1. Forums
  2. Member Introductions

Great to be here!

April 24, 2015 03:02PM
Good morning to you all! I'm new here and to mystery shopping. I've been doing lots of reading and research and am excited to get started. I'm a bit OCD when it comes to organization so am still working on getting all my ducks in a row but I'm nearly there. I will admit I'm a bit anxious about doing my first shop so may be procrastinating a bit with the whole organization thing.

I've seen some great shops as I've browsed around and was eager to share with my daughter. She promptly (and loudly... ha!) told me I was nuts and that it was all a scam. Consequently, I am now bound and determined to prove her wrong :-)

As you may have determined from my user name, I am in the midwest, specifically Indiana, so would love to hear suggestions on the best companies to sign up with that are heavy with opportunities in this little part of the world.
Reply
Log In
x

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

Already a member? Log In.

April 24, 2015 03:11PM
Hi, Bobbie, welcome to the forum! There's a lot of competition for shop assignments in most areas of the country because there are a lot of mystery shoppers. Since different shops are available with different companies depending on the part of the country, those who could best answer your questions and provide detailed information are those who are already shopping in Indiana and are your competition. Many successful mystery shoppers spend a lot of time researching the companies and keeping a detailed client list of those companies. Because of the time spent, most shoppers consider this a business resource that is very valuable.

My best advice would be to sign up with a lot of mystery shopping companies. Build yourself a client list of at least 50-100 companies. Many forum members are registered with 150+ and there are a number of our forum members who are registered with over 200. There's a great list of about 200 companies at the bottom of this page. Researching and registering with a lot of companies makes mystery shopping very time consuming when you are getting started, but it's a great investment in your new small business.

Best luck, and happy shopping!
Reply
April 24, 2015 07:02PM
Welcome Bobbie and good luck! While there are scams out there (if you're sent a check, asked to cash it and then send them most of it back it's a scam) mystery shopping really isn't a scam and I make a decent living from it.
Reply
April 24, 2015 07:46PM
@jpgilham wrote:

Welcome Bobbie and good luck! While there are scams out there (if you're sent a check, asked to cash it and then send them most of it back it's a scam) mystery shopping really isn't a scam and I make a decent living from it.

Thanks, jpgilham! Thank goodness I'm smart enough not to do the "I'm a millionaire prince, please cash this check for me" thing :-) However, until I can show my daughter the payment from a shop, I'm pretty sure she's going to stick with the "you're dumber than you look" attitude.

The only thing I've done to date that has me just a little unsettled is sending a copy of my driver's license (along with all the other personal info you are required to send) and still not hearing back from the company. It's been several days which is far longer than I've waited for any of the others I've signed up with so far. They are a sub-company (for lack of a better term) of a large company I've read a lot about here on the forum so am not to the panic stage just yet.

Still researching, still reading, still organizing... not yet shopping...
Reply
April 24, 2015 11:54PM
Bobbie,

Nearly all companies ask personal information including your social security number. A few will ask for your driver's license and an I-9 form. The key is to sign up with reputable companies - not fall for the scams. Good links to companies are at the bottom of the page in the "Official list . . . "

If you have a question about that particular company, have a look at what others say about that company or ask it in new thread.

Good luck.

PS: (Don't forget to do a shop or five. There is a lot of information on the forum, but I don't think you can substitute for that experience to learn if this is for you.)

Happily shopping Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut
Reply
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login