I'm new to the mystery shopper world. I'm applying with a few of the company's found on this site. I've received an email from shadow shopper, but they charge a fee to apply for jobs on the board.

NEVER pay to do mystery shops.

I don't deal with them.

I'm just starting out myself. I heard it can be beneficial if you shop for different companies or don't really know where to begin but can be pricey too if you don't do the shops and pay the fee to join. Can you keep me updated on your decision? Good luck to us both.

As wales said, if they are asking a fee, do NOT do it. IMO, I bet it is a scam. Either way, there are plenty of reputable companies out there that would never ask a fee of you to apply for jobs. Personally, I would stay away.

good company in Maryland u do have to pay but u get to see 300 to 500 hundred jobs for 5 dollars some are lasting jobs

Shadow shopper is a legit website. I have a profile there and have received info on several assignments thru them. I get daily emails from them as well.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2013 06:57PM by americanjoe.

To add some details for you. walesmaven is correct, never pay a msc to shop. However shadowshopper is "not " a msc. It is a website like jobslinger that matches jobs in your area and send you the information.
I recently applied to a company from there and was accepted. The job will be part time and is not even mystery shopping. They offer mystery shopping opportunities but also list merchandising jobs and special event jobs.
My wife is going to retire and wants to do food demos at a big box store. I found the correct company for her thru them as well. That is two part time jobs within one month.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2013 06:57PM by americanjoe.

I signed up for shadow shopper because it was recommended by a scheduler I work with. At first it was very helpful in getting me introduced to msc's and a couple of job opportunities. Now I'm finding their notices to be a bit redundant and even frustrating. Many of the "jobs" that are listed are really just recruiting attempts by msc. They list "jobs" but there aren't any actual jobs listed on their job boards and if I respond to a shadow job offer, I'm told to sign up with their Msc. I get this response after applying and giving them my shopper ID! Lol. I think it was good to start me out on the right road, but I agree with posters here...if you are a member of these forums, the same info can be had for free. I also like the idea of taking advantage of the cheaper trial membership occasionally just to see what you might be missing. I shall be canceling my trial very soon.

I live in Alaska & I find its hard to find companies up here that even have mystery shoppers .

Daizy1300 Wrote:
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> I live in Alaska & I find its hard to find
> companies up here that even have mystery shoppers
> .


Google scheduling companies and register with them.

I signed up for shadow shoppers during their promotional offer of 4.95 for January. I set up my profile and starting applying to area jobs. However, not one shopper has responded to my request. I've applied to at least 10 if not more. They auto deducted 29.95 out of my account the month of February which I must have overlooked the fine print that they would do. I contacted them and they stopped the auto renewal but said they couldn't refund and than included the verbiage about the monthly fee in their response to me. Also, any job that I've applied to has required me to register on their website prior to applying which I don't like doing. I am cautious about multiple websites, logins, etc. I haven't had any positive outcome with them. I've wasted time applying to these jobs and I'm out 35.00 and haven't had my first shop yet. I am not impressed. I've been using measurecp.net and I like them so far. But, they pay about 5-6 weeks after your assignment is completed which can be hard if you're already short money and doing this for extra income. Thanks!

Payment the following month for shops is common and some companies pay the second or third month. As an independent contractor you will have to sign up with multiple companies and many people on this forum are registered with as many as 150 to 200. The actual mystery shopping company needs the information. Demographics will determine if you fit the client criteria and a SSN and address/PayPal address/bank account information is what they need in order to pay you for your work.

I recruit from there frequently.

Mrrozzle Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I signed up for shadow shopper because it was
> recommended by a scheduler I work with. At first
> it was very helpful in getting me introduced to
> msc's and a couple of job opportunities. Now I'm
> finding their notices to be a bit redundant and
> even frustrating. Many of the "jobs" that are
> listed are really just recruiting attempts by msc.
> They list "jobs" but there aren't any actual jobs
> listed on their job boards and if I respond to a
> shadow job offer, I'm told to sign up with their
> Msc. I get this response after applying and
> giving them my shopper ID! Lol. I think it was
> good to start me out on the right road, but I
> agree with posters here...if you are a member of
> these forums, the same info can be had for free. I
> also like the idea of taking advantage of the
> cheaper trial membership occasionally just to see
> what you might be missing. I shall be canceling
> my trial very soon.


Shadow shopper is a place for shoppers to find shops and for schedulers to recruit shoppers. What you are describing is what is suppose to happen. That's how it works. If you get an email from a scheduler, you have to sign up with the mystery shopping company so you can do their shop.

You can still benefit from Shadow Shopper and not pay for their services.

The posts may be redundant because schedulers post the same shops month after month and will recruit the new shoppers that sign up each day.

Way too many annoying emails about working from home, data entry, etc. I have attempted to unsubscribe twice, and I still receive them. The job board looks legit. I see jobs on there that I see at MSC's.

Sally, I can't see how this could be of any value without paying which I'm not going to do - every job listed on there has [MSC hidden] and [join] to see job etc. I'll just keep plugging away at the companies that actually list there names out there and signing up with them. I try to sign up with 3-5 each weekend but I'm looking for the MSCs and scheduling companies not just the aggregating companies.