I checked to see if this has been asked recently.

What do you think about a newbie like myself obtaining the MSPA certification(s)?

Does it open up opportunities?

Thanks in advance.

This thread's most recent post discussing certification was October 12. I'd say one size doesn't fit all regarding certification, or shopping either for that matter! Have you been shopping long?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2010 07:06PM by Mert.

I see the one post related. Anyone out there certified with MSPA?

I have been doing this since 9/22/09

I've been shopping for almost three years, with no certification. Are shops not visible to me as an uncertified shopper? How would I know. I have seen a few shops that pay $5 bonus for gold certification, which is not enough to sway me into purchasing. popgreg, I don't know the reasons you may be considering this. Lack of assignments, only low paying shops available? As you've been shopping just over a month, I'd advise you to not spend money on this yet. Give it six months, keep reading the forum, and signing with more companies. If then, you know that mystery shopping is something you will continue doing, revisit this idea.

And, the link to the thread provided above, I think will give you a few names of shoppers that are gold certified.

Thanks for the reply. Since 9/22/09, I have done 64 shops. Since you have been doing this for 3 years without certification makes me think.

Same here pop. I have been doing this about as long as Mert. I stay pretty busy with decent shops without the certification...

And I've been doing it still longer without it. Right now there are not nearly as many shops out there as two years ago (many clients have cut back or eliminated shops, some have gone into bankruptcy, some have closed a lot of locations) and about half the shops I see either have had their fees reduced or are with companies who seem to be having difficulty coming up with money to pay shoppers according to their schedules (or both). There are many folks currently unemployed who are trying their hand at shopping in hopes it can bring in some good quick income. Surprise, the income was never 'good' nor 'quick', especially when compared to minimum wage slinging burgers and getting paid every week or every other week. While yes, I do several $40 bank evaluations per month, there is no source for a steady diet of those to make a reasonable living without spending a lot of time driving to other areas. And realistically, how far do you drive for a $40 job that will still take 2 hours to write the report?

64 jobs in a month is not at all bad for a newbie and shop availability depends entirely on where you are and how saturated your market is with shoppers. Build your reputation as being reliable with as many companies as you can and that will serve you better than any certification.

Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And I've been doing it still longer without it.
> Right now there are not nearly as many shops out
> there as two years ago (many clients have cut back
> or eliminated shops, some have gone into
> bankruptcy, some have closed a lot of locations)
> and about half the shops I see either have had
> their fees reduced or are with companies who seem
> to be having difficulty coming up with money to
> pay shoppers according to their schedules (or
> both). There are many folks currently unemployed
> who are trying their hand at shopping in hopes it
> can bring in some good quick income. Surprise,
> the income was never 'good' nor 'quick',
> especially when compared to minimum wage slinging
> burgers and getting paid every week or every other
> week. While yes, I do several $40 bank
> evaluations per month, there is no source for a
> steady diet of those to make a reasonable living
> without spending a lot of time driving to other
> areas. And realistically, how far do you drive
> for a $40 job that will still take 2 hours to
> write the report?
>
> 64 jobs in a month is not at all bad for a newbie
> and shop availability depends entirely on where
> you are and how saturated your market is with
> shoppers. Build your reputation as being reliable
> with as many companies as you can and that will
> serve you better than any certification.

Thanks for the oveview of what has happened in the industry over the last 2 years. All these responses are appreciated.

mrcomputer101 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Same here pop. I have been doing this about as
> long as Mert. I stay pretty busy with decent shops
> without the certification...


Thanks, I feel like I am on the right track without cert.

i've been at this about 14 months. I got MSPA Silver certified when I started because I thought I would need it to get shops. My son started shopping about 4 months later and he is NOT certified. He sees the same shops I do. I don't seem to have an edge on him as far as getting assigned shops. So far there is only one shop that I can get and he can not, at the MSC we both shop for; it requires a silver certified shopper. I can't explain why; it is not a hard shop and it doesn't pay anything more than any of the others requiring no certification. The Silver only costs $15 and the test is super easy ..... do it or don't ..... the gold is another matter. Expensive and I don't see a big payback.

AustinMom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My son started
> shopping about 4 months later and he is NOT
> certified. He sees the same shops I do. I don't
> seem to have an edge on him as far as getting
> assigned shops. So far there is only one shop
> that I can get and he can not, at the MSC we both
> shop for; it requires a silver certified shopper.

AM, is this shop visible to him?

AustinMom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> i've been at this about 14 months. I got MSPA
> Silver certified when I started because I thought
> I would need it to get shops. My son started
> shopping about 4 months later and he is NOT
> certified. He sees the same shops I do. I don't
> seem to have an edge on him as far as getting
> assigned shops. So far there is only one shop
> that I can get and he can not, at the MSC we both
> shop for; it requires a silver certified shopper.
> I can't explain why; it is not a hard shop and
> it doesn't pay anything more than any of the
> others requiring no certification. The Silver
> only costs $15 and the test is super easy ..... do
> it or don't ..... the gold is another matter.
> Expensive and I don't see a big paybac

Good information, Thank You.

Mert Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> AustinMom Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > My son started
> > shopping about 4 months later and he is NOT
> > certified. He sees the same shops I do. I
> don't
> > seem to have an edge on him as far as getting
> > assigned shops. So far there is only one shop
> > that I can get and he can not, at the MSC we
> both
> > shop for; it requires a silver certified
> shopper.
>
> AM, is this shop visible to him?


It is visible to him - it is the company that does the Goodwill shops, Mert. He can see the shop, but if he tries to apply for it, he gets an error message that he is not silver certified.

There are other jobs people do not see at all if they are not certified. I have been certified for many years and feel it was worth the 100.00 I paid. I have friends who disagree. My area in Southern Ca. is saturated with shoppers, so having the certification continues to help me get jobs. YMMV...

You really need to decide for yourself as it depends on your area, the number of shoppers you are competing with, how much work and the quality of work you want to do.

paminca Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There are other jobs people do not see at all if
> they are not certified. I have been certified for
> many years and feel it was worth the 100.00 I
> paid. I have friends who disagree. My area in
> Southern Ca. is saturated with shoppers, so having
> the certification continues to help me get jobs.
> YMMV...
>
> You really need to decide for yourself as it
> depends on your area, the number of shoppers you
> are competing with, how much work and the quality
> of work you want to do.

Thanks for the different viewpoint.

There are also jobs that just get sent to certain shoppers, certified or not. Frequently these are higher paying shops that the company offers to those that have somehow proven themselves "worthy." What I mean is, I will get an email inviting me to apply for a specific shop, and it has a link to it. I can see it this way. If I log in normally and look at the job board, it is not there. "Worthy" may entail certification, it might be college degree and income, and it might be track record with the MSC, or sometimes, a combination of these. But there are many times you will not see shops that are offered to others.

Thanks for the information, I am learning a good deal from this forum.

We are glad we are helpful to you. :-)

it seems that it makes no difference rather you are certified or not. I am just getting started and have not had a job yett. I have signed up with a few companies please give me some help.

Sonangelmom, this is a business where you survive or fail based on your own initiative and effort. What we have attempted to give you in this section of the forum is the tools and information you need to get organized and get started. And it is offered here free and in one place. The bottom line is that only YOU can get signed up with companies, only YOU can check the job boards of companies you are signed up with on a regular basis to look for jobs, only YOU can request them, do them, report them in a timely and complete fashion to start building your reputation with companies. With that said, we are here to help when you have questions you think may be 'dumb', to let you share your adventures/misadventures and to help keep the community attuned to companies who you find are good or miserable to work with.

My suggestions for getting started are in [www.mysteryshopforum.com] so don't really need to be rewritten here. The first few companies listed have jobs virtually everywhere in the country where there is a gas station or a fast food joint. These jobs have merit in that they are excellent for learning timing skills and basic shopping observations. They don't pay much but generally you aren't out of pocket much so if you goof the job and the shop is rejected, you aren't out of pocket much. The companies offer decent job instructions that are complete enough that a beginner knows what they are supposed to do.

Good luck shopping and welcome to the community!

It is my understanding that many schedulers send out jobs to their Gold shoppers first. Then work there way down to Silver then no certification. One reason in some areas that only low paying jobs exist. Secondly, high end casino and hotel shops are usually only given to gold shoppers and only after they all decline does it get opened. However it is a million and one chance that you will get it as many gold shoppers only work for these opportunities.

I find it very interesting that I see the same shops as Gold shopper friends in nearby areas--much to their annoyance because they thought they were buying something that gave them an edge. I receive emails that are supposedly 'Gold shoppers' although I don't have gold, that are no higher than industry standards and frequently are lower than for similar jobs elsewhere. As for high end casino and hotel shops, I am not certified and have done the high end resorts and spas, etc., including being flown around the US, into Mexico and the Caribbean. Perhaps SOME MSPs insist on Gold, but if so, it is their loss. And yes, with a phone call or an email I could be back on the high end resorts and spas circuits, and they pay well, just not enough for the time and energy required to do them.

TheresaRA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It is my understanding that many schedulers send
> out jobs to their Gold shoppers first. Then work
> there way down to Silver then no certification.
> One reason in some areas that only low paying jobs
> exist. Secondly, high end casino and hotel shops
> are usually only given to gold shoppers and only
> after they all decline does it get opened.
> However it is a million and one chance that you
> will get it as many gold shoppers only work for
> these opportunities.


This is true for some MSC's and not for others.

I have no Gold certification and have been able to get high end cruise, casino, spa and resort shops without a problem.

The company I used to schedule for is an MSPA member, but did not schedule based on certification or even collect that data. All assignments were visible to all shoppers and assignments were scheduled based strictly on past performance and availability.

Each MSP has it's own standards for how they select shoppers and some may prefer Gold. My experience is that working hard to be one of the best shoppers for any company will get you the choice assignments before any certification does.

I have shopped for several years and have always been able to get some of the better shops without being certified. For the record, I am now silver certified. ;-0

Ok!!! Do tell us. You shopped without certification, so you know/knew what was out there. Are you seeing a significant improvement in opportunities now that you feel is due to having certification?

And also, what made you decide to do it if you already had a track record?

I never really thought that I needed a certification since I was already working as a shopper when it became available. Getting certified definitely can't hurt your shopping status though. I kind of always thought it was for new shoppers who were wanting to show dedication or who may have been lead to think that they might get more shops because of it.

One day I must of had to much time on my hands and decided to look into it. I thought that the price wasn't to bad for the silver cert so I took and passed it. I was familiar with a lot of the material due to the testing needed to perform some shops. I didn't think I got ripped off though.

It is hard for me to say whether it helped or not since I was already shopping and getting a lot of assignments. I can definitely say that I didn't see a tremendous increase in shops once I became silver certified.

I now make sure that it is on all of my applications and see very few who don't allow it to be posted.