Hello, my name is John Antonacci. I just signed up. Looking forward to mystery shopping. Since I don't have a car, I'm essentially totally dependent on online mystery shopping, although I live near 2 major shopping centers that have a number of national chain stores & restaurants that I can shop. I'm also interested in travel related mystery shopping where I don't have to pay anything to partake of hotels, airfare, dining out, etc. If anyone can direct me to the best of my above criteria, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the forum, John. Forgive me if I sound negative. It is rather that I want to share some realities.

Most online mystery shops and phone shops can be performed by any shopper around the country. When domestic situations made it hard for me to get out and shop, some companies I have worked with for many years have stepped up with work I could do from home when I let them know. I do occasionally snag an online or other from home shops, but it never has been regular enough to make it a significant source for shopping.

Only one shopping center available to you limits you heavily for retail shops as while shops are frequently done monthly, there usually is a rotation requirement such that you can only do one visit every other month or once every 3 months. You need to evaluate the possibility of public transportation to other retail areas, if for no other reason than to start building your reputation with a number of MSCs.

For travel shops, whether they are prepaid or reimbursement, an MSC is not going to give you access until they have firsthand experience with you as a reliable shopper who follows directions with no excuses and who submits high quality reports that need virtually no editing to satisfy the client. They don't want to anger you by not paying/reimbursing and they sure don't want to have to send in a second shopper on their own dime.

Oh ok. Thanks for being upfront with me. I am aware that mystery shopping is never going to be a full time job, or even a part time job. My goal is to, well as far as side hustles go, make as much money as possible as quickly as possible. Still, I'm realistic. But I do want to make the most of my time nonetheless with this side hustle. Thanks 4 suggestion of using public transportation, I didn't think about that. There is another shopping center within walking distance of me, so I have 2 of them near me.
Thanks Flash.

At the bottom of each page of the forum is a link to our list of Mystery Shopping Companies. It has not been updated in a while but should get you started registering with MSCs for work. Before you get started registering, I would encourage you to open a new Gmail account to use to keep your personal email from your work emails.

@JohnAntonacci wrote:

Oh ok. Thanks for being upfront with me. I am aware that mystery shopping is never going to be a full time job, or even a part time job. My goal is to, well as far as side hustles go, make as much money as possible as quickly as possible. Still, I'm realistic. But I do want to make the most of my time nonetheless with this side hustle. Thanks 4 suggestion of using public transportation, I didn't think about that. There is another shopping center within walking distance of me, so I have 2 of them near me.
Thanks Flash.

John,

For a short while i was without my own transportation. I was able to continue shopping using mass transit, walking and biking.

Using mass transit in a small or medium sized city works. IF you can cluster shops in an easily accessible area, like your shopping centers. I believe there are many shoppers on this board that use the NYC subways and buses to do shops. My guess is that's not your situation.

Take the bus to a centralized location and then work out from there, walking or biking.

I don't know what your economic situation or health is, but many cities give free bicycles to people in need of transportation that meet certain requirements. This may expand your shopping area further than what you can walk to. Also, many mass transit options allow you to bring a bike with you so you can use it where you get off.

Also, look for food delivery shops if you are within delivery distance of some restaurants. I would guess you are if you are near shopping centers. If you aren't in the delivery area, I and other shoppers here have had food delivered to locations like malls and hotels where we were waiting. Just have the delivery driver call you when they arrive at the mall entrance or hotel to complete the shop.