I recently signed up to a MS site. They have the Bronze membership which is free...but you really dont have access to any jobs. The Silver and Gold memberships cost a monthly fee. Is this a good idea to pay for access to these jobs or not?

I believe you are referring to Shadow Shopper and you need to realize that they are NOT an outfit that offers jobs but only referrals. Rather sign up with the companies directly for free. There is a list of companies link at the bottom of each forum page called "Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies".

Thank you....glad I didn't sign up for that. I'll use the list here.

Just make sure you cancel your 'free' membership well in advance of its end date or there will be a non-refundable charge to your credit card.

I think it is an excellent sit to sign up for a year with them, if you are starting off. I did and did not regret it. They send you targeted emails of jobs in your area. It is much better than signing up blindly to all the mystery shopping companies out there. Most of them won't have any jobs for you and you would be giving out your personal information out.

I recovered my cost of the membership within 1 month. After the first year, you don't need it as you are well entrenched in the process.

I looked at Shadow Shopper and did sign up but after a couple days of browsing around the internet decided it was not worth it and canceled. You can get the same and, I think, better ideas of companies to shop with using Jobslinger, Volition and this web site.

There are many choices that shoppers must make and like most anything else, many of those choices have to do with whether you choose to purchase goods or services or not.

Some shoppers find that referral services such as Shadow Shopper saved them a whole lot of time researching companies to work with when they were getting started. Of course Jobslinger.com provides job posts in your area for free and even if the particular jobs posted are taken already, at least you know some of the companies in your area that have work. Msjobboard.com also allows you to see what jobs are available in your area. So the choice is whether you choose to pay to play or not.

Some shoppers find the buying certifications from the MSPA have helped them get jobs, other shoppers feel it made/makes no difference whatsoever. So the choice is whether you choose to pay to play or not.

Some shoppers find that the networking opportunities at conferences are worth every penny of the trip. My guess is that experienced shoppers standing out from the masses of newbie shoppers get to network very nicely, thank you, while the masses of newbies and the less experienced get to be the background noise and help foot the bill for this opportunity. So the choice is whether you choose to pay to play or not.

Some shoppers buy various accounting products or systems because it is easier than spending some time developing something uniquely their own that works for them. Your business is a taxable business and you need to have some systematic and contemporaneous record keeping both for your own evaluation of how you are doing and for any possible discussions in the future with IRS. IRS has no specific requirements about how you must maintain your records, but your records do need to be complete and they do need to be in some form that another person can understand what you are doing. So the choice is whether you buy something you may or may not fully understand or develop something that works for you.

Some shoppers choose to buy air cards for laptops for internet anywhere, portable printers, laptops, smart phones and other gear. I have found that 99.9% of the time I can readily enough do reports from home, use my old printer/scanner and a cheap cell phone that I can buy more minutes for when I have a lot of long distance phone shops to do and thus keep my overhead costs down to a dull roar. So the choice for the shopper is whether they are working for equipment or using equipment to get work done.

What I am saying is that you can make mystery shopping a low cost endeavor or an opportunity to spend a whole lot of money which may or may not actually bring benefits you could not have gotten with little or no expense at all. I personally find the best way to have more money is to spend less.

Flash, well summarized.

I had joined Shadow Shopper when Jobslinger and msjobboard was not around. I felt it was very useful for me. Maybe now you don't need it.

Please do not feel I am criticizing you. I too started shopping long before Jobslinger and msjobboard were around and was not even aware of Shadow Shopper until I was already registered with a whole lot of companies that were keeping me quite busy.

I could see Shadow Shopper as perhaps appropriate for someone who just has no time to check job boards but still has adequate time to shop and do reports and wants to get started in the business. I do get annoyed with their business practices, however, that they hit your credit card so quickly with a non-refundable annual fee if you cancel your 'free' membership even a few days before its expiration. While I have not experienced that personally, the complaint comes through time after time after time.

No sweat! It is only a state of mind. I have progressed too far to even look back now.

I dont believe that anyone should have to pay someone to help them make money . I have never paid to shop and never will; I'm just saying.

gwind1920 Wrote:
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> Thank you....glad I didn't sign up for that. I'll
> use the list here.

Yea, no kidding! Had I not found this forum and been gaining some experience behind my, "green" ears and eyes...I would be falling for everything, in an attempt to do this right and proper! LOL

Job slinger is free, Job slinger plus (free trial) was not really producing shops I did not see already.

The shops on jobslinger are mostly sassie MSC shops that,With a little effort to hit the Mystery shop companies that offer jobs I like regularly, and checking the "same old same old" shops that never offer shops I am interested in occasionally, I get work.

Being notified by frantic schedulers that need a shopper(and offer a bonus) to save their bacon (not the purple porthole that tosses $2 bonuses around like manhole covers), I pick up a few more shops.

Satisfaction Services ask for $9.99 but when they get needy they will call for help and offer the left overs for free.