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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. |
On a typical mystery shopper job, you may be asked to make a purchase and pay for it out of pocket. Your payment for the assignment often includes reimbursement for the purchase, based on what you were offered when you accepted the assignment.
Most of the time, you have options about how you pay for the purchase. Here is what you need to consider when making a purchase during a mystery shopper assignment.
What do the guidelines say? In some cases, the client wants you to use a specific method of payment. They may want you to pay in cash or they may say to use a credit card. When they specify a method of payment, use that method of payment. The client has a reason for requiring it. It may have to do with making sure the transaction is handled properly or it may be so they can more precisely locate the transaction to verify that you were there at the right day and time. Or it may be because you will definitely get a receipt with a charge purchase, while you may not be offered a receipt if you pay with cash. The reason doesn’t matter. What matters is what the guidelines say you should do.
…continue reading Mystery Shops and Paying for Purchases
Do you sometimes find that you run out of money before you run out of month? These days it seems as though everyone is looking for ways to make more money and make the money they have go further.
Mystery shopping can help you make up a budget shortfall in a few ways. Here are some of the ways you can use secret shopping to help your finances. …continue reading Stretch Your Budget with Mystery Shopping
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.
In that spirit, I offer some additional ideas of ways you can earn money to supplement your income—or even quit your “real” job—in 2010. …continue reading Go Beyond Mystery Shopping to Make More Money
Question from a mystery shopper:
I just started mystery shopping, and I have completed two shops this week. Is there an unwritten law about how much you should buy during a shop? My shop fees were $10.00 and $11.50 but there was no given dollar amount for the merchandise I could obtain free from the shops. To be on the safe side I just bought things I could really use in case I was stuck with the bill.
As a brand new shopper who has completed two shops in her first week, you are off to a good start. Here is an explanation of how mystery shoppers get paid. …continue reading How Much Free Merchandise Do I Get on a Mystery Shopper Job?
One of the things I love about mystery shopping is that many shops include a purchase allowance or reimbursement. That allows me to get something I would normally pay for in return for doing the shop.
Restaurants are special favorites of mine. My husband and I love to go out to eat, so getting our dinners paid for is nice compensation for the secret shop.
Several years ago, I did a lot of grocery shops where I received a generous reimbursement when buying groceries. I used them to buy my usual groceries and to stock up on non- perishables such as soap and paper products, things I had to buy anyway.
Many mystery shoppers look at these perks and benefits of mystery shopping as getting things ‘free.’ They are not truly free because you earn them with the time you put in doing the shop and report, but they can be good compensation.
The danger is that feeling that you are getting something for nothing can lead you to overspend on mystery shops. …continue reading Don’t Be a Big Spender on Mystery Shops
One of the ways I have found to increase my mystery shopper pay is by using reward credit cards to pay for my reimbursed expenses whenever I can. In fact, I use credit cards to pay for almost everything I buy, whether I am mystery shopping or not. As a result, I get hundreds of dollars worth of free gift cards and more every year.
This strategy must be used properly, or it could backfire—big time! Here are the steps you need to take to earn more with reward programs. …continue reading Increase Your Mystery Shopper Pay with Rewards
Question from a mystery shopper:
Is it possible to make $300-$400 a week as a full-time mystery shopper? My husband wants me to get a job, but I would rather be a full time mystery shopper. Can you help me convince my husband this can work? …continue reading Can I Mystery Shop Full Time?
The compensation for some mystery shops consists of a fee and reimbursement for a required purchase. Others, such as those without a required purchase (including banks, apartment complexes and car dealerships), will not include a reimbursement, but may have a higher fee.
But what about mystery shops where your only compensation is the reimbursement of a required purchase, with no fee? Some shoppers refuse to do reimbursement-only shops, and will only accept assignments that include a fee. They believe that they are most profitable by focusing on fee-only shops, or shops that include both a fee and reimbursement.
Although most of the shops I do include a fee, there are times when I do reimbursement-only shops. Usually, these are restaurant shops. My husband and I enjoy going out to dinner, so getting our dinner paid for in return for a mystery shop report can be, in my opinion, a good deal. Just for the record, we are not talking about fast food here, but nice restaurants involving servers and often alcohol. And definitely dessert. …continue reading Should You Do Reimbursement-Only Shops?
Are mystery shopper fees negotiable? Or is it strictly “take it or leave it”: accept the pay that is offered or do not take the assignment? Although you may not be able to get a pay increase on most shops, there are times when the scheduler can authorize additional pay to get the job done.
There are lots of assignments that are easy to fill at the usual fee. There is no need to offer a bonus on these shops, because there are shoppers willing to do them. This may be because they are in a large urban area where there are lots of shoppers, the usual fee is reasonable compensation, and/or the shop is attractive because the perks are really good, or it is a fun shop to do.
However, there are shops that are hard to fill because they are in out-of-the-way locations, the client has specific demographic requirements that make it hard to find shoppers, or the shop is simply underpriced. Even if the shop is hard to fill, the scheduler is responsible for making sure it gets done. That can sometimes mean paying bonuses to secret shoppers.
Sometimes a the scheduler will offer a bonus, but other times you must ask if you want more pay. Here is what you need to know about mystery shop bonuses and how to go about requesting a bonus. …continue reading Mystery Shopper Bonuses – When and How to Ask
We have all heard of “re-gifting”: giving a gift we received to someone else on a gift-giving occasion. Opinions of whether or not this is appropriate vary, but what about using something you got on a mystery shop as a gift? Is it unbearably cheap, or just smart?
…continue reading Secret Shopper Perks as Gifts