When did you feel like you finally broke through with mystery shopping?

I have been registered for various mystery shopping companies for about two years. With that said, however, I really didn't start mystery shopping until about nine months ago. As I only shop part-time, I only accept jobs that really stand out to me. Yet, I currently catch myself wondering, when will I break through an accept better mystery shopping jobs. Nothing is wrong with a FF shop every now and then, but I refuse to accept McD shops on a regular basis, especially if they aren't associated with a hefty bonus.

When did you feel like you finally broke through with mystery shopping?

On a side note: If anyone is from MD (or the DMV area in general) and can recommend specific MSCs to sign up for, please let me know. I am currently signed up for 25 MSCs. I know that many of the mystery shoppers here are registered for 100-200, but I don't want to register for so many that I can't keep up with checking in with them. The ones I am currently signed up for take a lot of work signing into and checking job boards.

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You will never really have many shops or good money unless you sign up with 75-100 MSCs. The break through comes when you stop having to check job boards because the MSCs email or call you! M<ine came in about 6 months, but I wa signed up with 60-70 MSCs by that time.

I almost never check job boards anymore.

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.
Do a lot of MSCs drop you due to inactivity? I was dropped by one for not accepting a job within a year and don't want to waste time applying to companies that may drop me.
The major investment we make in this business is time so registering with new companies should never be considered a waste.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
MSchleicher, it can be a good idea to periodically update your profile with MSC's who you haven't shopped with for an extended period of time. Some MSCs email shoppers to do that, which then keeps your status active.
I think I finally broke through when I started accepting restaurant shops with one particular MSC (using Sassie) and started getting consistent 10 ratings on them. It's hard to say whether it's that or finally getting on with the MSC that shops Chipotle, which is a pretty big thing for me as well.
MSchleider,

For me the 'breakthrough' came when I suddenly realized that I had more shops than I wanted to do. This came after signing up with many companies, getting a track record of success with some companies and the knowledge to request shops on different dates or with adequate bonuses. Then I could focus on doing the shops that I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it, for the fee that I wanted. I started to look or ask for bonuses and if they did not come I could easily not do the shop - even pass by the store on the way to another shop - without feeling like I had missed something.

As for the number of MSPs and the time it takes to check job boards, I find that the more I am signed up for the less I check the boards. Checking emails, taking phone calls (to me from schedulers), targeted searches on job boards (at specific times of the month when the shops I might want are made available) and emails to schedulers requesting shops what takes more my time.

Good luck with your business.

Happily shopping Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut
Thanks for this. I am in the DC area and I am beginning to get discouraged with the $25 here and $35 there. I cant never seem to break. I do it full time while I look for a job. I am really struggling. I need to make more money but I cant seem to get there. Any advice, readings etc will work. Please!!!!! I have scoured this forum so referring me to another post is pointless and discourages me even more. I need solid advice. In box me.Thanks

Dear Corp World,
I will NEVER step foot in another office unless its an assignment!
Sincerely ChereX
Simply, sign up for more companies to have more to choose from and cultivate your business relationships to get better paying assignments. The forum can give you more details and hints, but it's your unique business, so only you can do it.

Good luck!

Happily shopping Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut
Breakthrough as in realizing "Oh wow, I'm a professional mystery shopper?"

Mine came about a year in, when I had a dedicated desk for mystery shopping, a route-planning dry-erase board on the wall above the desk, another dry-erase board for assigned shops, and a complicated zippered binder system for route shops. And I was bringing in enough money without going to a job, that my roommate thought I was a drug-dealer for a few months, until I finally confessed.

My next breakthrough happened two years later, when I turned 21 and could really start doing the fine dining shops. Prior to that, there was only one company I could do fine dining shops with, being underage.

I got into video shopping a year later, and I think that was my final breakthrough.

Now I've gone into reverse and only do 15-40 shops per month, and only if it's something I need. I'm easing out of MSing, but I don't know that I can ever really quit. Once you know you can get your shoes for free, it's kinda hard to un-know it, LOL.

Honestly, it kinda feels like I'm right back where I started, taking mostly retail shops, except... bonuses. smiling smiley The shops are paying less and less. I remember when some of the smartphone shops paid $40, and now they're getting snatched up at $10.

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Plan the work. Work the plan.


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2014 07:25AM by BBird0701.
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