Hi fellow shoppers! I am new at this and just received my 1st shop assignment with intellishop. I am reading good and bad here on this company...Hmmm...I know each has their own experience.
I figure...I want to check this industry out and see what it's like. The shops are close to my house and pay $30 each, so $60 bucks is $60 bucks!

It's shopping a car dealership. Any hints or tips here? I know, one would be, DON'T BUY THE CAR!!! LOL :>

I do have a question about the MSPA and to those of you that really get into this line of work, do you feel it is necessary to get the gold certified, silver certified, etc? There is a cost involved and I do not want to fall for a scam...They are mentioned on the FTC's website, so they seem legit. Just too in-experienced to know much yet.
I am one that if I'm going to do something, I do my research and I do it well and want all the chances I can get to succeed. Thanks, appreciate any tips on helping this newbie!

I also was accepted by Colye, does anyone know what it's like in dealing with them?
ThankS

You can find lots of discussions about your questions using the "Search" feature. Put in such words as 'certification' or 'Coyle' or 'car dealership' and I think you will find discussions of all within 30 days as well as in the longer term of things.

Welcome to the forum!

Thank you Flash!

Hi mlmagic,

I'd say $30 is ok for a car dealer shop. If a test drive is required, it's gonna take a little longer. The reports tend to be somewhat narrative-laden, but from your post I'd guess that won't be too much of a challenge. I've done car dealers for as little as $17 but that was a special case. Normally I wouldn't take less than $25.

I suggest you print the actual survey you will have to complete beforehand and study it, as well as the guidelines. Knowing exactly what questions you'll have to answer certainly helps.

To increase your chances for success, sign up with as many companies as you can find. The Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies at the bottom of this and every page is a good place to start. Why so many companies? Because any given one might have nothing in your area for weeks at a time.

Thank you D'Agosto!

Good info and am excited to start somewhere and see what I think. This seems to be an interesting thing to do. I don't NEED the money to make a living, as my husband and I are self-employed, but I am looking for ways to bring a little cash in here and there and do it on my time, my way, so this seems a good fit. How long have you been involved in MS? Would love to hear more about it and are you "certified?" Some of the companies seem to push for that as I am signing up with as many as I can and thanks for that tip!

Welcome mlmagic!

Mystery shopping a fun (and sometimes exasperating) way to make some extra money. Yes, the certifications are legit. I have a silver certification. I am not really sure how much it benefits you to have one. Would I get fewer jobs if I didn't have it? I have no way of knowing because I've had one since I started shopping. But it's cheap to get a silver, so I think it's worth the investment.

The best tip I can offer you is this: buy yourself a digital recorder and (if it is legal in your state) audio tape your assignments. My digital recorder is my most valuable MS tool. Here's what I do:

Before I enter the location, I record the date, time and name of the business. That is recording #1. Then, I start a second recording and let it record while I am doing the shop. It captures everything that happens. When I exit the location, I click stop...so that ends recording #2. Then, I do a third recording stating the time I departed, the descriptions and names of the employees I interacted with, and a summary of everything that happened. When it's time to do the report, I can quickly get the start and end times and employee descriptions from recording #1 and #3 and usually recording 3 (my summary) will give me all the info I need to do the report. HOWEVER, it's nice to have recording #2 there if I really need to get some fine details I have forgotten.

Here's another tip for using a digital recorder. The brand and model I have is the Olympus VN-5200PC, which is an excellent, small recorder that is shaped somewhat like a small cell phone. I keep it in a cell phone case (the kind you can clip onto your belt). This works great because I can clip it onto my belt and easily record my shops without drawing suspicion to myself. If I need to, I can even pull it out and talk into it as though I am talking into a phone (I hold it up to my head like I would a cell phone with the microphone end near my mouth, so it looks like I am talking on a phone). Works like a charm! It's small and fits into my hand so well that nobody can see it's a digital recorder. They just think I am talking on my phone. I've been doing this for a few years now and I have it down to a science.

Of course, I don't usually use the "talk on the cell phone" technique while doing my shops too often. I only do that when there is some reason I need to record something important that the recorder may have missed and I think I may forget.

It's also great for clothing shops because when I go into the fitting room or rest room, I can quickly whisper some notes into the recorder.

Again, you need to make sure it is legal in your state to audio tape people without their knowledge. It is legal in some states, and not in others.

Re: car shops...each person has their own feelings about them but I wouldn't accept one for less than $50. I hate dealing with car salespeople and I find those assignments to be time-consuming and a hassle. Other people feel differently.

As for Coyle, a lot of people love that company and they do have really nice restaurants and other assignments. In my opinion, though, their reports are too involved. Their fine dining reports take at LEAST 2.5 hours to do (often 3-4 hours) and they are very nitpicky about the format of the way you answer the questions in the report. I think they are PITA and not worth the aggravation, but I know others like them a lot.

Good luck and let us know if you have other questions.

You and I are in the same boat, mlmagic. I have full-time employment, with frequently too much ovetime, and lived pretty comfortably without an added income source. Since you asked, I only began in November 2011. But I had an experienced mentor, my gf, GACryptic, who has been an MS for years. No, I've no MSPA certification. And I never will unless it is free. Previously, I defied any certified members to copy-and-paste the job offers they received which us lowly mortals did not. None replied. My take on it is, unless you intend a full-time MS career, certification (which would then be tax-deductible) is not worth any investment.


mlmagic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you D'Agosto!
>
> Good info and am excited to start somewhere and
> see what I think. This seems to be an interesting
> thing to do. I don't NEED the money to make a
> living, as my husband and I are self-employed, but
> I am looking for ways to bring a little cash in
> here and there and do it on my time, my way, so
> this seems a good fit. How long have you been
> involved in MS? Would love to hear more about it
> and are you "certified?" Some of the companies
> seem to push for that as I am signing up with as
> many as I can and thanks for that tip!

Dagosto Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You and I are in the same boat, mlmagic. I have
> full-time employment, with frequently too much
> ovetime, and lived pretty comfortably without an
> added income source. Since you asked, I only began
> in November 2011. But I had an experienced mentor,
> my gf, GACryptic, who has been an MS for years.
> No, I've no MSPA certification. And I never will
> unless it is free. Previously, I defied any
> certified members to copy-and-paste the job offers
> they received which us lowly mortals did not. None
> replied. My take on it is, unless you intend a
> full-time MS career, certification (which would
> then be tax-deductible) is not worth any
> investment.
>
>
> mlmagic Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Thank you D'Agosto!
> >
> > Good info and am excited to start somewhere and
> > see what I think. This seems to be an
> interesting
> > thing to do. I don't NEED the money to make a
> > living, as my husband and I are self-employed,
> but
> > I am looking for ways to bring a little cash in
> > here and there and do it on my time, my way, so
> > this seems a good fit. How long have you been
> > involved in MS? Would love to hear more about
> it
> > and are you "certified?" Some of the companies
> > seem to push for that as I am signing up with
> as
> > many as I can and thanks for that tip!

Thanks for that info! I have done my first 3 MS this week and it was alot of fun!
I was not too crazy about the car dealership one, but luckily they were not too pushy with me and I have the self-confidence to stop that, if needed! ;>
The restaurant shops I did this week were fun, I feel the fee was good ($25 pay, plus a $25 gift card they send to go again) So the meal was pretty much free. It was an easy shop and I did not have to "pretend" to be a customer buying a car, from a lot...not sure I will do that again, unless the fee is GREAT! Ha!

I will say, the forms to fill out after are a bit, but I know I will get used to it and it won't take so long as I get better at this!

Will see how they "rate" me on my survey's and if I did ok!
I am not going to get MSPA certified right now. Will just do this for a bit and see how I like it!
I made the cut with Coyle and hope to do some shops with them and get in "good" with them, as from what i read around, they offer shops in some classy places!

I have an IKEA shop lined up next week and holy moly, you would think it was an evaluation of congress! The paperwork is intense...Anyone done these and think it's worth it? $70 fee is paid to shopper.

Have a great weekend all!

CheeChild Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Welcome mlmagic!
>
> Mystery shopping a fun (and sometimes
> exasperating) way to make some extra money. Yes,
> the certifications are legit. I have a silver
> certification. I am not really sure how much it
> benefits you to have one. Would I get fewer jobs
> if I didn't have it? I have no way of knowing
> because I've had one since I started shopping.
> But it's cheap to get a silver, so I think it's
> worth the investment.
>
> The best tip I can offer you is this: buy
> yourself a digital recorder and (if it is legal in
> your state) audio tape your assignments. My
> digital recorder is my most valuable MS tool.
> Here's what I do:
>
> Before I enter the location, I record the date,
> time and name of the business. That is recording
> #1. Then, I start a second recording and let it
> record while I am doing the shop. It captures
> everything that happens. When I exit the
> location, I click stop...so that ends recording
> #2. Then, I do a third recording stating the time
> I departed, the descriptions and names of the
> employees I interacted with, and a summary of
> everything that happened. When it's time to do
> the report, I can quickly get the start and end
> times and employee descriptions from recording #1
> and #3 and usually recording 3 (my summary) will
> give me all the info I need to do the report.
> HOWEVER, it's nice to have recording #2 there if I
> really need to get some fine details I have
> forgotten.
>
> Here's another tip for using a digital recorder.
> The brand and model I have is the Olympus
> VN-5200PC, which is an excellent, small recorder
> that is shaped somewhat like a small cell phone.
> I keep it in a cell phone case (the kind you can
> clip onto your belt). This works great because I
> can clip it onto my belt and easily record my
> shops without drawing suspicion to myself. If I
> need to, I can even pull it out and talk into it
> as though I am talking into a phone (I hold it up
> to my head like I would a cell phone with the
> microphone end near my mouth, so it looks like I
> am talking on a phone). Works like a charm! It's
> small and fits into my hand so well that nobody
> can see it's a digital recorder. They just think I
> am talking on my phone. I've been doing this for
> a few years now and I have it down to a science.
>
> Of course, I don't usually use the "talk on the
> cell phone" technique while doing my shops too
> often. I only do that when there is some reason I
> need to record something important that the
> recorder may have missed and I think I may
> forget.
>
> It's also great for clothing shops because when I
> go into the fitting room or rest room, I can
> quickly whisper some notes into the recorder.
>
> Again, you need to make sure it is legal in your
> state to audio tape people without their
> knowledge. It is legal in some states, and not in
> others.
>
> Re: car shops...each person has their own feelings
> about them but I wouldn't accept one for less than
> $50. I hate dealing with car salespeople and I
> find those assignments to be time-consuming and a
> hassle. Other people feel differently.
>
> As for Coyle, a lot of people love that company
> and they do have really nice restaurants and other
> assignments. In my opinion, though, their reports
> are too involved. Their fine dining reports take
> at LEAST 2.5 hours to do (often 3-4 hours) and
> they are very nitpicky about the format of the way
> you answer the questions in the report. I think
> they are PITA and not worth the aggravation, but I
> know others like them a lot.
>
> Good luck and let us know if you have other
> questions.

Wow and thank you for those amazing tips!!!!
I may do the silver cert soon, as yes, it is inexpensive and I do notice that when you are applying with alot of these companies, they ask for that number, so having it vs, not having it may be a good thing...

Can I ask you CheeChild, if you work full-time at this and how you keep things going, as once you do shops in your area, you have to wait to do them again, sometimes 3 months, or more! Just wonder what you seasoned pros do, to keep busy and get organized with this.
I will say, the forms are time consuming, so will be looking for ways to streamline that, so i am not spending hours after doing them!
Yikes...these first ones kicked my butt and I was up all night filling them out, as I did 3 shops in one evening and the forms had to be completed within 12 hours, so I think I will not do THAT again! LOL!

Talk to you all later!

Read around the forum and you will find that most of us are registered with a whole lot of companies so that we are always coming into rotation on more work. You will also find that forms are a necessary evil and while you will get faster with particular shops/forms/form types, there are some that will always and forever be too much work for too little pay. Mystery shopping is a learning experience that never ends. The learning curve is at its steepest as you are just getting started.

Some folks do this as full-time work, though that is not feasible in many markets due either to the cost of living or the the availability of shops or both. Generally the same shop is offered with the same $10 fee whether you live in a relatively inexpensive area or a very expensive area, whether the shop is 2 miles away or 30 miles away.

What's the "silver certificate"? How can I get one? Is this necessary to be an MS?

It's a certification provided by the MSPA (Mystery Shopping Providers Association) and by reading around you will find that most people on this forum don't find it all that necessary and helpful these days. There are some that found the cost ($15) to be low enough they wanted to give it a try, but at this point have not necessarily seen any increase in either the quantity or types of jobs offered. I did this on a very part-time basis for a few years and now am considered full-time for almost 4 years. The only certification I've ever gotten is for video shopping 2 years ago and even that was not required.

Interesting. On several threads here there has been little talk of any bonus paid to a certified shopper. I'd be curious which companies do since that would add a concrete value to the certification process.

I'd be interested to hear, too. I have worked for 4 years for a number of companies and am certified and have never been offered a bonus for being certified. An UN-certified family member works for many of the same companies I do and makes exactly the same for shops. Let us know, Rob, maybe we need to sign up with the companies you work for.

Has anyone seen my manure spreader? I'm sure I parked it somewhere near here.

You know Cettie, someday I hope you will stop being so shy and tell us what you really think! ROTFLMAO!

I beg to differ Rob.

I've been shopping since October 2011, just a few months. I'm not signed up as a "Silver, Gold, Platinum, Uranium, or heck, even Plutonium shopper"! I am a SERIOUS shopper, and I believe that because I've always done the best I could, even as a newbie (ie: submitting great 10 worthy reports, on time, calling schedulers if I have a problem, and most importantly being honest), that I have a LOT of shops and am on my way to earning a nice reputation with MSC's.

I've also gotten bonuses without certification - and not only because I've taken "last minute" shops.



rob cascioli Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have done a lot of shops for IntelliShop, and
> have found them to be very reliable. Getting the
> certifications will tell the MS companies that you
> are a serious shopper and will get you in line for
> many shops. Some companies pay a bonus to MSPA
> certified shoppers.

klhofbauer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I beg to differ Rob.
>
> I've been shopping since October 2011, just a few
> months. I'm not signed up as a "Silver, Gold,
> Platinum, Uranium, or heck, even Plutonium
> shopper"! I am a SERIOUS shopper, and I believe
> that because I've always done the best I could,
> even as a newbie (ie: submitting great 10 worthy
> reports, on time, calling schedulers if I have a
> problem, and most importantly being honest), that
> I have a LOT of shops and am on my way to earning
> a nice reputation with MSC's.
>
> I've also gotten bonuses without certification -
> and not only because I've taken "last minute"
> shops.
>

While I agree with every opinion you expressed here, Klhofbauer, I am curious as to how you obtained these bonuses? I myself have only managed one, and that because of a scheduler typo which I jumped on with both feet less than 30 seconds after the email was sent.

Bonuses generally come around the end of the month or the end of a project. In my area there are few shops that are not snagged so end of month/end of project rather becomes 'emergency, somebody screwed up or flaked'. Last fall I did a couple of shops at $20 and they contacted me for more at $50 because someone else failed to perform and their deadline loomed. They were done on a 'drop everything and run' basis and had nothing to do with certification but everything to do with reputation.

Exactly, Flash, looming deadlines are what generates bonus money. But that's what Klhofbauer denied getting bonuses for. So I was curious. Still am.

I have seen bonuses plus mileage for hinterland shops well before the deadlines. These come about when the scheduler KNOWS there is nobody out there and a shopper will have to drive in from somewhere. There are those companies that recognize the 'facts of life' and work proactively rather than nag everybody all month with endless emails that culminate in an offer of a whopping $2 bonus for a 50 mile drive,

One nice thing about emails, they cost as little to delete unread as they did to send.

Interesting stuff indeed...Could I ask if those of you doing this full time, what that means in terms of days, hours in a month? And what the pay is, or what one can reasonably expect?

Thanks alot! Did my first few shops recently and am getting the hang of it. I can see it will take a bit of time to learn the ropes! Yikes ;>

rob cascioli Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Getting the
> certifications will tell the MS companies that you
> are a serious shopper and will get you in line for
> many shops. Some companies pay a bonus to MSPA
> certified shoppers.

Prove it. Name one. Cite one instance of a bonus offered, with documentation. Let's see it, all in public. No more "some companies" or "some times." If you know this is true you should be able to prove it.

But I bet you can't.

Dagosto -

Taking a couple out of the way shops. (They weren't last minute). I also negotiated a couple. (again, not last minute). Two I received AFTER I signed up (a normal sign up, early in the month), I had the scheduler email me and say, "I'll add a $2.00 bonus to it."

I have NO CLUE why. In fact, I even emailed her back and said, "You don't have to do that, I don't mind." But the bonus was still here.

Please keep in mind - we are NOT talking about large bonuses either. $10 is the max I got, and that was because it was over Thanksgiving weekend when the scheduler called. It wasn't last minute, but he knew I was driving that way because I had emailed this scheduler *before* I took my trip and simply asked him, "Do you happen to have any shops along Interstate 10, I'll be traveling that way during these hours, and then again on the way home." I picked up one that wasn't bonused on my way *to* family, but not on the way home. So I just asked if there were any available for my trip home. (they were not posted up on the jobs board). When this scheduler called me he said he would give me a $5 bonus (for one on the way home 4 days later), I said, "Make it 10 and I'll do it."

Also, this does NOT happen a lot - I've only had a handful bonused, but they still were offered.

I just tried to negotiate for another few - at least for mileage/gas because they are 2 & 4 hour drives - 1 way - respectively, but I was added as backup only, AND she said in her email, "If they offer bonuses and we need a backup". So those are still up in the air. Technically I could do both of them on the same route - but it is still a long day, I would have to leave the house at 7am, hit the first shop at 9, that will take an hour; then leave there, drive another 2 hours, hit up the second shop. Now we are at Noon, which is lunch hour, so my proposed target may not be in the office. So now I have to wait and then see the person, there's another hour, +1 also for the shop itself. It's now 2pm, and I still have to drive another 4 hours - so that's why I asked for these two to have a bonus.

Hope that helps.

*Edited because I can't spell*



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2012 11:52AM by klhofbauer.

mlmagic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Interesting stuff indeed...Could I ask if those of
> you doing this full time, what that means in terms
> of days, hours in a month? And what the pay is, or
> what one can reasonably expect?

Mlmagic - I don't really do this "full-time" - though I think I come pretty darn close. I started out only doing jobs on the weekends, and kept myself fairly busy. I tried to do 6-7 each Sat & Sun. The first two months I earned somewhere over $500. The 2nd month, I took it easy with Christmas, and only earned 400. January just nailed me.

I have a full-time job, but I had to take a 20% paycut the first of December. I then started doing MS'ing Wed., Sat & Sun. However, that just ain't working out for me - so now I end up the first couple weeks of a month slammed with shops every day - and toward the end of the month, I'm trying to just fill the weekends.

(note - that's a good thing, then I can concentrate on my "work work" - what I call my Full-Time job) Fortunately, my FT job is as a Telecommuter and as long as I have my work-work done, they guys are cool with me having a 2nd job.

Also, a lot depends on how many shops you do in a day. The most I did was 9 - 8 of the shops were identical and I knew the report. Scanning and resizing my photos took the longest. I live about 45 minutes from the city I shop - so calculating that is a *definite*. Most of the time if I have 4-5 shops scheduled I can plan on leaving the house by 8am - first shop at 9am, and not arriving back by 4pm - last shop done around 230pm - then get home, start the coffee, warm up the scanner, download pics, makes for a long day. This is my routine on Wed., Sat., & Sundays.

It's just my husband and I - and he knows how to cook. If he doesn't - he can scrounge! *laugh*


> Thanks a lot! Did my first few shops recently and
> am getting the hang of it. I can see it will take
> a bit of time to learn the ropes! Yikes ;>

You learn something new every single time you shop. I know I do!

Dagosto, while it doesn't happen all the time, I have gotten bonuses without asking. Just a few days ago I told a scheduler I found a bunch of parking lot jobs in the same area and e-mailed that I could take all of them. When assigned the average bonus for each was in the 50 to 60% range. I guess it could be because it's the end of the month, but I hadn't seen the jobs posted before so who knows. Other times I've taken out of town jobs and told the schedulers I was there for other jobs anyway and they have still included trip bonuses.

mlmagic, the questions you asked are impossible to answer. There is no consistency in this business and it can be feast or famine. Obviously I work more than a set number of days, but if I base it on 8 hours equals 1 day then last month I technically worked 2 more days than this month with 3 more shops, but my income from December was almost 2 1/2 times what it was in January. With the holidays over my goal for this month was to hit it hard and try to work even more than last month. The jobs weren't there unless I wanted to take a bunch at $6 to $8 and that was not going to happen.

Thanks for all the info and answers! I too can see this is an industry where there will be alot of rotation and figuring out what shops are the least time consuming for the money, or it's like working for peanuts!
I have not, nor will I accept those $5-10 shops. Just isn't worth it to me, so I know that limits oneself already.
I do not NEED a big income from MS, but am looking for ways to bring in a little spending $ to take some pressure off my hubby.I would be happy with $ 100 a week, if that is do-able!
I guess I'll find out.
Thanks guys!

That's a good and reasonable goal. Even at $10 if it's an easy peasy shop you only have to do 2 of those a day. Don't discount some of those $10 shops, if your in the mall anyway and they take 15 minutes with a report that takes that or less it can be a good use of your time. Just don't take those $5 ones!

I did an IKEA shop several months ago. I remember that the estimate for time spent in the store was around 3 hours, and it took me 6. The report took me 6 hours to put together, too. I would do it again if I were desperate for $60, but otherwise no.
>
> I have an IKEA shop lined up next week and holy
> moly, you would think it was an evaluation of
> congress! The paperwork is intense...Anyone done
> these and think it's worth it? $70 fee is paid to
> shopper.
>
> Have a great weekend all!