Mystery Shopping During the Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is not only the championship game of the National Football League, it is a major television event. An estimated audience of nearly 100 million Americans watch the annual spectacle. That means that lots of people are at home in front of their televisions, not in the stores and the restaurants.
If you are not into football, it may seem as though game time would be a good time to take care of a few mystery shopping assignments. But you might want to think again. …continue reading Mystery Shopping During the Super Bowl


Incorrect usage of ‘a’ and ‘an’ is one of the things that will mark you as a poor writer. Although some uses are obvious to most native English speakers, there are (as with so many other grammar rules) exceptions to the usual rules.
A new year (or any time) is a good time to organize the paperwork, computer files and workflow for your mystery shopping business. Being better organized means you spend less time seeking assignments, doing shop visits, completing reports, and calculating taxes. Most importantly, you will not risk forgetting to do shops, or waste time trying to track down your notes to answer editor questions about your reports.
Although many mystery shoppers love the “get paid to shop” idea, most do secret shopping because it is a flexible way to make money. Something they can do on their own schedule, around their other obligations and activities.
If you pay quarterly estimated income taxes, remember that your fourth-quarter estimated tax payment (using form 1040-ES) for 2009 is due on January 15, 2010. You may delay making this payment until February 1, 2010, if you file your 2009 return (Form 1040) and pay any tax due by February 1, 2010.
You always do your best as a mystery shopper…until that one day. Maybe you didn’t get an important bit of information for the shop, or you went on the wrong day, or at the wrong time or to the wrong place. Or you completely forgot to do the shop.
A mystery shopper asks: