Many mystery shoppers have fallen into the habit of writing off assignments posted on the job boards with a quick look of the assignment pay. If the payment is below a predetermined amount of money in the mystery shopper’s mind, such as $5 or $10, the mystery shopper continues to scroll down the job boards without giving that assignment a second thought. If this sounds like you, it may be worth your wallet’s weight in gold to give that low paying assignment another look. There are, after all, other aspects to an assignment besides the face value of the shop pay.
What Is Involved? Often, the higher paying assignments pay more because they require more time and effort on your part. This is not always the case, but it is true more often than not. On lower paying assignments, you may find that the assignment is simply or takes far less time than those higher paying assignments you’ve been working on lately. What this means for you is that you can likely squeeze in an additional “small” assignment or two in the same amount of time it would take for you to complete just one higher paying assignment. This is definitely not always true, and many mystery shoppers have been sucked in to doing a very lengthy assignment for peanuts. But it is definitely worth your time to weigh more consideration into the amount of time and effort that low paying assignment will take you to complete.
An Assignment En Route. You likely have a set routine you follow on a daily or weekly basis. If you can find an assignment or two close to a location that you already visit regularly, such as close to your full-time job, your gym, or your grocery store, you can easily stop by and knock out an extra assignment with little time burden on your schedule. Consider driving 20 minutes out of your way in one direction to complete a higher paying assignment along with the 20 minute return trip. Then consider stopping by that corner coffee shop down the street from your office to do an assignment on your way to work. The time savings, not to mention the fact that you can write off mileage on a trip you already were planning to take anyway, makes the location of lower paying assignments a vital aspect to consider.
The Required Purchase. The required purchase of an assignment can be a deal-maker or deal-breaker for you. First, consider if the store in question sells an item that you had intended to purchase anyway. Second, consider the amount of the item you would like to purchase versus the reimbursement. Even if the assignment pay is only $5 or $10, if you can get a full (or close to full) reimbursement on an item you truly need, that extra reimbursement can be a great benefit to complete the assignment. Likewise, on higher paying assignments, consider a required purchase with minimal reimbursement at a store that sells nothing you “need”. This is money you would not be spending otherwise, so this “cost” should be taken into consideration when you weigh the pros and cons of taking on the assignment.
To get the most out of your mystery shopping assignments, take the time to consider these aspects of the assignment regardless of how low or how high the pay is!
I can tell you from experience with the Home Improvement shops, that they take a while to do, lengthy paperwork, you have to interact with 6 employees, then you only get paid $5.00 for this job. I agree that some jobs need to be adjusted. I love doing this kind of work, but it would be nice to see those jobs that sit in the last postings to earn a little bit more money.
Aside from assessing the reimbursement for a shop and the merchandise in the store, another consideration is that some shop requirements preclude a particular department from which you may make your purchase or may dictate from which department, or which item you must buy. It goes without saying, for well paying as well as low paying shops, there is more remuneration when jobs are grouped together, one leading to another in a convenient route. Be realistic in evaluating what a shop offers, requires and what your own true needs, time and effort constraints may be.
I am new at this shopping thing! I have taken a couple of jobs where the pay is $7, the reimbursment is $2. Problem, the elec store does not sell anything under $5. Great bottom line on this job!
I have a problem maybe someone can help! I keep getting checks in large amounts and when I deposit them of course the bank has to put a hold on them. When I notify the company they tell that’s ok that the check will clear but it never does! How do you know which company is legit? Can anyone give me names of companies that are honest shops.
Thank you, Stephanie
Stephanie, if a company sends you a large check out of the blue you can be sure it’s a scam. As tempting as it is, put it right in the shredder rather than your bank account. You can find plenty of legitimate mystery shopping companies at volition.com.
I have found that not only are some if not most of these lower paying jobs very labor intensive. About 70% of them don’t apply to me. And some of these items I would not use, because they look to be shady. This may not be the case on all of them, but I have become VERY gaurded in what I shop for. There are way too many scams and cheap items out there and my money is beyond tight. I am currently unemployed, and my unemployment really does not even cover my imediate expenses. Much lees spending more than I am making on a job. I know that your screening process is meant to match people with the jobs best suited for them. I think maybe a little refinement may be in order. Example I own a 1999 dodge ram. I get surveys that I am willing to do with my truck. However the survey says 2000 and newer, I then email the survey company and ask them if I could still do the survey and they tell me it’s for 2003 or newer vehicles. Seems to be a descrecptency some where. I want to do these but it just seems to be getting slimer pickings as I go on. I am going to keep hanging in there because I like this kind of work. I like to be part of a team that can help improve the quality of life.
It all depends too where you are located at. Most shops I found with low pay require too much, and is not worth the time or energy. So I choose my shops carefully.
Over the years, I have shared with schedulers the reason why I do not apply for certain assignments — the work is too much for the small pay. The schedulers know that if they call me for those assignments, they offer me a bonus to do them. (Even then, I sometimes turn them down.)
Over the years, *several times* the scheduler has called back or sent an email to let me know that the price has been adjusted on the shop!
If something is glaringly wrong — like reimbursement for $1.25, but nothing costs less than $5.00 — share the information with the scheduler.
Sometimes, they listen. Sometimes, changes are made!