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.

Use secret shopping to get some of the “extras” your budget can not accommodate. It may be that spending $150 on dinner out, or getting away to a hotel for the weekend, is not something you could usually afford. However, if you are doing it as part of a mystery shop, you do not have to pay the bill.

Choose shops where you are reimbursed for something you need. It can be fun to get a fine dining shop where you get to splurge on an expensive meal; however, a shop where you get an oil change for your car, groceries, a haircut, eyeglasses or something else you really need may be more important. Look for shops where you get reimbursed for things you would have purchased even without the mystery shop.

Earn extra money. In addition to reimbursements, many shops pay a fee. And mystery shopper jobs that do not include a reimbursed expense (e.g., banks, car dealers, apartments) will generally have larger fees than those where you receive something of value, such as products, a meal or a service. Looking for fee-only shops may be a good way to put more cash in your pocket.

Use credit cards wisely, and get rewarded. Although some shops will specify that you are to pay cash, usually you may use any payment method you wish. Paying with a credit card that gives you rewards—cash, airline miles, gift cards or other benefits—means that you get rewarded for spending someone else’s money! Just make sure you are not paying interest on those purchases, as that will cost you money.

Turn expenses into tax deductions. As an independent contractor, you may deduct the reasonable and necessary costs of doing business. For secret shoppers, those expenses may include at least some of the cost of Internet access, computers, car expenses, supplies, cell phone service and other necessary expenditures. That means that some things you were paying for before you became a mystery shopper will now be at least partially deductible. For example, you probably had a monthly bill for Internet access, but as a mystery shopper you may deduct the portion of the expense that represents your business use. You have converted a formerly after-tax expense to one that is paid with tax-free dollars, leaving more money in your pocket.

Make wise choices when choosing mystery shopper jobs and you can add a tidy sum to your family’s bottom line.

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.

Merchandising and demos. There are marketing activities closely related to mystery shopping. Many of the companies for which we shop also offer this type of work. Merchandising may involve stocking a display, reordering inventory, or other tasks related to retail sales. Working demos may mean demonstrating a product, handing out samples or coupons, or other in-store activities where you would interact with customers. For more information, see http://NARMS.com/.

Writing online. You can set up your own website or blog, but an easier way to get started making money writing online is to write for one of the sites that will pay you to write. Some pay a flat fee for an article, but that is usually not the best deal. Instead of getting $5, $10 or $20 to write a few hundred words, you can make many times that in residuals. That means you write something once, and get paid again and again. There are writers making $500, $1000 or more every month, even in months they don’t write a word. I have done this and been pleasantly surprised at the results. Learn how to make money writing online.

Direct sales. There is a lot of money to be made in sales, and many people find working with a direct sales plan easy, even if they do not consider themselves to be sales persons. Direct sales companies include Mary Kay, Avon and Pampered Chef, but there are direct sales companies involved in just about every kind of product and service, from electricity to vitamins to golf equipment to lingerie. The best company to work with may be one that you already know as a customer. To be successful, you should be passionate about the products or services you sell.

Online surveys. You won’t make a lot of money with this, but if you want to make a bit of extra cash sitting at your computer, online surveys can work for you. Do not pay to register with anyone, and make sure you understand at the beginning what the rewards are. Some register you in a drawing for prizes, some give you points that may be redeemed for gift cards or other awards, and some pay good old fashioned cash. Learn more about paid online surveys.

What is your favorite way to make money?

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.

When an assignment is offered to you, the mystery shopping company should tell you exactly what the compensation will be, including any available reimbursement. For example, they might say that the shop fee is $10.00, and you will be reimbursed for a purchase of up to $20.00. If, in that case, you spent $15.00, you would receive a total of $25.00: the $10.00 fee and reimbursement of the $15.00 you actually spent. In the same scenario, if you spent $25.00, you would receive a total of $30.00: the $10.00 fee and the maximum reimbursement of $20.00.

In most cases, the reimbursement is designed to cover any required purchase. If you are to purchase a specific product or service, the maximum reimbursement should be large enough to cover that purchase. It is a maximum, however, and you may receive less if you spend less than the maximum.

Sometimes there is no reimbursement. That may be because a purchase is not required, or the shop involves both the purchase and return of merchandise.

Some mystery shopping assignments that require a purchase do not include a specific reimbursement. The company may say that the shop fee is $X, and you are required to make a purchase; however, they do not specify what you must purchase and the purchase is not specifically reimbursed. In that case, the fee in intended to cover both the shop fee and reimbursement. You may purchase something that you need and plan to keep, or you may purchase something and return it later (if appropriate).

From your description, it appears that you received a fee for the shop that covers any required purchase. That means that you will not receive additional compensation for any purchases you made.

It is never safe to assume that there will be greater compensation or reimbursement than is specified in the shop offer. If you have any questions about a shop offer, contact the scheduler or other mystery shopping company representative before you accept 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. When doing a fine dining shop, you may have an allowance of $150 or more. So if you end up going over that amount you may look at it as getting a $180 meal for $30. However, there are some reasons not to overspend on mystery shops.

The first reason is that if you are like most mystery shoppers you are doing this to make money. If you spend more than you earn on every shop you are not making money. Yes, it is nice to get a big discount on things you buy, but even better not to pay anything out of pocket. Keeping your spending in line means that you are not paying to do the mystery shop.

Another reason to avoid going over the reimbursement limit is that being a big spender may take you out of normal customer spending patterns. Many companies will warn against doing things such as ordering the most expensive item on the menu. You do not want to stand out or be memorable, so keep your purchases normal and reasonable.

Mystery shopping is not something for nothing, but it is a great way to get things you want or need in return for your time and effort.

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.

Most importantly, you can not carry a balance. That means that you should not use a credit card unless you will pay it off in full, every single month. No exceptions. One month where you pay interest can wipe out all of your reward income. Do not use an existing credit card account if it has a balance on it. One option is to get a credit card specifically for mystery shopping (or a card you use for all purchases when you want to maximize rewards).  Do not charge anything on this card unless you will be able to pay it off on or before the due date.

Choose the right card. Because you are not going to carry a balance on this card, the interest rate is much less important that the rewards you will receive.

Paying a fee for the card means that you need to recover the value of the fee before you profit from your rewards.  Many cards with fees have better rewards, so you should project your expected spending and rewards to determine if it is worthwhile to pay a fee. In most cases, it probably will not be cost-effective to pay a fee for your credit card.

You can compare credit card offers here.

Consider any special offers available.  Do you get double or triple points for certain types of purchases, or purchases from specified merchants? Those bonuses can dramatically increase the value of your rewards. The Chase Freedom card also currently offers a $50 bonus after your first purchase–that looks like a great deal to me.

How can you redeem your points? Are points good for gift cards good at only certain merchants? Is a credit automatically applied to your account? Can you choose from several redemption options? Do you get miles? On what airlines can they be used, and what restrictions exist? After all, if you can not use your points for something you want or need, they do not have value to you.

Using a rewards credit card for reimbursed mystery shopping expenses, or for necessary business expenses, can increase your profits by the amount of your rewards.

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?

Although most people only mystery shop part time or spare time, it is possible to be a full-time mystery shopper. One big question is how much you need to earn. $300 to $400 a week is do-able for many secret shoppers.

Location is part of it–are there enough jobs to keep you busy, within an area to which you are willing to travel? If you live in or regularly travel to a large metropolitan area or anywhere there are lots of businesses that get mystery shopped, you will find it easier to get enough assignments to hit your target income.

Beyond that, there are a few more factors:

You have to juggle a lot of assignments from a lot of companies to stay busy full time. Can you keep it all organized and not let anything fall through the cracks?

Choosing the right assignments is important. If a lot of the shops you take are reimbursement-only, they had better be for things you need. Look for assignments that are fee-based, rather than mostly reimbursement.

Getting the better-paying assignments makes a difference. It takes a lot of $7 fees to get to $300. It takes fewer $20 or $40 fees. Build relationships with schedulers so they know they can rely on you. They will reward you with better opportunities. MSPA Certification (Silver, but especially Gold) is also helpful, as some high-end shops are offered first to Certified shoppers.

Volume is important. Set up routes where you do a number of shops in the same area to save time and gas. Again, relationships with schedulers will help. When they know they can count on you, they may give you more assignments. Jobslinger can also help you find which companies have assignments available in the areas you frequent.

Consider going beyond mystery shopping. Many shoppers also do merchandising, surveys and audits. Not only does this expand the number of jobs for which you are eligible, some of these types of assignments are more consistent. You may, for example, have a merchandising route that you do every two weeks. Or audits that you do every month. Most mystery shopping assignments must be rotated among other shoppers, so the work is not as steady. Merchandising, surveys, audits, demos and other types of work may be available through many of the same companies that give you mystery shopping assignments. For more information, see the NARMS web site.

It is possible to be a full-time mystery shopper, but it is not easy. The first step is to convince your husband to let you give it a try. You might agree on a time frame, where if you are not earning at least a certain amount within two months (or whatever time you agree on) you will look for a “real job.”

Good luck!

Have questions? I’ve got answers. Submit your mystery shopping questions to me at cathy (at) idealady (dot) com.

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.

Ultimately, decisions about which shops you will do are up to you. You decide how much compensation makes a shop worthwhile, and whether or not you are willing to do reimbursement-only shops.

Here are some factors to consider in making your decision.

What is the value of the reimbursement?
I have done shops (with or without a fee) that included reimbursements of $150 or more. When calculated over the time required to do the shop and report, that can be a great hourly rate.

What is the value of the reimbursement to you?
If you do not want or need the product or service for which you are reimbursed, it doesn’t matter how much the reimbursement is. A fine dining shop may not be enjoyable if you are on a diet and have to watch what you eat. A vision shop is not useful if you don’t need a new pair of glasses.

Even if the shop offers a large reimbursement, if it is not valuable to you it is not worthwhile. If the reimbursement is for something you would have purchased even if you weren’t doing a mystery shop, then it may be a good deal.

Is the reimbursement adequate to cover the required purchase?
This seems obvious: If you are doing a shop solely for reimbursement, the reimbursement ought to at least cover what you are required to buy. However, there are shops where the required purchase will always be greater than the maximum reimbursement. If you are not certain how much the typical purchase would be, ask your scheduler for more information.

Can you afford to front the cash required to do the shop?
Doing several reimbursement shops can mean putting purchases of hundreds of dollars on your credit cards, or laying out the cash. Do you have the cash or available credit to do this? And if you are not paid by the time your credit card bill is due, will you have the funds to pay the bill in full so you do not incur interest charges?

Choose your mystery shopper assignments wisely, to maximize the return on your time and effort. That may include doing at least some reimbursement-only shops, when the circumstances are right for you.

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.

When you see a shop languishing on a job board, or you get email after email from a scheduler desperate to fill the assignment, you may decide to ask if a bonus is available. Schedulers will not hate you for asking for a bonus, as long as you are polite. Sending an email such as this is not what I have in mind:

You must be joking!!! You want me to go all the way to Podunkville to do this shop? Do you have any idea how far that is from my house? With the price of gas today, you must be out of your mind. And that does not even take into account the time it would take me to drive there and back. Forget it!

The email about the assignment was not sent only to you, so the scheduler probably does not know exactly how far you are from Podunkville. Chances are that the email about this job was sent to all of the shoppers within 100 miles (or more) of Podunkville because they have not found anyone to take the shop. As the due date approaches, schedulers will email shoppers farther and farther away, hoping someone will either take the job (maybe picking up the shop while visiting Mom back in Podunkville) or will know someone who will do it.

Let’s say you have seen several emails come through about the same mystery shopper job, and the scheduler is sounding a bit more frantic in each one. Although the assignment is not in an area you normally shop, you could do the job. But not for the standard fee. You might send an email such as this to the scheduler:

I see you are having a hard time getting someone to shop the Fred’s Bank in Podunkville. Although that location is more than 25 miles from my home, I would like to help you out if I can. Is there any bonus money available to help compensate me for the additional gas and time needed to do this shop–perhaps another $15? Thank you for considering my request. I hope we can work something out.

The scheduler may agree to your request and assign the shop to you. Or, she may make a counteroffer. For example, the scheduler may say that the maximum bonus she can offer is $10. You can then decide if you are willing to do the shop for that amount.

The scheduler may say that she can not offer a bonus because there is no bonus money available. Do not take this personally. Sometimes there is nothing in the budget for bonuses.

Sometimes, if there is not a bonus available, the scheduler may come up with a creative counteroffer, such as offering a group of shops near or on the way to Podunkville, allowing you to do several shops in one trip. Even without a bonus, that could make a trip to Podunkville worthwhile for you.

Schedulers know that you are in business to make a profit. They try to accommodate reasonable bonus requests when they can, because it also helps them to get their jobs done.

Oh, and there is one reason to consider doing an out-of-the-way shop even without a bonus: It creates great shopper karma. When you do something to help a scheduler in need, she will remember you. That means that when that great assignment comes up that everyone wants, you may have an inside track. Although doing some hard-to-fill shops will not guarantee that you will get every shop you want, it can help.

I have done shops where I bought greeting cards and small gifts as some of my purchase allowance, but it hasn’t happened often. Not because I have something against using mystery shop purchases as gifts, but just because many of my shops have not presented the opportunity to do so.

I will admit that some of the dinners my husband and I use to celebrate special occasions have been mystery shops, including at least one of my husband’s birthday dinners and an anniversary dinner at one of our favorite steak houses.

Some people think it is cheap to give a gift you got for “free” on a mystery shop. I have a different perspective. Let’s say my husband takes me out to dinner for my birthday. How will he pay for the meal? With money he earned at his job. In other words, he worked for it.

Now imagine that I take him out for his birthday and the dinner is a mystery shop. How do I pay for dinner? You got it: I work for it. Instead of sitting in an office designing tools as he does, I earn the dinner by sitting at the computer in my home office filling out a report. If anyone thinks that is not work, they have never done a fine dining restaurant mystery shop report.

Do not feel guilty about using something you earned by mystery shopping as a gift. It is the same as taking a fee you received for mystery shopping and using the cash to buy a gift.

We secret shoppers work hard for the “free” stuff we get, just as others work for the cash they use to make purchases. We make an honest living, even if we sometimes get paid in Chateaubriand instead of cash.

So what do you say? Have you ever used a mystery shop perk (e.g., a purchase or free meal) as a gift? Would you?

There is a lot of competition in the industry, and nowhere is this more evident than in the reverse auction. Reverse auctions are used by many large corporations to purchase products and services, including mystery shopping. Here is how they work, and how they affect how much you and I get paid to mystery shop.

You may be most familiar with auctions through online sites such as eBay. Let’s say you find a Brad Pitt bobblehead doll on eBay, and decide you have to have it. You place a bid. Someone else comes along and places a higher bid. You increase your bid, then a third bidder comes along and outbids both of you. This keeps on until two of you decide the price has gotten too high and quit upping your bids, or time runs out for the auction.

Reverse auctions are, as the name implies, the reverse of typical auctions. Bidders are not buying, they are selling. And the winner is the one who bids the least, not the one who bids the most.

Reverse auctions are generally not open to all comers. Bidders must be invited, and they are pre-screened to verify that they are able to meet the client requirements. At the appointed time, the bidding begins. These auctions are typically run through online auction services set up to manage reverse auctions. The first company places their bid, then all of the bidders place lower and lower bids, each undercutting the previous bidder. The action is fast and furious, and the auction may be over in minutes. The company with the lowest bid wins the contract.

Several mystery shopping company representatives have told me about reverse auctions where the fee per shop dropped within minutes from a competitive price to a how-can-they-do-it-for-that-little price. One inevitable result of this type of bidding is that mystery shopping companies look for any way they can cut their costs. That can include looking for ways to reduce costs of doing business such as office expenses, information technology, payroll processing, and staff salaries. They also take a smaller profit percentage than they would like in order to bring their pricing in line with the client’s expectations.

Although there are many companies that do their best to protect the interests of their shoppers (and those companies deserve our loyalty) there are others that look for savings everywhere, including by cutting shopper pay.

So what can we, as secret shoppers, do in this environment? Although we can not control the relationships between mystery shopping companies and their clients, we can decide with which companies (and clients) we will work. Some reduction in shopper pay may be inevitable with the current industry competition. However, if in your opinion a shop is not worth the pay offered, then do not accept it. If the only shoppers willing to take these assignments are those who are inexperienced or unable to get better shops, the clients will get the reports they deserve. Perhaps then we will see a change in the way mystery shopping contracts are awarded and fees for companies, schedulers, editors, and shoppers will reverse the downward trend they have been on.