Comments on: Becoming a Mystery Shopper

By: Lauren

Lauren — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:15:32 +0000

My husband and I have been mystery shoppers for the past five years or so. I am in medical school, and he is a full-time teacher and graduate student, so we only do “dinner shops” now. We have mystery shopped hotels, Target, grocery stores, gas stations, and electronics stores in the past. Since we love to eat out anyway, it is great to get several free meals a month. We have worked our way up to shopping high-end restaurants and regularly enjoy $150 dinners for free. For those restaurants, it is important to note that the reports can sometimes take two or more hours to complete, but it is worth it to us. I would estimate that we usually get about $500-$600 of free meals a month.

By: Amys blah, blah, blogging

Amys blah, blah, blogging — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:29:17 +0000

I’ve done a lot of mystery shopping before, and have made some pretty good money from it. It recently helped pay for a trip to Nashville for a convention I wanted to attend. I think the most important thing for people to note who are mystery shoppers is they really have to pay attention to even the smallest details, it can be very time consuming and you really need to be someone who will meet commitments.

By: Megan

Megan — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:05:49 +0000

Just a quick note about taxes: please remember that you need to report ALL earnings to the IRS. Whether your mystery shopping earnings are $25 or $625 you need to report these earnings at the end of the year. I called the IRS and asked about this directly; it is all taxable income. The only exception is reimbursement shops. You don’t need to report the $5 you spent at McDonald’s and were reimbursed for. I’ve been mystery shopping for nearly a year and we love it. My husband and I have fun going “under cover” to get a free meal. We focus on reimbursement dinner shops (some fine dining too – something we’d never be able to afford as graduate students!) and grocery shops. Thanks for the great post!

By: Martha Artyomenko

Martha Artyomenko — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:09:03 +0000

I have done little ones, either I have not found the big ones here yet or they don’t use them in my smaller town, but the ones I have done, have been fun, although most of them do not pay alot. Sometimes though if you do not take them right away, eventually they offer you a bonus, like for the ones where I had to drive 10-15 miles, when you get an $20, it makes it worth it.
I think I did use my SSN#, but I have never had a problem, but I am careful for which ones I have signed up for.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:08:29 +0000

I just started mystery shopping this summer when I quit my full-time job to become a SAHM. It’s a lot of work, but I get $200-$300 per month. I’m picky about the jobs I accept–I will only do ones that are 5 miles away or less. It is delayed gratification, as many companies don’t pay until the next month. However, I LOVE the flexibility.

By: Sherri Jernigan

Sherri Jernigan — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:01:01 +0000

I was a mystery shopper for over 5 years, worked for over 20 companies, and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure! Yes, it takes a special type of person — a good eye for detail and a good memory. It takes a while to get started — apply, apply, apply. It is much more organized now and, unfortunately, many companies want you to be “certified” (paid by you). However, there are some companies who still accept uncertified shoppers. You are not paid/reimbursed for at least a month after a successfully completed shop. So, this is not a quick or easy way to make money. Was it fun? YES! You will have to take the small shops first — $5.00 shop pay, buy a burger or gas, and get reimbursed. So there can be out-of-pocket expenses (upfront). However, as you gain experience and do a good, thorough job, more lucrative shops will come your way. This means good pay, purchases you can keep and are reimbursed for, free meals, hotel stays, etc. As someone else said, you have to be able to type and in most instances write a detailed report — good english and spelling.

To the person who asked about Beyond Hello, it is a GREAT company!!! Hi Gary!!!

By: Jenn

Jenn — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:54:40 +0000

I have a blog with a few companies I have worked for on it. I have not posted lately because I took a break due to some major illness in the family, but I am going to be returning soon.

By: Patti

Patti — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:34:47 +0000

You may want to Mystery Shop for a local business, especially if you happen to know the owner. I have a friend who is paid to visit a local dry cleaner that has multiple locations in our town. She gets her clothes dry cleaned for free and a small reinbursement. She does not go through a national company to do this.

By: Teresa Schilling

Teresa Schilling — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:22:17 +0000

This is a real job, making real money, so yes you would have to provide a SS#. It is like working anywhere else, this is the way they show the IRS who made what and what they paid. If you go and apply for a job anywhere else they ask for this, even temp agencies. Just make sure they are MSPA and you should be just fine. But then again there is a risk at anything in life, so the less people that apply the better my odds are of getting the work and being paid higher when they have trouble finding people to work. The reason most people have never heard of this or tried this is because us shoppers don’t go advertising for people to take our jobs. Only my closest friends and family know what I do. The more shoppers out there the less the companies have to pay us to get the work done.

By: Sara

Sara — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:51:45 +0000

Beyond Hello and GFK are legit, and while I question entering my SSN anywhere, particularly online, as long as you see the “https” in the browser web address line and you were referred to the company by the MSPA, I personally have never had a problem.

I shop for dozens of companies and over the past 4.5 years have learned which companies/types of shops are worth my time and effort. Grocery stores- yes, fine dining restaurants with loooooong essays required- eeeehhhh. Some companies also have better staff than others, and that plays a big role too.

By: Alissabeth

Alissabeth — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:50:03 +0000

Sorry about the spelling errors!!

By: Alissabeth

Alissabeth — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:49:30 +0000

I think the dollar amount of 500 or 600 requires a social security number so they an mail you a 1099 to file taxes. One of the sites allowed me to defer using my SSN until that amount. If you make this much, iyou will be owing taxes, because it is my understanding most don’t take out any taxes for you.

By: Lois

Lois — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:41:19 +0000

I did mystery shopping for a year about 2 years ago. For me, it was not worth it, simply because I was not fast at entering the data into the computer afterward and they usually have a short turn-around because they don’t want you forgetting. It was also a real challenge to remember everything I had to watch for in the store/restaurant without getting caught doing it and without showing my notes. But I am not as young as most of you are.

My husband would love it if I still did the restaurant ones, though! I almost lost my pay from one shop because I forgot to calculate the time in 24 hour-time at one point. Also, the stop watch would trip me up. I’d punch it twice thinking I was punching it once in my pocket. There was an element to it of adventure that I liked. But my brain is too old–and that part was too much stress.

I did enter my SSN online many times. But I only used companies that were recommended by MSPA or my friend. The ones I shopped for (all of whom paid me) were Service Advantage, Secret Shopper, ShopNChek, Retail Eyes, Beyond Hello, NSS, and Service Intelligence. There were many others that I never actually got to shop for.

If you have time and a quick brain (it wasn’t the typing, mind you–I can do that fast), go for it.

By: Christina

Christina — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:25:02 +0000

I work as a bank teller & I will comment on the concerns of identity theft. What we mainly see is NOT identity theft, but we do see customers bringing in checks that say “mystery shopping” on the memo line. These checks are for high dollar amounts, usually in the three-thousand dollar range. They are accompanied by a letter that usually looks legit. The letter will instruct the customer to deposit the funds into his/her account & then send a portion of the funds (usually around half) by wire back to the company. Sadly, thousands of people fall prey to this & the checks they deposit are returned unpaid because they are counterfeit. The customer’s account is therefore put into the negative (usually because the customers are not very affluent to begin with) & the scam artists make out with the cash that was wired to them. Many people end up with their accounts being charged-off & reported to the credit agencies because they are so in the hole that they cannot climb out. These people have usually not given out any of their personal information, such as SSNs, so their identities are not stolen. They do lose out, though. I’d keep in mind that real mystery shopping is going to pay low rates of return. And, just like with the fake lottery winnings scams…If you didn’t sign up for it, you didn’t earn it/win it. OK, PSA over.

By: Chris Rayment

Chris Rayment — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:04:47 +0000

I’ve been merchandising and mystery shopping for two years. I work for 30 different companies and I’ve been grossing about $28k-$30k/yr.

I’ve used all the companies you’ve listed and tons more. I’ve never been cheated and I’m always paid when they tell me.

It’s a great job!

By: Regina

Regina — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:42:27 +0000

I tried to sign up for a few of these today but almost all of them required my SSN. They all look like legit companies, but I’m REALLY paranoid about identity theft. It doesn’t seem work the risk.

So what you’re saying is that at some point, with all of these companies, you WILL be required to submit your SSN online???

This sounds like SUCH an awesome opportunity, it’s just not worth the risk if that is the case. Bummer.

By: Challice

Challice — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:15:17 +0000

Unfortunetly, i am in a town where I would have to make a 2 hour trip to mystery shop. Its kind of dissapointing but I have a good friend some states away that has found this a very resourceful job without being a “job”.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:11:14 +0000

Hmmm… GFK mystery shoppers requires a SSN…

By: Alaine

Alaine — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:29:10 +0000

I have done mystery shopping for a few different companies in the past… it was great when I was a student, but now working fulltime it is not worth it to me. Most shops will pay $7-15, and considering the time it takes to complete the shop and fill out the sometimes extensive reports, it is just not worth it to me anymore. BUT I did have some really great shops… even some that just reimbursed for meals were great. Unlike others, I’ve used Shop N Chek and never had any problems with them – they had a lot of shops in my area – but they don’t pay as much as some others do. Finding a company that has a lot of shops in your area can take some time – check out the message boards on Volition and you might be able to find out which ones have a lot of shops in your area. My favorite shops were for Dave & Busters and Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. McDonalds and Staples also had some pretty easy shops, although the pay was lower. The Starbucks shops are insane though! Way too much work! As with others, I’d also not give my SSN out. I don’t remember ever having to do that. Good luck!

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:11:02 +0000

You can opt to defer giving your SS#. Once you elect to do a job you would have to provide it in order to be paid. It is the equivalent of your tax identification number, and all companies are required to report what they pay their consultants to the IRS with tax identification numbers.