I'm a new member

Hi! I'm Sue and I'm new to this. I've been reading the different messages and all that great information that is so helpful, especially for us newbies. I am so excited about being a mystery shopper, but at the same I'm hesitant. How many different forms do I need to download in order to get started? I'm afraid I'm going to really goof up and not have what I need to get going on the right track. I'm older.....retired and so much about computers is so foreign to me!

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For most companies you register on line. Some may have you download, sign and mail or email back to them, a W-9 (certification of your SSN). Most have nothing for you to download when you register.

Once you are registered you can view their job board and request jobs. If you receive the job, some may have you take a certification test once you have read the instructions, but this is all on line. All shops have guidelines/instructions. Some shoppers choose to print these, some choose to download and save them to their computer, some with familiarity with the shop may just read them on line to note if there are any changes. You also need to look at the questionnaire you will fill out and again some choose to print, others just review. You perform the shop according to instructions, which usually include getting some form of 'proof of visit', which may be a receipt for a purchase or a business card or a photograph (your instructions will tell you what is needed). You will need to scan or photograph your receipt or business card to upload with your report. Your report is then reviewed by an editor and they will contact you if they have more questions or issues. Once your report is accepted you wait for payment. Some companies pay by check (fewer and fewer), most pay by sending money to your Paypal account, some pay by sending a direct deposit to your bank account.

All of which is to say that there are computer skills needed, but they are worth working your way through because you will be using the same ones over and over and over. There is very little that you actually need to download or print, though as mentioned above, some folks do print a lot when they are getting started.
Thank you so much, Flash! Your information has quelled some of my anxieties about botching things up. How long have you been a mystery shopper? What area of the country are you from? Do you get much/enough work?
Welcome Sue! You'll find a wealth of information here and lots of people willing to help out. I've been shopping for roughly two years, but didn't take it seriously until last summer. Mainly because I really had no idea the world of shopping actually existed. I would have been doing this years ago instead of working part-time jobs or renting a room out, had I known. Ironically, it was a mystery shopping scam that brought me into the business.

I work full-time (few years from retiring) so my initial goal was to try to make $250. per month shopping. I quickly learned it was easy enough for me to make $500 per month. Last month I was just under $1,000. Mystery shopping can definitely supplement retirement income.

I believe there are two skill sets required to be successful in this industry: 1) Organizational Skills. There is a lot to keep track of once you begin working more than a few shops a week. 2) Writing Skills. We must be able to write grammatically correct narratives.

Shopping up and down the Colorado Rocky Mountain front range.
@Sue40 wrote:

Thank you so much, Flash! Your information has quelled some of my anxieties about botching things up. How long have you been a mystery shopper? What area of the country are you from? Do you get much/enough work?

I did some shopping when I was a teenager and came back to it more than a decade ago when I retired early. I am in the South. I have found shopping can be flexible to meet what I want from it. For a while my need was primarily cash, and that worked well. Now I am more tuned in to nice reimbursements for things I would buy or want to buy anyway. In most markets my sense is that you can find adequate work to meet your needs but in very few markets is there a glut of good opportunities on a regular basis.
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