With the economy in a slump, and seeming to slump further by the week, many families are falling on hard financial times. A few extra dollars here and there would really make a difference. It may be that you need a supplemental income because your current job is no longer providing the income level you need or want, or you need to find a way supplement your retirement income or add to your retirement nest egg. Or perhaps you are having trouble finding enough money to pay for college. What once seemed like a sure thing financially has suddenly caught you by surprise and you need to find a way to make some extra cash.
There are many advantages to mystery shopping, but perhaps one of the best things about mystery shopping is that it doesn’t take a lot of start-up time or money to get started. In fact, if you put in a few hours of effort today, you could be earning money in just a couple of days!
Take The First Step! Initially, you need to research mystery shop providers to work for. You can sign up with mystery shop forums and get a great idea on which providers are good to work with. There are unfortunately some companies that will pretend to be a shop provider and try to scam unknowing mystery shoppers. The ultimate authority in legitimate providers is the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. Their website has a list of legitimate companies that you can work with.
You can sign up to work with as many providers as you choose. A good rule of thumb just to get started is to choose maybe eight or ten. If you find you need more work than what these initial companies are offering, you can always sign up to work for more providers.
Just visit each provider’s website and complete their online application. Some applications take just a few minutes, whereas others may take thirty minutes or longer. In many cases, you are approved very quickly and can begin searching for assignments.
Getting An Assignment. After you have been approved to work as a shopper for a provider, the provider will begin emailing you possible assignments. You can also search the provider’s website for job listings as well. You will see two types of assignments – those that are “self-assign” and those that you must request. Starting out as a new mystery shopper, you will have more luck getting “self-assign” jobs. With self-assign job, once you request them, they become yours immediately. With mystery shop assignments that you must request, your request goes to a scheduler, who in turn decides which mystery shopper is best qualified and able to complete the assignment. In many cases, a scheduler will pass over a new mystery shopper on these assignments and choose an experienced mystery shopper. So for your first few assignments, you may want to stick to “self-assign” jobs to get some experience under your belt.
Getting Paid. Mystery shoppers typically get paid in one of two ways. First, you can receive a check by mail. In most cases, the process of getting a check processed to you and mailed out can take several weeks or even months. This is hardly “fast money.” If you need to receive money faster, you should consider opening up a PayPal account. Many mystery shopping providers will process a PayPal payment within a few weeks, if not sooner. A PayPal account is completely free to set up.
You will probably need to complete a few assignments before you start to learn which providers you prefer to work with as well as what type of assignments you prefer. After you have a few completed assignments under your belt and get into your mystery shopping groove, you will be making relatively easy extra money!
me guataria que me tomen en cuenta para trabajar como mystery shopper en mi area, Costa Rica, espero asiganciones de compra de misterio, mi e-mail es moises321@msn.com
Just jump in…it can be overwhelming at first but it does get easier. Register with the trusted sites listed on Volition.com and MSPA.com first. Then go from there. It took almost 6 months, but I am finally registered with each company on both lists in my area. Now, I am registering with the merchandising companies that are in my area. That keeps me busy when demand is down. Good Luck.
With the way the economy is going, I notice some shops are dwindling. I hope it will not become worse. 🙁
If anyone has a list/spreadsheet of who pays fastest, it would be great to share. I don’t mind putting even big ticket items on my charge card as long as I am reimbursed before the payment is due which can be pretty fast, depending on the billing cycle. But if it takes 3 months, as well as the hassel of shipping the item, it’s pretty nervy to ask the shopper to carry the expense although it is technically a cost of doing business and tax dedutible.
Why not have a link on this site for the MSPA?
For Gail!
Look at the mystery shopper bible in their cd is a valuable spread sheet.Email me if you are confused..
andymorrow@rogers.com
to whom it may concern i have not receive any fund or assigment i sent 29.90 to send to ann beckett and have not receive any respond so is this true and check has been cash from mrs white
Some of the schedulers are rescheduling because their customers are switching from once weekly to every other week or even once a month. The economy is hitting everyone hard.
IM TRYING TO GET STARTED BUT IVE FILED OUT A COUPLE OF APP AND HAVE NO RESPONSE. SO IF ANYONE ONE KNOWS A WAY TO GET INTO MYSTERY SHOPPING PLEASE LET ME KNOW
Please do not waste my time, if you are for real, e mail me, thank you.
Sam
Where or how do I get started ?
Reply needed !
Hi my I am just getting started on mystery shopping. I’ve only done 2 assighnments and I am wanting to get more assighnments. I’ve sighned up for many companys. None have had any jobs available in my location. new albany,MS or Tupelo,MS. If you know of any jobs I am a really reliable person and I would do a good job…Thank you
For sam and leo, if you need a personal response you need to join a mystery shop forum. This is a news letter that provides helpful articles. I doubt very much that the publisher has the time to respond personally to questions of how to get started. Google mystery shopping and you will find a number of forums to join that will help you get started and find jobs.
Hi,
I would like to get started shopping at any time