Hi! I just recently retired and I am kind of looking for something I can do at home to keep busy and make a little extra cash. I am going to post this message in another forum, also. Thanks!

Welcome! I wish you luck! I hope it works out for you.

@zoneranger – I’m still a newbie - I have only been doing this for a little more than 6 months, but I have the following opinions:

1) it's definitely fun
2) it definitely keeps you busy
3) don't invest in a video camera for shops – opportunities are few and far between, so it will take a while to recoup your investment
4) * visit this forum often for advice and tips
5) Be prepared to spend a lot of time doing paperwork (not just for writing the reports, but also keeping track of which MSCs have paid you, how much they paid you, when they paid you for tax purposes, etc.). Sometimes, I feel I go overboard on the paperwork part of things though.
6) ** visit this forum often for advice and tips
7) *** visit this forum often for advice and tips

Welcome to retirement, and welcome to this forum!

I don't do video shops, but the one I did do was an apartment complex and the MSC loaned me the gear.

There aren't enough near me to justify spending $5-600 on a "spy" camera. But it might be different in a big city or if you travel in your retirement. 5-6 video shops would recoup your expenditure, but you have to be signed up with the companies that offer those shops.

I'd suggest signing up with Marketforce and Intelli-shop as a start and then, if they have shops for you to do, don't take them at base pay, wait for bonuses. Especially on the fast food.

If you like it sign up for 5 new companies on the list on this forum every day. You never know when a company will land a client in your area.

Don't do targeted shops. The target typically knows they are beind shopped and won't be available for your phone call or visit in most instances.

Dont take fine dining or hotel shops unless you are very detailed and wouldn't mind spending a lot of time writing about your experiences. Search this site for Coyle discussions.

As mentioned, keep good records of your expenses including mileage to get to different locations.

Some people do routes of shops. Taking shops as they travel to wherever that cuts food, gas and entertainment expenses of the trip. Or the expressed purpose of travelers to shops nobody wants to go to for lucrative bonuses.

Most times it takes one or two shops of a certain type before you get the hang of it. Then the time required usually goes down dramatically.

Sorry for rambling. Hope this helps you.

If you're looking to stay home there are phone call or Internet only shops. Some pay ony $5-10 and you have to determine if you're willing to work for that. I suggest do one and see how long it takes you.

Others with Ath can pay $20-300, but require certain credit scores and hard pulls or inquiries on your credit report that could cause your credit rating to drop.

It seems people here eventually find a niche they like. Some do it for a living, some for extra money and some for "fun".

I TOTALLY agree with @wrosie ‘s comments.

The phone shops don’t pay a whole lot, but if you can find a handful of the same ones, it’s easy money because you can get a rhythm going and get into a groove. I usually pass them up if they are less than $10 and I can only get 2 or 3 of them. Most of the phone shops limit how many you can do for a certain client (but I recently stumbled into a gold mine of phone shops with one MSC – no, I will not tell y’all who it is with).

I also agree with the fine dining shop comment. I did one and realized how much time it took for the report, and how much it ruined my evening. It’s definitely not worth the free dining experience (it was not with Coyle, by the way).

The whole mystery shop thing is good for some extra cash, but don’t expect to make a living off of it.

The best thing, is that you are your own boss.

If you can find $8 mystery shops and do 5-10 a week, nice. You'll find your grove and probably be able to get the phone call and report done in 30-40 minutes. If you're good and detailed in the reports, they might just call you to do them when the project rolls around again, without posting the shops on the job board.

That makes for a nice paycheck at the end of the month. Basically at minimum wage without leaving home. Enough for a nice dinner out with your better half without a report to be done on that dinner.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2024 11:12PM by wrosie.

Regarding the video camera suggestion you may see for certain shops, I record audio and just say certain things at key times to help me know what happened and when. Handed my receipt? I'll say thank you as I put that receipt into the pocket (which makes a distinct noise to help me identify that moment when I play it back). Did they just call my name or order number? I'll say "OK, great!" or something like that in case I can't stop the recording there and then.

There are certain shops you may find are a better match for your interests. Some of these gas station shops seem so time-intensive to me, so I don't bother. But for some, I suppose they get into a groove and can churn them out like nobody's business.

Even with the simpler shops you may still get a good idea of how one location compares to another, and eventually it becomes second nature. In fact, if you eat somewhere on your own dime and start thinking about various things you would normally do in a mystery shopping situation at the same place, I would say that's a sign of a good, experienced shopper!

If you record someone, in person or on the phone, you have to notify them in some states. Others here can better speak to that.

I used to do bonused gas stations at $100 each, so I don't look at them at base pay. Distant from me but worth it as part of a route at $100 along with bonused grocery stores at $35 plus $10 in groceries each and several cheaper shops thrown in.

And I agree, I observe like I do even when not on a shop. If a wait person is excellent, I'll ask for a manager and tell them how good the service was. The wait person will usually panic you're going to complain. But I have to believes it makes their day and customers after me get stellar service also.

If you are OK with having your credit score bounce around and having someone else be able to see your credit score info, Curinos is worth a go.

They do monthly Microsoft Teams sessions where all you have to do is bop around the credit score websites and scroll through windows while the activity is recorded.

They take less than 30 minutes and pay up to $45. The company doesn't pay as fast as they used to, but they are still pretty good compared to others. The agent I work with is very nice and easygoing.