Hello, I had my first mystery shopper job last night with best mark. It went very well, but it was $18 excluding taxes. Does anyone make decent money with this who can give me some tips?

There are tips everywhere on the forum. That is basically what we do here. It is a great resource for researching companies and learning how to grow your business. You may find the answer to your question. Just keep in mind, decent money is going to vary depending on the location and the shopper. Some do this strictly for fun, others for extra income they can earn on their own time and their own terms. While there are people making a living, a lot of that depends on location, how much you are willing to invest in things such as equipment and how much you are willing to travel.

My best advice is find another company besides Best Mark.
And fast! There are plenty out there. Get to at least 100 signed up for...


boriadev Wrote:
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> Hello, I had my first mystery shopper job last
> night with best mark. It went very well, but it
> was $18 excluding taxes. Does anyone make decent
> money with this who can give me some tips?

If I only looked at the money earned for the hours put in, I'd say it's not decent money considering my abilities and job skills. However, it works for me. I love the freedom and flexibility of this and I'm willing to trade off more money for more freedom. I shop part time and supplement retirement income and that influences my attitude. If you're trying to pay all your bills with this, you may have a tough go depending on where you are. The locations with more work have more shoppers because they are highly populated. However, there are some nice bonuses to be picked up in the rural areas. If you're out of work, I'd say go ahead and jump in and start signing up with companies. You don't have anything to lose. If you already have a job, I'd say do this part time until you get a feel for it. It's really hard to justify replacing a regular job with benefits with mystery shopping/auditing as a full time venture. Only you can make that decision.

Thank you everyone, I read a lot of helpful things from you guys. I do currently have a part time job, but am also a full time student. I'm looking to make an extra $100 a week if at all possible. I am from Michigan if that helps?

Good luck making that much in a week, especially on a steady basis. It can be feast or famine depending on where you are. Don't count on mystery shopping alone to make ends meet.

I think that $100/week is entirely reasonable. You just have to sign up with at LEAST 50 different companies.

Look at it this way: $100 a week is essentially 4-8 shops that range from $12-30 each.

There are many shops that pay that much. Some examples of decent entry-level shops that do NOT require spending money on a purchase:

Phone shops
Bank teller/account inquiry shops
Apartment written shops
Cell phone service inquiry shops
Cable service inquiry shops
Retail observation shops (no purchase)
Automobile dealership shops

Since you are a college student, I am assuming that you are in the 21-29 age demographic. With a small purchase (usually $6-10), these shops open up for you:

Alcohol compliance shops at gas stations, retailers and restaurants
Tobacco compliance at gas stations, large retailers
Bar observation and age compliance shops

Unless you have a little nest egg of $500-1,000 to spend on meals, retail purchases, and the like, I would avoid anything that is "reimbursement only" or these types of shops, which can tie up your money for 30-60 days and leave you behind:

Restaurant casual dining/ high end dining
Cocktail or Happy Hour purchase
Clothing purchase, not returnable
Household goods purchase, not returnable
Hotel and motel shops

Good luck! My daughter is a college student, 21, and is doing very well with mystery shopping. She averages $10-25/hour doing non-video shops and twice that with video. It looks great on a resume, too!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2014 08:12PM by ColoKate63.

ColoKate63,
Thank you for the help! Yes I am 21 years old going on 22 so I was hoping I'd be able to find things like that. Does anyone know where I can find a list of legit sites that won't scam me?

Boriadev,

At the bottom of the page you will see a list called "Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies" click on it and start signing up. No one will tell you who shops where because of their ICAs but that's the way to go. I was doing this about once a week and after the new year tried to up it to 1 per day and I'm signing up with at least 5 new companies per week (sometimes more). Also check out the stickies in the various topics here.

Ronile999

Thank you for the helpful information. I guess I'm going to give it a try, wish me luck!

While I will wish anyone luck who wishes to try it, in your case I would also encourage you to rethink it. "Full time student" is generally considered a 'full time job' because you are paying a hefty price tag for the privilege and need to take full advantage of that. That means going beyond just getting by with your studies. That means having classes and education as your top priority. That means networking with peers, especially in your field, you keep in touch with over the years (this is becoming more and more important as when lay offs happen the network can help you or your peers locate new jobs with someone to 'vouch' for them).

You already have a part time job, which means you already have a full time job (student) and a half. Spending a bunch of time registering for work and looking for work and trying to fit shops into your schedule and writing reports is time taken away from other things that probably are much more important at this time for your future. If money is a critical issue here, remember that it will take up to 3 months to get paid/reimbursed. Perhaps it would be more productive to see if you can put in extra time at your part time job, especially when Spring Break rolls around.

I only shop 2 to 3 days a week, no Mondays and no Fridays or week-ends. I will shop anywhere from 1 to 3 shops a day. I shop for several companies. I make anywhere from $80 to a $100 a week. This is a minimum, I have made more depending on how good the bonuses are. I have shopped for 8 years. I select shops that pay a minimum of $12. I also have shops that pay bonuses. This does not include lunch or dinner shops. Most of my shops are not far from my home. I bring in $6 to $10,000 a year and have fun doing it. I don't have to work. I hardly ever do a shop that I have to return an item. I do live close to lots of shops.

Flash,

I appreciate your comments. These are things that I haven't really considered. I figured I would try a couple shops and see how it is. I'm trying to find a way to earn extra income without taking too much time off of my schedule.

Shopper8,

That sounds like a dream come true really haha! But like Flash said, I'm realizing I can't be spending all day doing these jobs either.. Truthfully I'm in quite a pickle here.

Let me suggest that there are activities that pay and don't get in the way of school. I went through college babysitting--which may or may not appeal to you--because once the hellions were put to bed I had a quiet place to study and be paid for it (I also usually got a free dinner hot on the stove since often I got to feed the kids as well). A friend was a night clerk at a hotel where after about 9PM the place was like a morgue and it was a quiet place to study.

A couple of points here:

1. According to the 2010 U.S. Census report, 81% of all college students are working at least 11-15 hours a week while registered for full-time school. Very few college students have the luxury of attending classes and nothing else. Today, prospective employers like to see well-rounded students with diverse activities and work.

2. Given the choice between hiring a new graduate with "Babysitting" or "Waitress" on her resume and "Independent Contractor" - which do you think an HR Department will select?

Mystery shopping for college students gives you invaluable experience. If your major is Marketing, Psychology, Communications - your experience will be directly relatable to your major and give you a boost over your competitors after graduation. It is interesting work, and the challenges that you encounter will train you to be sharper and self-reliant.

3. My daughter currently mystery shops regularly on a daily basis. She begins at 3:00 PM, after classes are done, and finishes at 6-7 PM. A lot of her classmates head to the mall or to the bars to relax and have a change of pace - she does the same thing, but writes a report and gets paid afterward. She will typically do an apartment shop ($30 non video or $60-75 video) or a couple of retail non-purchase shops ($20 each) every day, M-F. She writes the reports on her cellphone, goes to dinner, and is done for the day. On the weekends she will pick up car dealership shops, apartment shops or will do a route of age compliance shops. She averages $1500 a month working 18-20 hours per week, about $15/hour. During midterms and finals, she doesn't work at all.

Her college is in a large urban area, and she lives nearby, so there are literally thousands (no exaggeration) of shops within a 5 mile radius. To get to where she is going, she generally takes the train or bus to her work with her free student pass. Or she simply walks or rides her bike if the weather is nice.

Her only issue is avoiding telling her classmates and roommates what she does in the afternoons. Many of her classmates are working 4:30 PM-2:00 AM shifts in restaurants, hotels, etc. They are perpetually tired, work in unpleasant situations, and are generally stressed out. There are very very few jobs that allow you to completely set your own schedule and control your life like mystery shopping; good luck explaining to your employer that you need a night off to study for a macroeconomics midterm!

And, yes, I coached her in how to do this, and how to stay sane. I probably spent 100 hours giving her advice, helping her navigate through narrative writing, and bringing her along with me to video shops so she could learn about the equipment, angles, and scenarios. So she definitely had an advantage there. But she did all the signing up, does all the scheduling, and deals with her mistakes and irritable schedulers/editors like a big girl. I stay out of that.

You've got to be a very organized, very responsible, methodical type to make this work. I'd suggest starting s-l-o-w-l-y and sign up with 2 companies a week. At the end of the year you will have 100, which is a good number. Read these threads, make up your own mind about whether it is right for you.

The fact that you, at 21, found this forum and are asking intelligent questions makes me think that you could do well.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2014 03:26PM by ColoKate63.

I can think of nothing better than mystery shopping/auditing to bring in some money for a student. The flexibility of this lets you adjust your own work schedule, working harder when school is lighter and working less when you need to study. The fact you are looking for work tells me you don't have the luxury of not working. It's all good, after you graduate you'll have to deal with having a family and working, so juggling this along with school will be useful experience. Also, I agree with ColoKate this would look great on a resume because it demonstrates an aggressive work ethic along with solid management and social skills. Nothing says success better than managing your own business well while you pursue your education and maintain acceptable grades.

If you find the right shops and are decidedly un-picky about what work you take, $100 in a week is possible. I've come close to having a $100 *day* before (but one high-paying shop tanked for something stupid). Keep in mind you will often be waiting 30 to 60 days to get paid, if not longer. At the very least, don't realistically expect payment for anything until close to the end of the following month (i.e. February jobs are usually paid last week of March). Some MSCs will pay sooner (at least one gargantuan MSC pays on a weekly schedule, and another pays closer to the beginning of the month) but not many.

The added plus to being a mystery shopper while in college, most likely if you need a job during college you probably qualify for some need based aid. Whereas a regular part time job could possibly lower the amount that you qualify for, mystery shopping would likely not, considering the benefits of non-taxable reimbursements and mileage deductions.

Hi everyone. I used to do mystery shopping a long time ago as a full time occupation, but the travel was 3 out of 4 weeks of the month. It was too much. Mainly it was for employee pilfering. I'm looking forward to getting back into it. Any suggestions about good MSC in or around Northeast Ohio? Thanks

ColoKate63 Wrote:
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> I think that $100/week is entirely reasonable. You
> just have to sign up with at LEAST 50 different
> companies.
>

Not necessarily.

I made about $650 in December just with MF alone. Granted, it won't be entirely on food shops alone. My helpers back then were a few big gas station audits and I have a bunch of them coming up, too.

Heck, if I could tolerate ~60 days wait for pay, I'd do the bowling shops that are out there with other MSCs, too.

When I first started, I took a few shops here and there and then I got more confident and before I knew it, I was getting phone calls and making a decent amount of money. I've only been doing this for a year. It feels like much longer though.

This month I'm bringing in about $1000. I do this part time. I am retired and I'm mystery shopping to supplement our income and it's helping.
It's paying off and it will for you too. Have fun!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2014 11:53PM by Canuck.

I average $500 or so a month. I usually call an 8-hour day "one day of work". On that basis, I work
3 1/5 or 4 days a month.

I was behind my average for March until last Saturday -- Marketforce called me and gave me 3 nicely
bonused shops. It was a longer than 8 hour-day -- but not if you deduct the time I spent visiting friends and family and hitting all the thrift shops in the small towns between here and my destination!

I ended up with a little over $200 for just that Saturday.

The problem, as I see it for OP, is making the $100 a week just starting out. There are many shops available using "apps" if you have a smart phone; they often pay VERY little, but very quickly (within
a matter of days using PayPal). I understand some of those shops take less than 10 minutes, including submission. If you have a smart phone, there are threads on about using the apps here on the forums.

I'm very happy with the shops I have done for Bestmark, with their pay, and they do pay when they
say they will -- as long as a company pays when they say they will, I'm willing to wait.

There's also threads about getting started, and suggestions for the names of the companies who are good for beginners to sign up on.

Good luck.

And, as another poster mentioned, intelligent questions. So refreshing!

cease

I was seeing several well bonused compliance shops in my area for tobacco and alcohol. I have college-aged kids so I encouraged them to sign up. Our Daughter just signed up for her first shop this coming weekend. I am not sure how detailed the report is, but in that one shop she will make her weekly spending money limit and cover gas for the week. For the summer, if she can shop one day a week and get in 5 or 6 shops, she will make enough money to cover spending money for the school year, and then some. I know a lot of seasoned shoppers do not like the reimbursement-only shops but for a college student on a tight budget, they are great shops. The best part of shopping is you can pick your schedule and work when it works for you.

Agreed! There are many scenarios, fees, reimbursements... We each pick and choose to make it work for personal advantages.

Seasoned or not, more casual shoppers or those with another revenue stream appreciate what reimbursement shops can contribute to their lives. It takes fees to pay my bills and I don't particularly enjoy dining out. My car seems to get most of the benefits of reimbursement shops for service and detailing

I wish I could find detailing shops here. My car can't go through the standard car wash. :/

Me, three. I'd like to get in on some of those car washes and detailing shops. Haven't seen them. Guess I need to sign up with some more MSCs.

So right Lisa! I haven't paid for an oil change or a tire rotation since 2005.

I have the wrong kind of car to take advantage of the service shops in our area. I did find an oil change shop for most cars so that was nice! I'm seriously considering buying a used car in the manufactures I see in our area. The shop fees would almost pay for a new car...but not quite. I could use a detailing shop for our one car that my husband never cleans!! Can you say the company that has the detailing shops without giving out the actual name of the detailing place .

The nicest part about my oil changes and tire rotations is they are done at my local dealer. Other services are on me, but the MSC doesn't have an issue with whatever needs to be done and both manufacturer and dealer coupons are allowed. If something is going to take a long time, I'm not even required to wait. instead I report on whether they had a loaner vehicle and how it was handled. The fee is over the actual cost of the basic services so for some trips it means money in my pocket plus a free wash and vac

Sorry guys, the upscale car washes may just be a regional thing. It is a place I would go on my on dime, just not very often. The MSC reimburses completely for the actual cleaning and pays a small fee. Alas, the tip does come out my pocket.