Many mystery shoppers are adamant about the minimum mystery shopping pay they will work for. For some shoppers, it may be $10, for others it may be $5. How much (or little) you are willing to work for often depends on what area of the country you are in. Your cost of living in Los Angeles may be a lot different than a mystery shopper living in Pecos, Texas. Regardless of where you draw that line in the sand, there are some other factors that play into how much an assignment is actually worth. After all, a $5 shop is not always just a $5 shop.
It’s About Time! And effort, too. Different assignments have a large variation in the time and effort you are required to exert. For instance, you may simply be required to walk into a store, engage in a brief interaction with the sales clerk, and then exit. The report may be just a quick 10 or 20 multiple choice questions. Other assignments may require an hour or more of your time on-site, followed by at least another hour to complete the questionnaire. Obviously these two assignments would dictate the need for different pay scales. But often in mystery shopping, the work and the pay don’t coincide. That’s where it pays to spend some time scrutinizing the assignment requirements before you take on the responsibility of the job. Avoid the temptation to simply look at the shop pay and make your decision solely on the amount of money.
Where Are We Headed? Another factor you should consider is the location of the assignment. If the assignment is at a location that you visit regularly, such as next to your full-time job or next to your children’s school, it may be worth your while to consider the assignment. After all, you aren’t necessarily losing any time in traveling to the location since you would be traveling there anyway. Also, with a job such as this, you can actually write off mileage expense on a trip you would be making anyway. This is a hidden benefit of an otherwise seemingly low-paying assignment.
If an assignment has been on the boards for some time, you can request travel pay or bonus pay from the scheduler to make the trip and the assignment more worth your while. Since the assignment has been open for quite some time, the scheduler is probably willing to work with you to get the assignment completed.
I’d Like Two Of Those, Please. Mystery shoppers are often even more discouraged from a $5 assignment, or other low-paying assignment, by the requirement to make a minimum and non-returnable purchase at the store. Perhaps the minimum purchased required is $15, but only $5 expense reimbursement and $5 shop pay are being offered. This means you will end up being upside down $5 for doing the assignment. However, if you need to make a purchase at that particular store anyway, this $5 assignment would actually help you cover the cost of that necessary purchase.
Seasoned mystery shoppers often look at a range of factors when deciding to take on an assignment, such as shop pay, the location of the assignment, the required purchase, the requirements of the assignment, and more. When you take all of these factors into consideration, rather than simply the shop pay, you will get a more clear picture of if the assignment is worthwhile for you to complete. When you do this, you will find that there are times when a $5 assignment is worth more to you overall than a $10 assignment.
I still think that $5.00 shops are not worth my time and effort. Most shops require a least an our of time between travel, the shop itself, and the report. I think my time is more valuable than $5.00 an hour. I pride myself in being responsible, professional, and comprehensive when completing shops, and I believe that schedulers will ultimately get the quality of shoppers that they pay for. That is why I no longer accept any $5.00 shops.
I have been a Mystery Shopper for over five years and absolutely love it. I must admit when I first started out, I did take on the $5.00 shops. I no longer accept them; they are just not worth my time. The time you read the shopper assignment, perform the assignment and do the report, its almost embarrassing as to why they would even consider that pay.
This topic amazes me. A $5 shop does not cover , my time, printing paperwork if needed, travel costs, and completing the report. Or even time needed if scanning the receipt is required after a purchase. I do hope reliable shoppers are worth more than that. I may do some, but I am often offered other shops that do pay much more, eg they are urgent and distant. $5 shops for new shoppers on trial maybe be appropriate.
I totally agree w/ the ladies above. I have yet to do a 5.00 job that I felt was worth my time. Yes I might be purchasing that item, or going to that location anyway but when you figure in time to read the requirements,time spend entering your information if you haven’t worked for that particular company before, upload reciepts etc, use of your ink , blah blah blah…sorry I have yet to be convinced 5.00 shop is worth my time.
Sorry but I will be the other side of the coin. I do very few $5 shops but they still are a part of my monthly assignments. The distance I travel to these are minimal and I know I am going to be purchasing something anyway. IE: I am an avid bird watcher. I need bird feed every month. So I do the job at the local hardware store and get my feed at the same time. I look at it as I was using a coupon toward my purchase. I also work full time so I will pick up a few of these shops to keep my awareness level in tack (short of practice). As far as the reporting the job I do it on my laptop while watching TV no biggie. I would never think myself too good to do some of these shops from time to time, I am sorry that with today’s economy that some people feel they are above such things.
Yeah, I love $5 shops. I do the gas shops. It takes ten minutes at location and 10 minutes to report. I don’t go out of my way for them but I will do them when I travel for other shops. At $5 for twenty minutes of work, that’s $15/hour. If you’re too high and mighty for $15/hour, that’s fine. That means more money for those of us who can do math.
Just remember that as long as shoppers accept $5.00 shops, the companies will continue to insult us by offering this lowly amount. Where is our self-respect?
Emily- I’m assuming you must be a fairly new shopper?
$5.00 shops are not worth the time, reporting, etc….
When the place you live only offer $5 pe shop , be glad you have a job.
You hit the $5 nail right on the head.
Sometimes they aren’t worth it, but someties they are.
Several of the store I shop at regularly for my own purposes are also on the local $5 shop list.
Whenever I need to go there, I look at the list to see if I can make a buck or two. (Or Five).
If I am going to wander around the store, and then buy something anyway, why not make it a few bucks less, and write off my gas and my purchase, (less reimbursement of course) as a business expense. As long as my entire experience and my entire purchase is covered in my report, then my entire trip is the cost of that project.
Sometimes it pays to look at the “BIG” picture.
What about $5-$8 shops if the shopper is given 30 stores in a particular district/area to shop across a 2-week period of time within one month? If the purchase is reimbursed and the shop requires only that you record whether you were carded for a tobacco or alcohol purchase – online report requiring maybe 5-10 minutes max, would most shoppers think this worth it or not?
I have never done the $5 shops, however, I do understand the need for those that do. The only shops I do that pay less than $10 are at a Party Supply store where a reimbursement is given in addition to the $7 pay. I can get paper supplies that I would buy anyway, but with these shops, I get reimbused for them.
It’s an interesting challenge. I’ve done 4 shops for an international furniture company. Paid $60 for a local one (60 minute round trip drive time), $65 for one 45 minutes away. (I decided I’d go for a ride.) I’m usually about 3 1/2 hours in the store, 6 to fill out the report. Without the drive time, I figure it’s 9 hours for $60. $6.25 /hour.
I’d do the 5-8 shops if they were with in 15-20 minute drive time.
I think that the message in this article is very reasonable. Do we look at the whole picture? If we are doing a shop where we are going anyway for some other personal reason, we aren’t losing any travel time and we can write off mileage expense. Does that not make sense? A $5.00 shop does not necessarily pay $5.00, if one can request travel pay or get a bonus. It is good to keep an eye on such opportunities. Why not be flexible to take advantage of opportunities convenient to you? If you need to purchase an item at a particular store anyway, why not get paid for it, get reimbursed, and have your mileage written off? Sounds good to me! What works for one may not work for another. Each of us has to judge that for himself. If traveling a greater distance, why not avoid accepting such assignments unless sufficient shops can be incorporated in the same trip, to cover the cost of gas required for the day, compensate for time on location and for reporting time? It would be fantastic to make fast money, but mystery shopping is hardly the way to do that. Mystery shopping allows a great deal of personal flexibility as well, which is a plus. As some of the comments above indicate all these points do not work for everyone. That is okay. The article however, presents a viewpoint that is very practical for some. Kudos to the author!!
I just completed a year of m/shopping and did about $800, how would I did my taxes on this and include the milege. Any help is appreciated.
To: Valerie
You would fill out a Schedule C. On this form you can include the mileage you put on your car for mystery shopping. You need to keep track of this during the year. You also need the total mileage for the year on the car.