I registered with about 20 sites and have been up all night all week and still dont have a clue how to get started.I wanted to start with jobs I can do at home and when had some money saved do stores and resturants in nyc and Bklyn and next month Long Island.Anyone want to help me?Please

My recommendation is merchandising and audits. While the money isnt huge, you dont have to paying anything out to do them. For the most part, many of the larger companies have these types of shops available and pay twice a month. Its a good way to get your foot in the door too.

You have probably seen the schedulers or shop sites by now, so try searching by types of jobs and maybe that will help weed out what you are looking for to start with. Stick around, good advice is abound...especially in the new member area!

Jobs you can do "at home" are not what mystery shopping and merchandising are about, for the most part. Yes there are some phone shops through legitimate companies but they tend to pay $2-$8 per call and usually work out to about $4 per hour once you take into account the reports. Some folks do on-line surveys and if you use the "Search" feature at the top of the page, you will find the threads about those. Generally these pay 'points' and when you get enough points you can redeem them for cash or merchandise. Definitely NOT 'serious money'. Then there are the on-line shops that some scammers advertise. Mostly these require signing up for 'free information' or 'free trial offer' etc. Unless you want a lot of follow up phone calls from salesman who now will have you as a 'hot lead', avoid them. And on 'free trial offers' beware that you are likely to need to provide a credit card number and must carefully document your cancellation of your 'membership' before the trial period is over or you will be responsible for a bunch of credit card charges for stuff you don't want and can't use. Those outfits also have a very sketchy payment record and some insist on signing up for more and more and more things before you ever possibly see payment.

Mystery shopping itself does not pay "serious money" when you look at it on an hourly basis for the use of your time, especially when you are just starting up. You will need to take self assign jobs from the company's job boards (generally lower paying) and request other jobs of interest (that may or may not be awarded to a shopper relatively inexperienced with the company). Slowly you will build your reputation and be able to self assign more shops as you prove you can handle them. Your limits are, of course, what shops are even available in your area.

My shop average for August is running about $20 in fees plus reimbursements, with about $10 being the fee and $10 being the reimbursement for required purchases. Others shoppers' markets vary a lot from mine and I am sure that shopper job interests even within my market are very varied. Some folks don't want to spend more than $1-2 on a shop and that seriously limits them in what they can accept. Others only want restaurant shops, which seriously limits what fees they receive. The business is what you make of it but unless you have a 40 hour day and a wealth of opportunities you won't make a lot at it.

What do you call "serious money"? I am making about $400 a month doing about 20 shops a month, and that's fine with me since it is strictly part time. Others here have reported making about $2000 in a month, but that's dong 100 shops, which DEFINITELY makes it a full-time job.

I was thinking about it in the shower this morning, and factoring in time looking for shops, time reviewing requirements, the shop itself, time filling out hard-copy reports, and time filing reports on-line, I figure I'm making about $12.50 an hour. Not bad for part-time, but hardly "serious money".

I've never done mystery shopping from home before. If you're wanting to make 'serious' money online I'd recommend network marketing or affiliate marketing which is what I got into after starting out with mystery shopping. The biggest difference is that these are businesses, so they require hard work upfront before you start making money, unlike mystery shopping which is more like a freelance job.

Make "serious" money, talk to Steve, he's the one that has this thing down pat....I do it for spending money only. Takes many hours to actually make "serious" money, maybe go back to school and get a degree....LOL.

The jobs that pay well take experience to get....Often a few years of experience. 20 companies would just be the tip of the iceberg. Most serious shoppers seem to be signed up with 200+ companies.

I have always contended that the best money I made was actually working at a MSC, but that may also take years of experience and many not-so-serious jobs to get in the door.

I think the one thing we all agree on here is that if you are getting into MSing strictly for the $$, you may be disappointed.

Like Steve said, I am signed up with well over 200 companies. It took me two years before I got my big break. A company with a small shopper base and a large contract. I wasn't impressed with the per shop fee so I only tried a few. I did good work and was contracted to "clean up" two large areas and have gotten the contract for my 250 mile radius area every spring and fall since. That is where I make most of my money and it is very intensive and tedius with extremely long hours for the duration. I add to the stress by taking assignments from other companies on my routes.

In my "down" time, I continue to update my profiles at the companies that I signed up with years ago. I am always finding and signing up with new companies. Many have no work in my area, yet... I also take assignments in my down time that I don't like as well. I keep expanding my knowledge base, keep expanding my skillset, keep expanding my network.

Anyone who isn't self-disciplined, self-directed and self-motivated probably won't do well for long. Really, we have to be honest with ourselves. If those are really not our qualities (nothing wrong with that), then Msing part-time might be more fulfilling.

I was stuck in a rut for awhile because somewhere along the line I decided I was only doing this for the money. While that isn't necessarily bad, I set a goal that was too high. I got burned out and stopped enjoying the work. Then the economy took a dive. I've regrouped and am doing much better. I'm actually anticipating the opportunities ahead of me in 2010. Some will be the same, some new. Old clients at new MSCs, and some new clients as well.

Sassiescorpio,

Don't overlook at least trying merchandising like jjage said. You never know when past experience will land you a job, or you might like it more than you anticipated. I personally enjoy audits more than MSing, but I do both and then some. I don't mind revealed audits. Some people won't have anything to do with them, etc.

It took me about two years (with some significant chunks of time off) to get signed up with enough companies, have done enough work and built up enough money to cover shop expenses throughout the month. The first year was really difficult and dissappointing and I had to make an adjustment not to take shops under a certain dollar amount. (Unless, they fell into a route I could use.) Also, I learned quickly that it is more beneficial to get the instructions down for 20 or more of the same type of shop than for one or two (unless they are recurring).

I wish you the best.

This is all depends on what companies you work for. Some pay good, and some dont' pay peanuts.

CRI paid pretty well but they could be difficult to work for, depending on your scheduler OP.

But, honestly, I don't think that being a MS is a good way to make an income, you have to spend alot of money driving to destinations and after you figure out all the time you spend on reports, getting the facts straight so you can accurately enter your facts to the clients, you often end up making less than mininum wage. When you start this type of job, you don't really know who to apply to.. and that's not an advantage...

And I don't like it for the fact, there's no creativity whatsoever involved... it's routine and has the benefit of you choosing your own hours, but if you got basic living expenses to make, you might want to consider working PT at a mall or something retail more profitable than this!
It all depends though, on what company you work for but no here seems to want to direct the newbies to places that are really profitable. Who knows why? maybe they're afraid of us taking their jobs... i cannot say.

NeedsGoodShops, successful mystery shoppers know how to find work. They sign up with companies and apply for shops. The info is here. You choose not to do the work. You want people to hand you some magical key. You remind me of some of my weakest college students, the ones who think that by doing one demo each class day in Photoshop, somehow they will be able to churn out a masterpiece of art for the project, without touching the program outside the classroom hours.

No one in their right mind is handing over their money trees. You have to cultivate your own. There is plenty of great info here from which to get started. So start already and stop complaining about the people who spend a lot more time than you do actually helping others here.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2010 04:49AM by dee shops.

NeedsGoodJobs Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> But, honestly, I don't think that being a MS is a
> good way to make an income, you have to spend alot
> of money driving to destinations and after you
> figure out all the time you spend on reports,
> getting the facts straight so you can accurately
> enter your facts to the clients, you often end up
> making less than mininum wage. When you start this
> type of job, you don't really know who to apply
> to.. and that's not an advantage...
>

I disagree with this statement. People do make money MSing. Many many people. Perhaps not as much as years when the US economy was better, but they do. I do. Others here do, also. It is all in how you appy yourself to your business. It can be done.


> And I don't like it for the fact, there's no
> creativity whatsoever involved... it's routine and
> has the benefit of you choosing your own hours,


OMG! Like movie checks involve ever so much creativity? There certainly is more in the day to day work of a mystery shopper than in the job you covet. If you want a creative job, you are barking up the wrong tree. I KNOW. I'm an artist, and I teach college-level art. Movie checks do not equal a creative job.

> but if you got basic living expenses to make, you
> might want to consider working PT at a mall or
> something retail more profitable than this!

Again, I disagree. Newbie shoppers, persevere. You will reap the effort you sow.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2010 05:49AM by dee shops.

You can certainly make money shopping, although I don't think it's BIG money. Even if I worked at it full time, I don't think I could make it take up my full time .... and don't think the salary could ever reach my day job salary. I don't try to make a lot, though - - - I shop to be able to eat out great places and for fun and a little pocket money. I'm signed up with about 150 companies, although some have no shops in my area and I've never heard from them after signing up. Altho, it's not a waste to sign up with lots - I just heard last week from one I signed up with 18 months ago - with a job! Just did the shop and reported last night. Every once in awhile, I see good press about a company and I go sign up. If I get a little extra time, I might sign up with more companies.

NeedsGoodJobs, signing up with lots of companies is probably a better way to spend your time than reading and asking questions here if what you want is jobs and money right away. No matter how many questions you ask, you are not going to find a lot of jobs here.

AustinMom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You can certainly make money shopping, although I
> don't think it's BIG money.


Yes, I think few people make big money. I agree.

> Even if I worked at
> it full time, I don't think I could make it take
> up my full time .... and don't think the salary
> could ever reach my day job salary.

Sadly, some semesters it might reach or exceed mine as a college instructor. The life of an adjunct is not a pretty one, and these days adjuncts represent the majority of staff on college campuses. :-(



> Altho, it's not a waste to sign up with lots - I
> just heard last week from one I signed up with 18
> months ago - with a job! Just did the shop and
> reported last night.

Yea, you never know when someone will get a client in your area.

> Every once in awhile, I see
> good press about a company and I go sign up. If I
> get a little extra time, I might sign up with more
> companies.

I am signed up with about 400 companies. Many of them have never had anything here. Some of them occasionally do. Some of them routinely do. I am always adding interesting companies as I hear of them. You just never know. But then
I always try to check them out when I see an opportunity. If I can't get info, I only do one shop at a time until I know their practices better.