Want to go to a store and get paid? If that’s what you want, then mystery shopping is the answer. To become a mystery shopper, you’ll need to sign up with a mystery shopping company.
The work typically involves following a specific set of instructions, in order to evaluate customer service, and then filling out a form and/or writing a short narrative outlining your experience.
The following is a list of five companies that pay people to complete mystery shopping assignments.
If you want the most shopping opportunities, the best thing you can do is to sign up for a lot of companies. The more companies you sign up for, the more opportunities you’ll have.
Albatross CX is a mystery shopping company that works with a wide variety of brands, and has been known to offer assignments in the U.S., Australia, and Canada. You can sign up for them here.
Kinesis is a mystery shopping company with a decent reputation on the forum. If you want to work with them, you’ll need to find their assignments thorugh Kern Scheduling Services, a large scheduling company. You can sign up for Kern here.
Regal Hospitality Group offer the chance to mystery shop hotels, which can be a lot of work. They also take 90 days to reimburse payments. However, shoppers generally report good experiences working with them. You can join them here.
Compliance Solutions Worldwide is a mystery shopping company with a good reputation. They’re known to “pay promptly.” You can register to shop for them here.
Confero is an established mystery shopping company with a good reputation, and many assignments available, though some shoppers have reported delayed or slow payments. It apparently takes 45 days to get paid by them. Be sure to keep accurate records of what you’re owed. You can sign up for them here.
This is a scam and you will be going to jail
Please read your replies. You started quite a ruckus lol
This is a scam and you will be going to jail I know that you have sent me counterfeit checks before in the mail I gave them to the cops I gave them the phone number from where you sent me text messages about the job and the checks and they’re investigating you
Why do you think this magazine editor sent you checks? Can you elaborate? Using “you” is a bit vague.
Penny – Mystery shopping is a legitimate business, but there are indeed scams out there. To be safe, make sure to never deposit a large check from a company, never wire money or send money to anyone as part of an assignment. In mystery shopping, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
I don’t know why you think I’m the scammer!
Hello Jacob, maybe you should reply directly to her post. I don’t see any reaction from Penny. Wow-what a ruckus.
Penny,
Like any other industry, scams do exist in mystery shopping. Sadly, the type of deception you mentioned in your post does happen in our industry and my company has been targeted several times.
Jacob gave you great advice and I second everything he posted. I have known Jacob for many years and I can assure you he is not a scammer.
Thanks
Dave
Penny
Mystery shopping is legit.
I have done a few mystery shopper jobs I didn’t get scam even though the pay wasn’t very much I enjoyed every bit of it it what you put into it I have been like you penny someone sent me a check and it wasn’t any good when I first started out with mystery shopper I was skeptical to but I put my faith into it and I have gotten paid for doing them through PayPal mystery shopper is not a scam if they ask for money upfront then they’re scam the mystery shopper I do they send you on a assignment they will give you instructions on what to do rethink before you turn it down lately I haven’t been able to to do much shopper jobs because I had surgery on my right eye and I can’t see how to drive when my eyes heal I’m back out there mystery shopper not bad I enjoyed it.
How can you write something this long and not use periods?
This is just an opinion; I have been mystery shopping for 2 yrs and have never been scammed. Remember it is your job in this world to be a smart, aware person. There are tons of scammers out there in all walks of life and you have to stay one step ahead of them. IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT IS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE! No legit company sends you money in advance for a job; use your smarts people and stay ahead of the scammers.
I’ve been shopping for over ten years and got scammed! I thought I knew it all. The email supposedly from a good MSP offered me $50 or so to check on sales of ebay $250 gift cards. I could keep the cards I purchased too. All I had to do was answer a few simple service questions, take photos of the service rack, and send photos of the card front and back with the verification code seal scraped off. Whoa! Dumb me. I was working through emails, not a company website. I caught myself BEFORE I sent them the pics which would let them use my cards. Whew! So I used the cards to buy myself needed stuff. MORAL: Anyone can get stung.
I have been shopping for 6 years and have made around $30,000 in that time. It can be a lot of work for modest pay but it is legitimate.
I have been mystery shopping for about 4 years. I have not been scammed yet. I have heard about those checks but have not received one. There are scammers out there that would use the name of legit mystery shopping companies to make it look real. I can assure you, that it is a legit business, and I have been paid for every job I have done.
how to make some extra money
This is a great forum. click on the mystery shopper magazine to be taken to the login. You will find many companies on this magazine forum. You can also join shadowshopper.com; the MSPA, and lastly Google MsteryLady. I have FB and a wp blog.
I have been mystery shopping for well over 20 years. It is an excellent side job and it is fun as well. But always be diligent about scams. I know they are out there.
I have worked for 2 of the companies listed in his post. Been mystery shopping over 30 years, and have never been scammed, and was always paid. Typical pay period is 30 days if the pay out if longer, I dont sign up with the company. A few pay every 2 weeks, and I downloaded the survey.com app, do tasks, and always got paid on time.
Penny,
why so harsh. why no picture. why no reply?
Hello everyone. I have been Mystery Shopping for over ten years. The first time I was scammed. I was a ‘newbie’ and had no idea I did not have to send in $35.00 to get a lest then another $15.00 to process my report.
Lesson Learned. Now I am registered with nineteen mystery shops. Each shop is different. You need to read the requirements of the shop.
Failure to do due diligence will result in non payment for the shop. I have made that mistake twice and not gotten paid. Again, lesson learned.
If you are good a what you do you will have them flooding your inbox with assignments. Just make sure if you accept the ‘shop’ you intend to follow through.
It might seem that this is a big industry. (it is in a way.) However they talk and chat with each other and its very easy now with emails. Be prompt in sending in your report. Read it over and make sure everything is set. Sometimes the report will prompt you that something is missing.
Never accept a shop if you do not intend to follow through.
Take a few courses from MSPA like REPORT WRITING. If you get the report back asking for more information look at it again and before you send it back make sure it’s correct this time.