I am seeing a whole lot of new ones starting at $10 in my area.

@lms1209 wrote:

Typically how long does it take to be paid for the shop? I’ve done various shops for different MSC some are instant through the end of the following month

Read the IC agreement that you signed with the company.

@sestrahelena wrote:

I am seeing a whole lot of new ones starting at $10 in my area.

Yep!
My daughter enjoyed a double scoop in a waffle cone after two tournament games this morning. We were just over an hour from home and I picked up 6 of these. Did 4 of them in-between games and two on our way home. She got ice cream, dill pickle popcorn, 4 Starbucks Frappuccinos (the kind in the glass bottles) a cheeseburger & fries for lunch and two Gatorade fits....
She likes seeing that 'fee' signage! Lol!

Unfortunately in this city I have not come across surcharges on visa cards for years. I used to do these shops back when we were allowed to purchase something for $10 all jobs that made it worthwhile for me. But now when there is no purchase at probably 99% of places due to no surcharges the fee is just not enough. And the few that are leftovers and get a higher fee are most likely places that do not qualify for one reason or another so I do not want to bother to drive over to find out it is not a place or whatever and get no fee and no purchase.

I was a bit confused by how much payment you get. Do you get the fee plus the reimbursement (if there is a surcharge)? Or is the shop fee inclusive of the reimbursement?

Although nothing in the instructions addresses reimbursement for purchases, we have found that up to $10 is reimbursed on the shops where purchases were required. And the shops are done correctly, of course.

And this new round came none too soon. I was actually considering doing some well-bonused car dealerships *shudders, wimpers* because I thought I'd have no work this week. I will gladly knock these out and even travel to do it, possibly making less money, rather than even walking into a dealership. Hate those places!

@sestrahelena wrote:

Although nothing in the instructions addresses reimbursement for purchases, we have found that up to $10 is reimbursed on the shops where purchases were required. And the shops are done correctly, of course.

And this new round came none too soon. I was actually considering doing some well-bonused car dealerships *shudders, wimpers* because I thought I'd have no work this week. I will gladly knock these out and even travel to do it, possibly making less money, rather than even walking into a dealership. Hate those places!

I did 8 yesterday in-between picking up my kids from school & going back to their school for BINGO for books (and pizza/ ice cream lol) I had about 90 minutes to burn.
Today I did 6 in about an hour total.
Even with some miles $60/hr (that's not including the reimbursement) is just fine with me.
The team was going out to lunch, but since my daughter was just subbing on this team and only knew three of the girls I easily talked her out of Culvers with the team. So getting the burger/ fries & ice cream paid for great, because I would have spent that anyway.

Also, I don't remember seeing this before but the current instructions say to get a photo of your purchase item's shelf tag price or menu price. Is this now required on the report, was it there before or did they just throw that in for fun?

@sestrahelena wrote:

Also, I don't remember seeing this before but the current instructions say to get a photo of your purchase item's shelf tag price or menu price. Is this now required on the report, was it there before or did they just throw that in for fun?

It's new, but not a requirement. They **want** it and well, since they aren't paying extra I'm not doing extra. My shops from yesterday have been approved and there were a few with purchases.

I have not done these this year but if some stores are not indicating a surcharge is being charged on the receipt and you are having the msc deny payment then having a photo of the shelf tag or a menu or something to prove you got charged extra would seem helpful.

@sandyf wrote:

I have not done these this year but if some stores are not indicating a surcharge is being charged on the receipt and you are having the msc deny payment then having a photo of the shelf tag or a menu or something to prove you got charged extra would seem helpful.

You have to photograph signage in the store showing they charge a fee or give a cash discount.
That's enough 'proof' unless they decide to pay extra.

The problem I had previously was that the employee told me verbally there was a fee, as we are supposed to also ask as well as look for signage. Many, many, many stores will just give you a receipt that shows the final charge and not the breakdown so proving a fee is impossible.
That's when I stopped buying something for those situations. The editors paid the shop fee but not reimbursement. The guidelines aren't 100% clear, but lean waaaay towards making a purchase even if just verbally stated.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2023 11:09PM by luckygirl0100.

Yes lucky that is true but some forum members are saying they did not get paid when their receipt did not show a surcharge even tho they had signage photos. At least I am pretty sure I read that above in the many pages of this thread.

@sandyf wrote:

Yes lucky that is true but some forum members are saying they did not get paid when their receipt did not show a surcharge even tho they had signage photos. At least I am pretty sure I read that above in the many pages of this thread.

Yes. And if you have the price pic and figure the sales tax, you will be able to prove to the MSC that your receipt total was more than it should have been, indicating a possible surcharge. So maybe this is the MSC's solution to the problem that shoppers have had with that.

@sestrahelena wrote:

@sandyf wrote:

Yes lucky that is true but some forum members are saying they did not get paid when their receipt did not show a surcharge even tho they had signage photos. At least I am pretty sure I read that above in the many pages of this thread.

Yes. And if you have the price pic and figure the sales tax, you will be able to prove to the MSC that your receipt total was more than it should have been, indicating a possible surcharge. So maybe this is the MSC's solution to the problem that shoppers have had with that.

Except that figuring the sales tax in some areas pretty much takes a math degree. Lol!

Chicago has state tax, county tax and city tax (all of which are different rates) and then the percentage on items is different based on what it is. Used to have an extra tax for sugar content too... and then there is the added .07 if you get a bag for your item(s)
I've been getting more than one item usually, staying about the $10 mark. Today I used a coupon that was sitting next to the register for 'buy one get one 50% cheeseburgers'. I got 2 cheeseburgers & a small fry for $12.xx
It gets all kinds of complicated, lol.

@luckygirl0100 Since you got shops from Friday approved. I would like your insight on purchasing multiple items when signage triggers a purchase. There is something in the guidelines and survey that led me to believe that you can only get one item this time around instead of making a purchase of several items. I guess since it says show the shelf or menu price of the item. I know that each cycle has adjustments, but last time if there was a sign stating a minimum $5 on all card purchases, then I would get reimbursed on buying 3 sodas and a pack of gum if the total came to $9.

One of the shops I did was an adult beverage station that does not serve food. Reviewing it now, I probably should've added the tip on the receipt since I have done it before and those were reimbursed. I am not sure why I
didn't and I wound up tipping cash.

@sandyf I don't see any carryovers from the cycle that ended a couple of days ago in this set. All of the ones I see are at the starting base of $10. Are there any in your area going for more than $10?

@sandyf I expected to see more signage today since that has been the trend. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I came across four merchants in the last cycle that had just initiated the charge or were scheduled to do so. The restaurant I went to this evening had a 2% inflation surcharge posted I know it isn't a card usage fee, but I wonder why they just don't change their menu prices. It's probably cheaper to run a couple of color paper through the printer instead of getting all their menus reprinted.

I did four of these today. None had any signage posted and the employees knew nothing about it when asked. I've seen barely any signage at all in my area. Still like the shops as they are so fast and easy, and there are tons of locations this cycle. All four were within a mile or two of each other. Makes for a very nice hourly pay rate.

I haven't included any photos of menu/ pricing. Like I said, if they want extra then they have to pay for it. I have just put the subtotal as the menu price as it is.... the price of the items all together since you can't line by line it. Some receipts have been just a total, some have listed each item.
Actually the only issue I've had so far is one that verbally told me the minimum was a dollar. There was no signage and absolutely nothing in the store was under a dollar. I think the employee was being sarcastic. As in, yeah a minimum? A dollar.... but since a shop in a previous round was sent back and reimbursement not paid (and the editor scolded me for making a purchase) I did not this time. Well, I was scolded and my shop declined for not making the purchase.
Their editors really need to be on the same page. I sent this editor a screenshot of the email from the other one.... no response...


quote=heywave]
@luckygirl0100 Since you got shops from Friday approved. I would like your insight on purchasing multiple items when signage triggers a purchase. There is something in the guidelines and survey that led me to believe that you can only get one item this time around instead of making a purchase of several items. I guess since it says show the shelf or menu price of the item. I know that each cycle has adjustments, but last time if there was a sign stating a minimum $5 on all card purchases, then I would get reimbursed on buying 3 sodas and a pack of gum if the total came to $9.

One of the shops I did was an adult beverage station that does not serve food. Reviewing it now, I probably should've added the tip on the receipt since I have done it before and those were reimbursed. I am not sure why I
didn't and I wound up tipping cash.

@sandyf I don't see any carryovers from the cycle that ended a couple of days ago in this set. All of the ones I see are at the starting base of $10. Are there any in your area going for more than $10?

@sandyf I expected to see more signage today since that has been the trend. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I came across four merchants in the last cycle that had just initiated the charge or were scheduled to do so. The restaurant I went to this evening had a 2% inflation surcharge posted I know it isn't a card usage fee, but I wonder why they just don't change their menu prices. It's probably cheaper to run a couple of color paper through the printer instead of getting all their menus reprinted.[/quote]

@luckygirl0100 The editors are not on the same page with each other. I even had one editor try to create their own guidelines for this shop last year. When they cited the reason, I asked them to show me where it stated those new facts and never heard back. They declined a shop which I won on appeal.

@Snuffycuts99 I had one shop today where a manager didn't know if they charged a fee for debit cards and said there was no minimum. Someone left their itemized receipt behind and I was able to confirm that the establishment did not charge a fee whether on a separate line item nor incorporated into the menu price. This was just dumb luck though.

This reminded me of an earlier poster having the same issue. There was no signage either.

I checked the website two days ago and there was nothing but since people are seeing shops in other cities I will look again. For several months now the only shops I see seem to be in houses or weird businesses,. One seems to be someone who plans shows in Las Vegas...nothing to buy there and prob out of a house. Another was a place you could make an appt and go on a ski machine for a huge amt of money per hour. It did not sound like a place that had an open door. Traffic and parking is such an issue here that since they first came out months ago I have never seen any two shops near each other to make it worthwhile for me. I have never seen a surcharge here in LA. I have only seen gas stations where the cash price is lower and just a few of those.
And Lucky, the good reason for taking a shelf price pic is for the shopper to prove that they got charged extra so that is extra work you might want to do.

@sandyf wrote:

I checked the website two days ago and there was nothing but since people are seeing shops in other cities I will look again. For several months now the only shops I see seem to be in houses or weird businesses,. One seems to be someone who plans shows in Las Vegas...nothing to buy there and prob out of a house. Another was a place you could make an appt and go on a ski machine for a huge amt of money per hour. It did not sound like a place that had an open door. Traffic and parking is such an issue here that since they first came out months ago I have never seen any two shops near each other to make it worthwhile for me. I have never seen a surcharge here in LA. I have only seen gas stations where the cash price is lower and just a few of those.
And Lucky, the good reason for taking a shelf price pic is for the shopper to prove that they got charged extra so that is extra work you might want to do.

Sandy.....
If I'm shopping near home MAYBE this would prove it. But a lot of these are in the city where the multiple & different tax rates would be a NIGHTMARE to try and work backwards to calculate. The shelf tag wouldn't prove a damn thing, because I wouldn't be able to prove what the tax rate is.

A coupe of weeks ago, I went by myself to an local mom and pop fish place.. They were open several years ago and they closed but new owners reopen it about two years ago.. They food is excellent and the service is always good..

I received my bill at it was like $ 18.21 after tax and before tip... When I got to the register, I noticed a sign that says that they will charge to use my debit/credit card.. (This was the only place I saw this).. I did not see the sign when I went inside.. There was no sign on the door and this was not mentioned on the menu.

My debit card ticket was like this

Total : 18.21

Customer Fee: .80

Grand Total $ 20.21






On 3-26-23 I noticed that there was a Visa debit/credit shop that I could compete... My card is not a VISA debit/card. It is a Master Card Debit card that is through my local bank..

I was looking over the guidelines and it says that I will need a picture of the sign that shows that charge.. The place they have the register and the sign it will be hard to get the picture of the sign.... The other pictures will not be a problem.


If I decide to do this shop, will my shop be accepted since it is a MC and not VISA card?

Also if I decide to do this shop later, how can I tell if they approve it not?\

ETA: When I saw the sign, I asked about it. The cashier said that they started about a month ago and it was the owners idea.. So they do charge for me to use my card..

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2023 12:53PM by Isaiah4031a.

The shops are being done for Visa, so it will not be accepted if you use a Mastercard debit card.

@Isaiah4031a wrote:

A coupe of weeks ago, I went by myself to an local mom and pop fish place.. They were open several years ago and they closed but new owners reopen it about two years ago.. They food is excellent and the service is always good..

I received my bill at it was like $ 18.21 after tax and before tip... When I got to the register, I noticed a sign that says that they will charge to use my debit/credit card.. (This was the only place I saw this).. I did not see the sign when I went inside.. There was no sign on the door and this was not mentioned on the menu.

My debit card ticket was like this

Total : 18.21

Customer Fee: .80

Grand Total $ 20.21






On 3-26-23 I noticed that there was a Visa debit/credit shop that I could compete... My card is not a VISA debit/card. It is a Master Card Debit card that is through my local bank..

I was looking over the guidelines and it says that I will need a picture of the sign that shows that charge.. The place they have the register and the sign it will be hard to get the picture of the sign.... The other pictures will not be a problem.


If I decide to do this shop, will my shop be accepted since it is a MC and not VISA card?

Also if I decide to do this shop later, how can I tell if they approve it not?\

ETA: When I saw the sign, I asked about it. The cashier said that they started about a month ago and it was the owners idea.. So they do charge for me to use my card..

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2023 01:17PM by mjt9598.

@Isaiah4031a I doubt your shop would be accepted if you use your MC. If you go to the first page of the guidelines, at the top under "Prep" it reads "A Visa Debit Card is required to be used for this assignment." Visa Debit Card is printed in blue where the rest of the text is black.

Also under Prep it reads "A purchase using your Visa Debit card is required in certain situations, but not ALL
shops." This might be confusing, but it follows the A VISA debit card is required. This just means that not every shop visit will require a purchase, only where certain conditions are met. If the conditions are met, then you will need to pay with a Visa Debit.

I think the only pics that would be difficult to get are the ones where there is signage at the POS and there is a buffer in between you, like at a bar. It is dark and will the picture be clear. I did one last year where they take the card out of your view, but I forgot what they wanted a picture of in those cases. They were picky about clear pics the last round that just ended compared to the cycle before.

I looked over the receipts for this shop I received yesterday and all of them except one has either Visa Debit on the same line or it has Debit in one section and Visa in another section. The one receipt that did not have Visa on it, just had Debit printed on it. The last 4 numbers are on the receipt and are the same as the other ones if the editor questions it, but I think the AID number or some other code on the receipt reveals the type of card. American Express appeared twice on my non-shop dinner receipt.

I am sure your MC starts with a 5. If the editor questions this receipt, I can send a pic of the front and back of the card that will have Visa Debit on it and show the first few numbers that starts with a 4 (Visa) and the last four that match the receipt.

If you still have the restaurant receipt, it might have MC on it. I used a MC yesterday at the gas station, but it did not have MC on it, only Debit. There are other codes on it like the AID that should clue in that it was a Mastercard.

My experience has been that less than 5% of stores have signs on the door that there is a surcharge.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2023 01:32PM by heywave.

All AmEx cards start with 3, Visa with 4, Mastercard with 5, Discover with 6.

@heywave wrote:

@Isaiah4031a I doubt your shop would be accepted if you use your MC. If you go to the first page of the guidelines, at the top under "Prep" it reads "A Visa Debit Card is required to be used for this assignment." Visa Debit Card is printed in blue where the rest of the text is black.

Also under Prep it reads "A purchase using your Visa Debit card is required in certain situations, but not ALL
shops." This might be confusing, but it follows the A VISA debit card is required. This just means that not every shop visit will require a purchase, only where certain conditions are met. If the conditions are met, then you will need to pay with a Visa Debit.

I think the only pics that would be difficult to get are the ones where there is signage at the POS and there is a buffer in between you, like at a bar. It is dark and will the picture be clear. I did one last year where they take the card out of your view, but I forgot what they wanted a picture of in those cases. They were picky about clear pics the last round that just ended compared to the cycle before.

I looked over the receipts for this shop I received yesterday and all of them except one has either Visa Debit on the same line or it has Debit in one section and Visa in another section. The one receipt that did not have Visa on it, just had Debit printed on it. The last 4 numbers are on the receipt and are the same as the other ones if the editor questions it, but I think the AID number or some other code on the receipt reveals the type of card. American Express appeared twice on my non-shop dinner receipt.

I am sure your MC starts with a 5. If the editor questions this receipt, I can send a pic of the front and back of the card that will have Visa Debit on it and show the first few numbers that starts with a 4 (Visa) and the last four that match the receipt.

If you still have the restaurant receipt, it might have MC on it. I used a MC yesterday at the gas station, but it did not have MC on it, only Debit. There are other codes on it like the AID that should clue in that it was a Mastercard.

My experience has been that less than 5% of stores have signs on the door that there is a surcharge.

I think I posted this in the wrong thread so this is a repeat. I'm confused:

@sestrahelena wrote:

Well, even newer instructions say the shelf photo is required. The item I chose was behind the counter with no visible price. I was able to submit without the photo and included a comment about the situation. We'll see if it flies. I can always submit a different interior photo if it comes back to me but I wanted to see what will happen. And what if you buy more than one item with different prices? There are no additional upload slots. Looks like we will have a lot of explaining to to. Lots of extra comments.

*****Anyone else notice YESTERDAY that a huge batch of these shops disappeared in the morning only to show up again later in the day? The number of shops dropped by more than half. The same thing happened today with the morning batch disappearing, but they haven't reappeared yet.

Just as I was about to hit REPLY, all those shops reappeared again.

@sestrahelena I had the same question yesterday. Last cycle, if there was signage that all card purchases get a 4% fee, then you could buy up to $10 and have it reimbursed There was no issue if you purchased a coke, fries, a hot dog, and a pack of gum and the total came to $9.50. There is something about the wording that made me think perhaps you can only get one item or in this case you would get a combo meal if you are gunning for a max reimbursement.

Today I noticed that most of these shops did not have signage concerning surcharges or minimums. I went below the minimum so that a charge was triggered and was fortunate that it appeared on the receipts. Fortunate since the fee doesn't always appear on the receipt as a separate item or they don't give you an itemized receipt, just one with a total . Today one place with no signage told me there was a surcharge and the receipt had no itemization. Of course, the editor will blame us for not providing an itemized receipt.

If you feel its likely that the business will not impose a surcharge, it won't matter whether you have a Visa debit card to perform the shop. Worst case scenario, if you did walk into a business that is going to require a purchase, you could always cancel the shop.

@lcubed3 wrote:

If you feel its likely that the business will not impose a surcharge, it won't matter whether you have a Visa debit card to perform the shop. Worst case scenario, if you did walk into a business that is going to require a purchase, you could always cancel the shop.

@lcubed3 I am sure that this would be a false report and we may see others post the same. It would be false since when you agree to do the shop you check off "I understand and will comply with all of the instructions and requirements above." The basic requirement is that you use a Visa Debit card.

How would someone have a feeling that the business doesn't impose a surcharge or minimum to use a card to make a purchase. I can't imagine doing this. I also can't see someone signing up for the shop, go to the location, and canceling once they see a sign at the register because they don't have the requisite Visa Debit.

I think these shops are tricky with the photo requirements especially with some restaurants and bars with their low lighting that make it challenging to get a clear picture. I seem to have quite a few blurry pics. This could be resolved with turning the flash ON, but I don't think the reaction is going to be all that positive from the employee. Some might find it uncomfortable to ask an employee, with 10 other customers within earshot, your questions about fees and minimums, but this happens alot.

The trend in charging a fee to use a card is on the rise. I came across four merchants recently that had just started or were scheduled to charge a fee. I hate when these shops don't have any signage and you don't find out unless you ask, like you are supposed to on this shop.

Some of these businesses are sneaky with the fee. I went to a restaurant with dine in seating and if I went there as a non-shopper, I am not sure I would've seen the signage at the cash register about surcharges. It wasn't on the menu. The real trick was that if you use a card, instead of placing that % fee as it's own line item, they incorporated it into the cost of the food item. If you ordered a sandwich that is $6 on the menu, but paid with a card, the price listed on your receipt is $6.24 (if they charge 4% for using a card).

The GPS on the app seems to be off on occasion. There are times when I am parked right in front of the business and the Check In button doesn't work and says Are you sure you are at the right place? We're showing you are .6 km away. I click report a problem, I take my outside pic, walk in, and after conducting the shop, jump in my car and go down the street and I hit reverify and it says Thank you you are close enough.

Look through this thread an you will find a disturbing number of reports of shops that get rejected. I received half pay on a shop a couple of cycles ago because the location wasn't accepting cards when I went to visit. Not sure why we as shoppers are penalized for this. It isn't our fault that the cc terminal is out of order.

It is not our fault that the credit/card system is down.

I just had one rejected at a nail place.
Sign up said fees were starting in June. Employees spoke NO English. Well maybe the words 'pedicure, full set, no chip'.... you get my point. I explained I asked about a fee and was just asked several times to sign in on the sheet (indicating what service ai wanted)
Shop was denied and I was told they DID charge a fee that the fee started last June.
I guess the editor spoke Vietnamese or Korean maybe? Maybe the editors should just do these shops as phone calls... lol they seem to be able to get info I'm not!



quote=heywave]

@lcubed3 wrote:

If you feel its likely that the business will not impose a surcharge, it won't matter whether you have a Visa debit card to perform the shop. Worst case scenario, if you did walk into a business that is going to require a purchase, you could always cancel the shop.

@lcubed3 I am sure that this would be a false report and we may see others post the same. It would be false since when you agree to do the shop you check off "I understand and will comply with all of the instructions and requirements above." The basic requirement is that you use a Visa Debit card.

How would someone have a feeling that the business doesn't impose a surcharge or minimum to use a card to make a purchase. I can't imagine doing this. I also can't see someone signing up for the shop, go to the location, and canceling once they see a sign at the register because they don't have the requisite Visa Debit.

I think these shops are tricky with the photo requirements especially with some restaurants and bars with their low lighting that make it challenging to get a clear picture. I seem to have quite a few blurry pics. This could be resolved with turning the flash ON, but I don't think the reaction is going to be all that positive from the employee. Some might find it uncomfortable to ask an employee, with 10 other customers within earshot, your questions about fees and minimums, but this happens alot.

The trend in charging a fee to use a card is on the rise. I came across four merchants recently that had just started or were scheduled to charge a fee. I hate when these shops don't have any signage and you don't find out unless you ask, like you are supposed to on this shop.

Some of these businesses are sneaky with the fee. I went to a restaurant with dine in seating and if I went there as a non-shopper, I am not sure I would've seen the signage at the cash register about surcharges. It wasn't on the menu. The real trick was that if you use a card, instead of placing that % fee as it's own line item, they incorporated it into the cost of the food item. If you ordered a sandwich that is $6 on the menu, but paid with a card, the price listed on your receipt is $6.24 (if they charge 4% for using a card).

The GPS on the app seems to be off on occasion. There are times when I am parked right in front of the business and the Check In button doesn't work and says Are you sure you are at the right place? We're showing you are .6 km away. I click report a problem, I take my outside pic, walk in, and after conducting the shop, jump in my car and go down the street and I hit reverify and it says Thank you you are close enough.

Look through this thread an you will find a disturbing number of reports of shops that get rejected. I received half pay on a shop a couple of cycles ago because the location wasn't accepting cards when I went to visit. Not sure why we as shoppers are penalized for this. It isn't our fault that the cc terminal is out of order.[/quote]