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Cathy Stucker has been a mystery shopper since 1995. She is the author of The Mystery Shopper's Manual.
| Mystery shopping is a legitimate way to make money; however, if you received a large check and were told to wire money somewhere, don't do anything until you read about mystery shopping scams. |
I hear from a lot of people who want to become mystery shoppers, but say they do not know how to find secret shopper companies that do not charge.
They are on the right track knowing that they should not pay to sign up with a company. Legitimate mystery shopping companies do not charge you to register.
The companies that charge may be providing a service (which you do not need) or they may just be out-and-out scams. In either case, you should never pay a fee to any company claiming to offer mystery shopper jobs.
So how can you find the legitimate mystery shopper companies that do not charge?
…continue reading Mystery Shopper Companies – How to Find Them
Lots of people are looking for work these days. If you are unemployed and looking for a job, or thinking about changing jobs, you need a good resume. Should you include your mystery shopping work on a resume? And if so, how should you list mystery shopper jobs?
There isn’t just one answer, so let’s take a look at a few possible scenarios.
Question from a secret shopper:
I want to become a mystery shopper. When I search for information, I get a lot of sites that want me to join. Some of them seem to offer free mystery shops, but others charge a monthly fee. Before I start running up a bunch of charges, I need to know if I can make money as a mystery shopper, and which site I should join. Do I need to join more than one? Help!
First of all, yes, you can make money as a mystery shopper. But you do not need to pay anyone to become a mystery shopper or get mystery shopper jobs. Legitimate mystery shopping companies will not charge you to apply to them. …continue reading Mystery Shopping Sites – Which Ones Should I Join?
I have a list of 200 legitimate mystery shopping companies on my web site, and I get calls and emails all the time from new shoppers who want me to tell them which mystery shopping company is best. “I don’t want to apply to all of those companies. Can’t you just give me the names of a few companies that are best?”
Well, no, I can’t. The companies that I think are the best might be useless to you. Here are some of the things to consider when deciding which mystery shopping companies are the best for you. …continue reading The Best Mystery Shopping Company
There are hundreds of legitimate mystery shopping companies—do you need to apply to all of them? Half of them? A few of them? How many companies do you need to work with?
First of all, only apply to legitimate mystery shopping companies. That means you should not apply to companies that charge you a fee or require you to sign up for “offers.” Refer to this list of nearly 200 legitimate mystery shopping companies: http://MysteryShoppersManual.com/mystery-shopping-companies
I recommend that secret shoppers sign up with as many companies as they can. You never know which company will come through with the most assignments for you, or even that dream assignment to mystery shop a resort or spa.
But your time is limited, right? So when do you stop applying and start mystery shopping? …continue reading How Many Mystery Shopper Applications are Enough?
Question from a secret shopper:
I am going to move to another state in about six months. Should I start applying to mystery shopping companies now, and take assignments in my present location, or should I wait until after I move to get started? Would applying now be a waste of time? …continue reading Moving Soon – When Should I Apply to Mystery Shopping Companies?
Question from a mystery shopper:
I want to be a mystery shopper, but I am concerned because I hear about a lot of scams associated with secret shopping. How do I find legitimate companies, and how can I tell if a company is legitimate or not? …continue reading How Do I Know if a Mystery Shopping Company is Legitimate?
EIN stands for Employer Identification Number. You might think of it as the equivalent of a Social Security Number for businesses. Mystery shoppers are not required to obtain EINs, however, many choose to do so. With all the concerns about online privacy and identity theft, mystery shoppers are more likely than ever to want to protect their Social Security Numbers. Having an EIN is one way to do that. Here is what you need to know about what an EIN is, why you might want one, and how to go about getting one. (It’s faster and easier than you may think.) …continue reading Mystery Shoppers and EINs
My post on Reverse Auctions and Secret Shopper Pay drew this comment from the owner of a mystery shopping company:
We have noticed a substantial increase in the number of evaluations we must return to shoppers because they are incomplete, have poor explanations, or just don’t make sense. I think in most cases we pay well, but we can’t seem to figure out why the quality has gone down – other than the influence of text messaging.
Do you think this is an exaggeration? Judging by the email I sometimes receive, I do not believe that it is. …continue reading “I WANT TU B UR MSYTERY SHOPPR”
Although you eagle-eyed mystery shoppers caught the spelling error in the title of this article, are you as good at finding typos in the applications and reports you submit to mystery shopping companies? Spelling is important, and submitting error-filled applications and reports will hurt your chances of becoming a successful professional shopper. …continue reading “Secert Shoppers” and Spelling
