As with mystery shopping, merchandising companies sometimes ask who else you work for. Be very careful in answering that question. Some of them think the others represent a conflict of interest for the strangest of reasons. I am an independent contractor. I do whatever I can to avoid answering that question or I name a little-known regional company or tell about one I used to work for. Some merchandising companies do consider you an employee, even if your one assignment for them comes up every six weeks. Others consider everything you do independent. There is one company that has greeting cards that makes high demands on the merchandiser come holidays. I haven't worked for them. Some of them, if they have regular weekly work, for example, may expect you to take more than one store--a little route. It's possible to make a good match of several of these companies.