On the sneering squirrel app. You need to buy something with a specific credit or debit card through the business's website. The thing is, they are small neighborhood stores with no websites. The best you'll find is a Google mention or Facebook page. Sounds like a recipe for failure.

@sestrahelena First of all, it's a walrus! Second, thanks for the reminder. I thought about picking up some of these shops because I have a credit card that others may not have.

Disclaimer: I have never done a shop on [Walrus] before. This is my first.

Anyways, I'm feeling like a glutton for punishment today. I picked up a shop from a mid-size retailer. I downloaded the [Walrus] app and checked-in from the comfort of my home. I'm guessing this is allowed since it's an online shop. Anyways, I actually did the report on my computer because it's easier.

Suffice to say, this was a bit of a mess. Only 25 items are available to purchase online. Also, all of the items can't be paid online. The earliest pick-up date is on Tue. You can only pay in-person at time of pick-up. No places for narratives or explanations. So I explained all of this with screenshots.

Awaiting feedback now. I'll let you know how it goes.

ETA: Removed reference to app/MSC. I don't want to open that can of worms.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2024 12:27AM by Okie.

There are a few of those for discover and amex debit cards. I thought maybe I could try one, but I only have Visa and Mastercard debit cards. Honestly, I didn't even know that discover or amex had debit cards. I see what you mean by little shops with no websites or no way to order online. The only ones I had looked at previously were at BJ's warehouse and Costco.

To me it will always be a sneering squirrel!

I thought it was a beaver...

@Morledzep wrote:

There are a few of those for discover and amex debit cards. I thought maybe I could try one, but I only have Visa and Mastercard debit cards. Honestly, I didn't even know that discover or amex had debit cards. I see what you mean by little shops with no websites or no way to order online. The only ones I had looked at previously were at BJ's warehouse and Costco.

I think about ten years ago, AMEX started to offer prepaid debit card as a competitor to the Chase Liquid (now called Chase Secured Banking).

I thought it was neat, but I was concerned about ATM fees since AMEX doesn’t have a traditional bank.

Well, *squinting* I guess it also looks like a mature hamster. My shop is still being reviewed.

But I see what sestrahelena and Morledzep are seeing now. As I expand my map, the shops are now becoming debit card shops versus credit card, at very small mom and pop stores that don't offer online ordering.

I don't know how heavily these shops get bonused, if at all, but maybe I can hold out on some with the American Express and Discover debit cards. I'm assuming not many in my area have. Also, depending on if my pending shop gets approved.

@boridi wrote:

I thought it was a beaver...

"Nice beaver!"
"Thanks. I just had it stuffed."

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2024 09:45PM by sestrahelena.

I think it says on the website somewhere that it's supposed to be an otter.. I've always called it an otter, and I assume river otter because they are bigger and awesome.

Whether it's an otter, beaver, fat hamster, walrus, or sneering squirrel, I still don't know which MS company you're talking about.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2024 09:14PM by Susan L..

It's an otter.

Sleep through biology class much?

Ohhh… walrus came out, but I swear I knew it was an otter.

Amex did have a debit card option for a while, I don't know if it is still available, I believe it was called Bluebird.


@sestrahelena - I agree with your initial assessment. One posted by me is a rinky dink gas station that I am sure has no online website. I am sure the MSC will gather the intel that there's not a website but find a way to not pay.

Curious what kind of feedback Okie gets on the submission.

@Susan L. wrote:

Whether it's an otter, beaver, fat hamster, walrus, or sneering squirrel, I still don't know which MS company you're talking about.

It's the icon for one of the apps that is discussed AD NAUSEUM here about the credit card/cash purchase shops.

Presto. its a platform app, not an MSC.

@Susan L. wrote:

Whether it's an otter, beaver, fat hamster, walrus, or sneering squirrel, I still don't know which MS company you're talking about.

I apologize in advance for the length of this post.

The otter is starting to grow on me. At least when I'm on the website, and its dimensions are smaller. It has this skeptical and judgmental look as it gazes into my empty soul.

Opening the app and navigating it out on the field, I now understand the angry, peeved, and sometimes hostile posts on this forum about the platform. I tried to minimize my time on the mobile app, and only did the obligatory check-in.

Anyways to get back on topic - Update on my online purchase report/submission, where I was unable to make a purchase.

Submitted on Sat. Received feedback early Mon morning. Editor asked for non-blurry photos and to attempt to purchase a gift card for a qualifying purchase. Shortly after receiving the feedback, re-did the shop in a sense and resubmitted. This morning, the resubmission/shop got accepted.

On my initial submission, I had taken screenshots on a computer with standard widescreen dimensions. I primarily work on an ultrawide monitor, so I am mindful of taking screenshots on my other standard widescreen monitor instead. I'm assuming the report dimensions are optimized for a mobile report? For the resubmission, I purchased a gift card and used a smartphone browser instead for tighter and optimal dimensions on the screenshots. The editor's suggestion to purchase a gift card did work out for this retailer.

Also, I did another shop as an in-store purchase. Same retailer as my previous shop. I had heard of this retailer before, but never visited. So this was a good opportunity to explore. It's a pretty good size, but now I see the purpose of this shop. They only accept cash and debit card. So I didn't get to utilize the reimbursement amount, but the base pay was decent. Maybe I could have waited longer for this shop to be bonused. It did pay a little higher than the other shops. It's an American Express credit card, so not rare in my opinion, and I thought the shop would eventually get picked up before the debit card shops.

Overall, I did these shops more for entertainment and curiosity. There's much chatter about the platform/app and these types of shops. I wanted to try it for myself. To me, relatively easy, but somewhat time consuming. Also, if things don't go smoothly, who knows what type of feedback and comments you could potentially get from the editor?

Also, not that many shops available overall now. I may have been late to the party. I will occasionally look for the debit card shops for the two brands, as it appears only the Discover credit card shops have been picked up so far.

And to get back to what this thread was initially about - I will avoid the online shops where there is no website or app. Maybe it gets bonused and you can still complete the shop and get fully paid or partially paid, but it seems like a waste of everyone's time to go through with it and having to explain that in a report with no narratives.

@Cassiespark wrote:

Presto. its a platform app, not an MSC.

@Susan L. wrote:

Whether it's an otter, beaver, fat hamster, walrus, or sneering squirrel, I still don't know which MS company you're talking about.

Thanks for the info, Cassiespark. I don't shop using apps, which explains some of my confusion.

I went to the Google Play Store, and looked it up. Really, the creature looked like all the above--except the walrus, which I expect to have fangs. Lol.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2024 01:01AM by Susan L..

@Susan L. wrote:

I went to the Google Play Store, and looked it up. Really, the creature looked like all the above--except the walrus, which I expect to have fangs. Lol.

One man's fangs is another man's whiskers!

Everyone knows it's a gopher! Geez! lol

Or groundhog

A cute little sea otter always comes to my mind

The otter???

Most probably already know this, but with this being my first shop on Presto, it's nice to already get paid for my shop today. What's the phrase these days ... ta-da!

"Presto!"

Just wanted to post an update. I forgot about these shops. Recently, I saw two bonused to $50 each, relatively near each other. I had plans to visit a friend downtown and crash there for the night. I'm reluctant to use debit cards, but I only had like $10 in the account from a long time ago. Reimbursement didn't matter much to me.

I took a walk and did the c-store first followed by the fast-food. I ended up giving the drink and chicken nuggets to someone on the street.

Anyways ty @sestrahelena for bringing these shops to my attention. I also remembered something else you posted about Presto shops disappearing, and bonuses being potentially retracted at nearby shops and redirected to shops at an opposite direction. I had both shops queued and ready, but wasn't sure if that would help or make a difference. Anyways it ended up working out well for me. TY!

Also fwiw, these specific shops both got accepted the morning after.

I found a few in my (wide) area that were paying well. There's only a 12 hour window, though, so I hope they're still there when I'm ready to go. I already have them mapped into my route!

@Okie wrote:

@Susan L. wrote:

I went to the Google Play Store, and looked it up. Really, the creature looked like all the above--except the walrus, which I expect to have fangs. Lol.

One man's fangs is another man's whiskers!

I should have written "tusks" instead of fangs, but what do I know about bigly teeth?

@Susan L. wrote:

@Okie wrote:

@Susan L. wrote:

I went to the Google Play Store, and looked it up. Really, the creature looked like all the above--except the walrus, which I expect to have fangs. Lol.

One man's fangs is another man's whiskers!

I should have written "tusks" instead of fangs, but what do I know about bigly teeth?

When I pulled it up recently on my phone, with the animal in its full glory on my screen, I honestly thought "all of the above"

@sestrahelena wrote:

I found a few in my (wide) area that were paying well. There's only a 12 hour window, though, so I hope they're still there when I'm ready to go. I already have them mapped into my route!

Good luck, be safe, and hope it goes well! Reading about your cave dweller editor experiences, I really hope I don't end up contributing to adding even more beanie babie pain to your collection.

Picked up another shop on the drive back home. These three were all the good ones in-store. The rest were in-store and online and not bonused as high. Don’t have much experience with Presto. I believe the good ones stated they were set to end middle of next week. It was a bit of a drive. The other ones have a later end date.

Reading about all of the cave dweller experiences, I did go to some extra lengths to make sure the shops got accepted. In case it helps, if you get a gas station brand c-store, I made sure to take a pic of the gas station including branding plus the c-store storefront in one shot. The shop mentioned the gas station brand, but did not mention the specific c-store name. For the checkout pic, I waited until he/she was occupied with another customer to get everything in one shot. Cashier was behind bulletproof glass, with all sorts of signs plastered everywhere. Also before submitting, I saved a copy of the report on my computer. Me not being familiar with Presto, I also made sure to submit the report by midnight eastern.