member

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    I signed up, found one I wanted to do, and clicked on it. That took me to the actual mystery shop company where I had to make an account. But they want my SSN to be able to pay me. I left - I don't feel good about that. Are they all that way, or did I get an odd-ball?
     
  13. klassiter

    klassiterActive Member

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    I have always wanted to do Mystery Shopping. It sounds like so much fun. Thank you for sharing the site Jobslinger. I will definitely check it out. I would love to earn things for free or get paid for shopping. I never knew what mystery shop company to use. You hear of so many scams. I am so excited!
     
  14. kjonesm1

    kjonesm1Active Member

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    If a site doesn't ask for your social you should be concerned. This is to verify your right to work in the country and also for tax purposes if you need to file a 1099.
     
  15. SweetMamaKaty

    SweetMamaKatyActive Member

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    I see! I will have to do a bit more research before I start working on this then. I wonder if there is any kind of quality control (like BBB or something similar) so we know if certain companies can be trusted. If anyone knows of a "safe-list" or anything like that, I would be grateful for a link. How are we to know a company is legit, and not just a website set up to skim some SSN's?
     
  16. Pat

    PatWell-Known Member

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    Do all Mystery Shops take so long to pay out? It seems you may have to wait close to 6 weeks to get paid on some of these shopping adventures. I would like to participate in the shops but I do not want to wait 6 weeks to get reimbursed for the shop and the pay.
     
  17. kjonesm1

    kjonesm1Active Member

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    Well it feels like it takes forever to get paid for most companys, but each one is different. While one campany pays within a week, another company might take a month. If you need fast cash do a little research to find faster paying jobs.
     
  18. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    Just stopping by to caution those who haven't done mystery but might be interested in it. Don't bother trawling through the net to find other places to find mystery shopping jobs. Use the site the OP used:

    She has proved that it is legit. I've heard that there are thousands of fake mystery shopping jobs out there. Don't allow yourself to be a victim.
     
  19. Wace

    WaceNew Member

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    I have an acquaintance who does this mystery shopping. I searched this site in hopes of finding other's opinions about it. My family and I eat out a great deal, and this sounds like one way to possibly reduce the cost associated with that. I will definitely be checking out the site you mentioned on here to get started. Thanks to all who contributed comments! I'm excited to get started!!
     
  20. Femiluv

    FemiluvMember

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    This is interesting because I don't know a lot about mystery shopping. A lot of the mystery shopping information I see is spam I guess. I live in Canada so I guess there aren't as many mystery shopping opportunities as there are in the US.