Several companies allow this. A well-known shopper and his wife do this all the time.

You are what they call a Hobby shopper. These people do it full-time, and it is their job. I've gotten high fives, but I am not willing to be away from home for weeks.

There is a company that hands these people routes every month. Then they add other jobs to go with it, So if you are doing this route that supposedly nets you around 10k a month, then you add on new homes, apartments, gas stations, and whatever else is out there, it is doable. Now the people that I know do it, they live and breath this stuff. They are willing to be away from their homes and significant others for weeks and months. I love being around my husband, and I wouldn't say I like all the backwoods traveling. But I do this because I have chosen it as my job.

I think I may know the couple you're referring to....when they are home, they live in a big city in the midwest...I first met the husband before they were married and if I recall his story, MSing is the only work he's ever done and he started as a young kid, living out of his car as I recall.
They are interesting to follow on their routes....he gives good advice and all that.
Yes, they are well established and called upon by MSCs for many different kinds of work - and as far as I've seen, they shop all over the US.
So, yes it could be a lifestyle, just not mine....but it's interesting to me to observe.
PS/oh and it has to be a great deal easier to accomplish with a partner traveling together.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2024 12:48PM by BarefootBliss.

6 figures? 000500

@mysterioso412 wrote:

Except, if they were unionized then, they had much better wages. My gram worked for a Shop-rite grocery store in the 70s/80s, and I remembered a strike when I was a kid in 1984, so I looked up the newspaper articles, and a main point of contention was the management wanting to eliminate double time and a half for Sunday work, which I don't think exists anywhere anymore. They ended up with a 19.5% increase over 41 months, but the Sunday pay was eliminated. And it says improvements were made to benefits and pension, but doesn't say what.

The contract where I work was just negotiated and it's less than 10% increase over four years, and increases in health insurance premiums, co-pays, and deductibles. But we can now use five of our sick days to take care of an ill spouse, which we couldn't previously do...

I can say with confidence that if I didn't make the move from professional MSing to union negotiated work 20 years ago, I would not be in any position to retire...ever. Working 50-60 hours is possible in your 20's and 30's, but that sort of schedule takes a toll on you over time, and leaves no room for health issues. My only regret now is that I didn't bail on full-time shopping earlier, so that I would have a bigger pension fund.

I work in an industry that pays double-time on Sunday, and then continually from that day on until you get a day off, but instead of it making us all rich, it's forced the employers to actually give us Sundays off, and holidays, so working 6 days with Saturday at 1.5x the rate is the new standard.

Point being that if you could get a union job that pays $60k and supplement that with $40k of MSing (usable reimbursements included), you would have a much better lifestyle and be better situated for retirement, while pulling in 6 figures....

@Dino29 I think it is almost impossible for the "Hobby Shopper" to get that amount since there aren't enough shops to reach that target. The nature of claiming shops, but waiting until the fee hits a target number that makes it feasible for you and hope it is still there when you check on it is challenging and unreliable. Besides, I haven't seen $200 gas stations in over two years and the bonuses are much lower.

I am sure there are a bunch of people that do this 30 hours a week getting in most of the shops on the weekend - working 8-12 hours on Saturday and Sunday.

It could be that new entrants are scooping up previously highly bonused shops not having the knowledge about shops will go up if no one takes them or the historical perspective of how high those shops have gotten so they would wait.

I've had days where I made over $400 for the day in fees, reimbursements don't count, but it wasn't sustainable over the long term since you run out of shops. Having the benefit of a reliable route makes sense that the pros could achieve this if they have a route and added other shops while they are in the area. I saw a watch shop that was paying $300, but you can't do that location every day. If you could, you would be well on your way to the goal.

As ShopperBob says, work harder not smarter. If you can make the same amount of money doing fewer shops, wouldn't you prefer that? The problem is the game of chicken being played - the shop might be there if you wait for the higher fee and it might not.

I am curious, how do you count the earnings of a "home team" a husband and wife or should we say spouse and spouse so as not to get canceled? Didn't @F and L TeleComm do shopping as a team? Some guy on social media came in here and talked about how their wife did reports to streamline everything and squeeze in more shops. I think he said he made $1K in a day, but again not sustainable because the shops get reset to base.

I would be miserable sleeping in motels and eating in restaurants day after day after day. As the old song states, though, "To each their own."

Regarding overtime, the company I worked for previously (non-union) paid certain professional/technical positions hourly up to a certain experience level. They never went below 40 hours during a week, and got paid their normal hourly rate for any overtime past 40 hours.

I think the only exception was on company holidays, where they got paid double-time. A manager would approve it if they needed to deliver a product to be able to recognize revenue for the next quarter. But once you got a certain level, you became an exempt employee. If you needed to work on a company holiday, they usually just give you a flex holiday.

I've been lucky with the companies I worked for. All had a decent employer match and relatively short vesting period.

Geez and here I thought that the $2,100 in net profit I made last year was hot stuff Mind you I just do this for lunch money ---and only shops I find easy.

Geez and here I thought that the $2,100 in net profit I made last year was hot stuff Mind you I just do this for lunch money ---and only shops I find easy.