Thanks to the awesome advice from several fellow shoppers on this forum and a fabulous support team at a company I have recently started video shopping with, I feel the need to somehow discredit my previous post saying I was ready to throw in the towel on video shopping. I feel terrible for possibly discouraging other shoppers interested in video shopping with my previous rant. Video shopping is a little intimidating in the very beginning, but once you gain clear understanding of the best way to obtain the video, save the video in various forms, and correctly upload the video, you are GOLDEN. I have done several video shops this week and in no time at all, forgot I was even wearing the camera. It seems that many companies are trending towards video shopping (this is my opinion ONLY) and I hope to be on the front end of the wave instead of trying to catch it at the end. If my previous post scared anyone off, come back!!!

A little fear can be good, LOL! Good for you in overcoming it!

amie,
I could tell by your concern, expressed in your earlier post, that you really wanted to make a go of this. Great to hear that you pushed on through your early disappointments to get on track. All of the veteran video shoppers have had similar catastrophies at one time or another! Once you have some successes, as you now have, it becomes addictive! Welcome to the SABOTS...The Sisters And Brothers Of the Traveling Shirts. Break a nail, kid.

Much appreciation for the encouragement!! I was pretty bummed after driving over 100 miles round trip and dedicating over 5 hours of time only to find out that it was not going to be counted due to my own camera issues. I have 2 more today so I should be really getting the hang of it for sure by now. You are right - this type of shopping is getting very addictive!! Looking forward to doing many more!!

I did not see the previous rant. Not sure if it was deleted or not. But LisaSTL can attest that I am still being a little chicken sh*t when it come to video shopping. I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to video, I signed up for Carrie's video workshop in Orlando earlier this year but it was cancelled and my money was refunded. I ended up not being able to go to the CHI conference but I was told that the video workshop was cancelled there also.

Since I am a visual person, I tend to learn better in person and getting hands-on as opposed to watching an online video or reading a 100+ page manual translated from Japanese.

I also got nervous when I read posts on another thread about shoppers having to video themselves while using the restroom. I was reassured that the editors edit out the "sound affects" but I have come to realize that I am not as liberal as I thought I was.

Ok, I am done with my rant. I am killing time until my allowable time frame for today's shops become available. :-)

This is embarrassing to admit, but I couldn't figure out how to move in front of a bathroom or any room mirror. This problem continued for 2 1/2 yrs. until a shopper, don't recall the name, casually mentioned covering the camera with a hand when passing a mirror. How utterly SIMPLE, but the thought never entered my mind. Thanks to whomever suggested this solution.

Right, we DO NOT video record ourselves in the bathorom. We cover the camera and go about our business as usual. When passing mirrors or other highly reflective surfaces during a shop, you can cover the button cam with a hand, but it is more natural to raise a brochure or a Kleenex or a water bottle to the appropriate height to avoid filming oneself in the mirror.

Shop2LiveinFL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I did not see the previous rant. Not sure if it
> was deleted or not. But LisaSTL can attest that I
> am still being a little chicken sh*t when it come
> to video shopping. I have no idea what I am doing
> when it comes to video, I signed up for Carrie's
> video workshop in Orlando earlier this year but it
> was cancelled and my money was refunded. I ended
> up not being able to go to the CHI conference but
> I was told that the video workshop was cancelled
> there also.
>
> Since I am a visual person, I tend to learn better
> in person and getting hands-on as opposed to
> watching an online video or reading a 100+ page
> manual translated from Japanese.
>
> I also got nervous when I read posts on another
> thread about shoppers having to video themselves
> while using the restroom. I was reassured that
> the editors edit out the "sound affects" but I
> have come to realize that I am not as liberal as I
> thought I was.
>
> Ok, I am done with my rant. I am killing time
> until my allowable time frame for today's shops
> become available. :-)


You have nothing to worry about or be afraid of!! You should do it. What is the worse thing that could happen? You or your equipment screws up the shop and you don't get paid. What's the best thing that could happen? You get paid a much higher fee than most any regular shop and USUALLY, the reports are next to nothing. There is not much work to do once you get home other than uploading the video. I am just like you - Instruction manuals are often like gibberish to me. I had to chase my husband, kids, and dog around the house for a couple of days with the camera attached to me just to practice with it and to figure out how to upload the files. I did it great while filming my practice shoots, however, ruined 1 shop for incorrect camera aim and immediately afterwards, ruined another shop because I uploaded it incorrectly. Those were frustrating experiences, but I have done 4 shops since then and all of them have been spot on perfect.
Before you buy anything, do 2-3 shops with a company that will send the equipment to you. They may reduce the fee by $10 or so, but the net pay will still be higher than most other shops.
I think the industry is leaning towards these and audio recorded shops and paying shoppers more for them. If I can do it, trust me, you can do it!