Is $1500 a month possible? What's the best strategy?

Hi Everyone,
I'm new to mystery shopping and this is my first post to the forum. I want to start off by thanking everyone for all the information in this forum, it's really helpful!

This is my situation: I am a wife and mother of 4. I was diagnosed with heart disease years ago and have not been able to work a traditional 9-5 because of my health. I always did odd jobs here and there to add a little income to my home (ebay, surveys, consignment shops, etc). I just decided to try Mystery Shopping after reading articles online a few weeks ago, but I really didn't think I would really make a decent amount of money. After doing this for the past two I have scored 7-9 on each assignment, had fun completing shops, and have earned $320 (which is shocking to me). Now I feel hopeful, that for the first time in years I can earn a substantial income for my home.

My question: Is $1500 a month possible and realistic? If it is, what is the best strategy to make that amount consistently?

Thank you in advance for your time and responses! Have a blessed day!

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Keira,
My first advice would be to go to the New Shoppers area of the forums and read the posts in the threads at the yop that are marked "sticky". They contain great tips of getting your business started and growing it. Your goal is certainly realistic, but not an easy path.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/2013 09:11PM by walesmaven.

Yes $1,500 a month is definately possible. I earn between $1,600 and $2,000 a month working 3-4 full days a week. I mean from 7am to 7pm. Walesmaven is right your best strategy is to go to the New Shoppers area and read read read. Also, very importantly, to make that goal, sign up with every single company listed at the bottom of this page. Having said that though, click on the link and make sure it's not a company with a lot of bad feedback. You will find the link to the actual company on the top right hand of the page once you've clicked on the company name. I found if there was one of two people saying the company was no good but 5 saying they were happy with it, then I registered with that company. I downloaded Roboform so it would remember all my usernames and passwords. Once you are registered with a substantial number of companies you will find that many jobs come to you through the phone and email. I rarely have to search the MSC boards for jobs and I am in a rural area. Also to earn that kind of money be prepared to travel. I travel 100-200 miles a week. Not this week but often I put in a lot of miles and other weeks not so much. You will really want a vehicle that gets good mpg. I purchased a car specifically for mystery shopping.

Yes it is but I am wondering what it is with your disease that prevents you from a traditional job. It might be easier to more realistically answer the question if we had that answer...for example if it's because you are out for a lot of appointments then yes mystery shopping can be scheduled in such a way to work around your appointments. If you are too tired to make it through a whole day then it might be more difficult to reach the 1500. I do not mean to be intrusive at all but rather helpful here.

Liz

I'm on the same page as Liz in thinking your health may be a major factor here. I'm shopping with serious health issues and I can't do as much as I could if I enjoyed strong health on a daily basis. If you have good weeks/bad weeks, this will work for you. Sometimes I shop up a storm for a few weeks and then I'll back off and not do much for a while. For me, this is perfect but I use it only for supplemental income.

You have to consider, too, how much work you can get. It depends on your location, how much competition there is in the area, and how many companies you sign up with. I'm located inside the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex, so there's plenty of work if I drive. The only thing that holds me back is health and energy.

It would be very difficult, perhaps impossible with my issues, for me to bring in $1500 each and every month. It would be absolutely no problem to earn $1500 - $2000 monthly if I felt better. I've done it from time to time, but I don't work that much every month. I've been earning between $11,000 and $12,000 the last couple of years. I hope this information will be useful to you and I wish you the very best.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

walesmaven & jpgilham,
Thanks. I will definitely start there and sign up for those companies.

Liz & Mary,
I don't mind the questions, I really appreciate your help. Although I do have a few doctors appointments per month, the reason I have trouble doing a traditional job is that I have good days and bad days, but on my bad days I am short of breath, low on energy, and weak. My bad days may only occur a few times a week or maybe once a week if I can get enough rest. I live in Philadelphia, PA so there seems to be a lot of shops available (even more if I drive up to 15 miles from my home to surrounding areas).

Thanks again for your help and advice.

Keira,

I started mystery shooping a few years after having to stop working due to health issues. One of the best things about mystery shopping is that I can work when I feel up to it. On bad days (or weeks), I don't do any shops. When I am feeling better, I can fit in a few a day. I personally have never been able to do enough shops to make a living, but mystery shopping does give me a little extra money to help with expenses. I also do a lot of entertainment shops so my son and I can go out and do fun activities that we otherwise could not afford. I was lucky enough to get a nice home repair shop in January. Even though I was sick with pneumonia and stuck at home all month, I got a nice new garage door opener installed plus a little cash for writing an extremely small report. Most shops in my area pay less than $20, but I have been able to get a few that were higher paying.

Good luck!

I'm like you -- I shop because I can't work conventional hours for health reasons. I have made up to $700/mo. It was a very busy month. I have to drive a distance to get where the shops are, so 1/4-1/3 of that goes to transportation. One big issue for me is that I accept an assignment one day, but when the time comes to do the shop, I'm having a bad day and don't feel up to it. I guess just pace yourself at first. I find it easier to do more complicated, detailed jobs that pay better than do a bunch of little ones. Good luck

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Is $1500 a month possible? What's the best strategy?

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