I have been reading and reading and reading and need to know if you have to pay the companies to join. I live in Phila., PA and want to know if anyone can tell me of the companies that are worth it to sign up. I've signed up to do surveys but in order to get points you have to sign up for Netflix or Blockbusters or BMG.....Can anyone get me started.

Cheryl

You do not pay to sign up with a legitimate Mystery Shopping company. There are lists of them here, at MSFreedom.org, Volition.com and at MSPA.org that are legitimate companies. There are survey companies, but they are something different and although they are included in discussions in this forum, they operate very differently than mystery shopping.

There is little reason to pay anyone for anything related to getting mystery shops. Take a look at the "Nuts and Bolts . . ." thread stickied at the top of this part of the forum for how to get you started mystery shopping.

As far as companies that are "worth it to sign up", the clients shopped, the number of shops available, the density of shoppers in a particular area all affect the shops that are available with any mystery shopping company at any particular time. What companies work great for me may never have anything in your area and vice versa. If you have been reading the forum you will be aware that in general the pay is low, you spend a lot of time looking for jobs and there are frustrations that can arise with shops that don't work "by the book". So since "worth it" is a relative term, you do best to get signed up and do some shops and then decide if it is worth it for you.

Cheryl - The companies that want you to sign up for Netflix or Blockbusters and will pay you to do so, are Survey Companies, not Mystery Shopping Companies. Two completely different animals.
Be careful, be very careful with survey companies. There are some really bad ones out there.
There is a thread, on this forum, that is all about survey companies. You might want to find that.
For mystery shopping advice, go up to "Nuts and Bolts of Mystery Shopping", on this forum. I think it's the second from the top. You don't have to pay a penny to become a mystery shopper. Or for that matter - a survey taker either. There are tons of companies, in both sectors, that are free to sign up with.

Thanks for your help. It was just advertised on 6abc.com and I have been following there links.

The surveys are a pain and I have gotten away from that because you have to sign up for so many things. I'm getting the hang of it.

There are many perfect legit survey companies that don't make you sign up with anything, and never send spam. I do a number of them.

After you read "Nuts and Bolts," come back here with your MS questions.

csaskin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have been reading and reading and reading and
> need to know if you have to pay the companies to
> join. I live in holly springs, ms and want to know if
> anyone can tell me of the companies that are worth
> it to sign up. I've signed up and ready for my frist jobs of shopping at mcdonald in holly springs
>
> chiquita

I fail to see your question or comment here, Sasha

I live in the denver metro area and want be a mystery shopper part time. how do i go about finding a legitamite company?

cindiricci, there's a list of companies here in the Company Discussion section. Many, many to register with. As you sign with companies, if questions arise, you can research them here also. Just use the search function.

A good start at finding out which companies shop your area would be checking with JobSlinger's site that shows available shops by location. Then, if you're interested, sign with them.

Good luck.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2010 02:01PM by Mert.

Does anybody know of any good companies to work for in Canada - more specifically Manitoba? I have found a few but not many...

I would strongly suggest you check Jobslinger.com (free sign up) to check and see what companies have offered shops in your area recently. Make sure you are signed up with those companies and then check the forum for shopper experience with those companies. Most of us are US based so don't see shop offerings for Canada, but many of the companies are the same so we may be able to provide feedback on them.

Be aware that jobs you see on Jobslinger.com have probably already been snagged by other shoppers. What you are looking for are the names of the companies that have posted in your area.

IHi,
I as well will like to join this field, but how do you find the most paying ones?

First, none of them pay WELL. That being said, some pay better than others. There is, however at least some correlation between shop requirements and outlays and the detail needed in the report to the amount of pay. This is not to say that the $3 jobs are easy, but rather that the $20 and $30 jobs (and more) usually require a lot more of you.

Get your feet wet, learn to make timings and observations routine on jobs where you are out little more than your time if the job gets rejected, and then move on up to other work. While each client and each company is different in their expectations, there is enough similarity that it makes sense to start simple.

There is also the experience factor. With many companies you will not get the opportunity to self assign jobs until you have successfully performed a variety of shops for them. And when you put in a request, if a scheduler has a proven shopper who also requested the job, they are likely to be given the work. With other companies you will not even be aware that they offer better jobs until they deem you an excellent shopper.

Finally, the same clients may not be nationwide. A company who has mostly mediocre shops in most of the country may have a regional client in your back yard that pays quite well. That is the case with a few of my favorite companies. The only way you really will know is to sign up with a number of companies and see what they have available near you. Most companies post jobs towards the end of the month for the following month, so get some shops under your belt to see if this works at all for you, then sign up with more companies and watch the job boards.