I would like to plan routes so that I could get shops a little further away from home, but I'm wondering how to do this in the best way. So few of my shops are "self-assign" I end up waiting several days to find out if a shop is mine or not. Then I hesitate to apply for more.
And on the other hand, I don't want to apply for too many and get my plate so full I can't complete everything if I get them all.
Do you only accept "self-assign" shops?
How many shops do you try to do in a typical day?
We all know gas is crazy high right now, so there's no way I can drive 50 miles for one shop.

Try a search for "Route shopping" and some threads should come up. I began with self-assign shops to practice route building. Now I don't hesitate to contact schedulers whether the MSC is self-assign or application. Often the posted dates don't coincide and I need to discuss travel bonus. If the route is tentative, I also explain that everything is contingent upon it all coming together. Normally all of this works best if you have a proven track record with a company and/or you are traveling to a location that is hard for them to get filled.

Thanks for the response. How many shops do you think you'd have to have with a company to be considered having a "good track record"? I never know how many I need to do before I have some pull. I've done around 10 for two different companies with all 9s and 10s. I just don't want be presumptous with the scheduler. :/

Ideas like being presumptuous need to leave your head if you plan on having a mystery shopping business. Just like other business owners, we need to market ourselves and be confident and assertive. Case in point, an e-mail in July to gauge interest in a project. Over a two and half week period I sent two follow up e-mails and placed a phone call. The scheduler told me my persistence had shot me to the top of the list

WillShop, my normal radius from home is 20 miles, though when the money is right, I venture further. When I commit to venturing further, it is with the knowledge that I'm not going to drive for just the one shop. I am able to route a variety of shops - grocery, pharmacy, car wash, eateries, oil change, banking, cell, automotive, housing, retail . . . After you have signed with umpteen MSPs and watched their boards, you get insight. You can accept a grocery on the 14th, knowing that there's probability of putting a bank, oil change and apartment with it. I have never gotten stuck with an orphan shop 5 or 20 miles from home.

If only all MSPs had self-assign, life would be easier. Alas ~ ~ ~

WillShop,
Another possible way to plan a route of shops is to plan a trip to visit a friend or relative where you might be staying overnight. Then try to pay for this pleasure trip by booking shops along your route and/or near where you will be staying.

This is a nice way to dip your feet into route shopping with relatively little risk. I began route shopping by traveling to visit my sister (240 miles each way) having searched for shops in her area first, emailing or calling the schedulers of those shops and telling them that this would provide them with a chance to have a new face in the rotation for their shops in her area. Since schedulers often have problems filling shops because of the clients' rotation requirements, this often will be a very welcome offer to the scheduler. AND, it works even better close to the end of a month or a calendar quarter when the schedulers' bonuses are at stake.

I actually got pretty lucky and doing my first route shopping. It's not out of the city per se (I'm in a VERY BIG CITY) but it involves nearly 150 miles.

I'm in my 2nd month of shopping and though I'm still brand new, I have learned quite a few things from people here on the forum and through my own experience. Like Lisa, when I started getting great reviews on my reports consistently, I would respond to schedulers right away and let them know that I was available and also my preferences. But it's in the form of, "Hey, if you need anyone to cover a few shops next week, I'm available!"

I am still not in control of my schedule quite yet as I'm trying to still work my way up the ranks and get at the forefront of shops versus waiting for the apple to fall. However, I've broken in with a few schedulers and been able to map out a few good routes which usually takes awhile to do.

Part of it is luck - as shops need fresh faces to cycle through rotations. I probably was at the right place at the right time as well not having too much scheduled in when they needed it.

However, I'm still very new and I can't juggle too many different types of shops. I mix in a few types of ones I have done before but I get overwhelmed to do a retail, restaurant, service, and fast food all in one day. I would have a heart attack! Find the ones you do well and are comfortable with and let your scheduler know. Also, when you see the schedules, keep an eye out for location. Maybe you won't get it this week or this month, but plan on the next month!

As I recall, my first routes involved many bank shops, all take through only one or 2 MSCs. Teller and short platform shops were like potato chips to me; I couldn't stop at just one, or two or five! I would plan a 240 mile trip to visit my sister (free ldgoing!) and then contact the two MSCs that had tons of NJ bank shops, volunteering to give the schedulers a break on the rotations. I'd pick up 4-5 shops on the route north, another 4-5 going south and do 10-15 while visiting my sister for 2-7 days. Whle there I would search for an book other local shops. This got me accustomed to route shopping and even to negotiating some bonuses for shops that were somewhat "off-route." At $12 to $25 per shop the money was not bad at all, and I got quite a tour of northern NJ, the Lower Hudson River Valley and Manhattan. Those routes led to much higher paying ones (routes of $100 video shops for furniture and new cars between my home and my sister's home.) After doing a couple of those, I planned my first routes that did not involve free lodging.

Lesson? Start with "baby steps;" then walk; then run!