Thanks to Regular Commenter (and real-life friend) Stacey, I entered the wonderful world of mystery shopping about 6 weeks ago. Let me tell you...it's great! You can do everything from getting paid $5 to eat at McDonald's to getting paid $100 to shop at Target.
I had been interested in getting involved in Mystery Shopping for a while, but every site that I found wanted $25-$50 from me in order to get on their list. A few Google searches later, I learned that one should NEVER pay a service in order to find a Mystery Shopping job.
Before I tell you how to find a Mystery Shopping company, I would like to address something very important....
Yes - mystery shopping can be a way to make some fairly easy money. I only take jobs that are within a few miles of my home and that take less than an hour (including paperwork) and pay at least $15. There are also phone shops that can pay pretty well. But you need to realize the reality of your role as a shopper...and make sure that you are willing to take on that role.
My husband works as a retail manager in a "Big Box" store. Let me tell you - the ripples from a good or bad shop go through the entire store.
I had my first bad shop recently. And when I say bad, I mean HORRENDOUS. The only reason that I still submitted the shop was because I didn't want to be dropped from the list for future shops. I know that someone either got fired, demoted or screamed at because of my report. On the plus side, every other shop that I have done was a completely wonderful experience, where I know that the employee got praises because of my report.
So before you sign up for mystery shopping, you need to remember the very real consequences that your report may have on someone's ability to pay their rent that month. I'm not suggesting that you lie, but just please consider the gravity of the situation!
Ok - I'm done preaching!
To find reputable Mystery Shopping Companies, go here. Another great resource can be found here (scroll down and click on the Mystery Shopping Companies list. There is also a wonderful forum that can be accessed through the site where people talk all about the individual companies....quality of jobs, speed of payment, etc)
Have you ever done any mystery shopping (or been on the receiving end of a shop)? What has been your experience?
A Cowboy's Wife
I was a mystery shopper at one time. I had a blast! Hmmm, maybe I'll do that again;)
A Cowboy's Wifes last blog post..Getting Crafty with Iron-on Transfers & Dressing for the Game
Jennifer
I've been meaning to email you about this! I've done it for about 4 years and have fun. I've only done restaurant/fast food shops, but I know they have movies, hotels, clothing, etc. available as well. One of our favorite restaurants is on my shop list and they give a pretty good food allowance to boot! Nothing like getting a free meal AND getting paid for it. 🙂
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Susan
Hi, I actually used to mystery shop a couple years ago. It was better when gas was cheaper for sure. I stopped doing them because I noticed the pay for jobs was going down. As new people joined and were accepting jobs for less money, it dropped the standard pay down to the point that the pay versus time invested just wasn't worth it for me anymore. Yes it was nice when I got to go out to a nice restaurant on the companies dollar, but restaurant jobs are in high demand and you either have to work your way up to earn more of those jobs or fight for them w/other people, so you only get a couple here and there, if any, when you first start out. You have to prove yourself when you first start out, so anyone who is planning on starting up, you're going to have to take some junky jobs first and then once you get a reputation you'll start earning better jobs, it just takes time.
As listed in the article above NEVER pay for any list or job or anything...if a company is reputible they will never ask you to pay for information. The information is available for free, you just have to look for it. I can't believe how many sites there are out there that try to get naive people to pay for information that can be found for free, and I know there are a bunch of them out there for mystery shopping.
Susan
Frugal Floridian
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Daisy
I never tried it. I signed up and I still get emails for it - but everytime I look at it it seems like a bit of a rip off. Maybe I need to look at it harder. Haven't really given it a lot of serious attention.
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Stacey
I personally like doing the phone shops. They don't pay as much per shop, usually only $5.00 each. But in August I completed 20 phone shops, so I'll be getting $100.00 in September. Which is pretty good for not leaving the house.
DianeScraps
I do some mystery shops, and some merchandising. But I won't touch the shops that are only paying $4, or that I have to drive somewhere I wasn't already going. I have one company that I do most of my work with.
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melissa @ the inspired room
My hubby & I were mystery eaters. We were sent to the same restaurant over and over and over again. I really hated that restaurant. Finally I asked if we could try a new place and we got fired! Ooops! No more mystery eating jobs for us!
They paid for the dinner, but not the tip. And since we hated the food, it was kind of pointless. I'd like to be a mystery shopper for Nordstrom or Target or someplace I know I could find cool stuff!
Darla - UltraBeautyBoutique
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