I was struck by a recent post on MysteryShopForum.com.
Apparently, a woman who earns $90,000 a year in her regular job does mystery shopping in her spare time. And loves it.
But why? Because, as she says, it gives her a chance to go out and talk to people. It fulfills her need to be social. It gives her a way to deal with the stress of her real-life job.
Every mystery shopper has their own unique reason for mystery shopping.
Many people do it to earn extra cash so they can pay off credit card bills, or save money for a vacation, just plain have fun, or even to supplement their social security income.
I received an email from a lovely grandmother once. She was saving her mystery shopping money so that she could take her grand-children on a dream vacation to Disney World. That was her special reason for mystery shopping.
Why do you mystery shop?
Many people new to mystery shopping complain that the pay is too low, that there aren’t any good assignments available, and that its just not worth the effort.
Unfortunately, these are the same people who don’t follow my simple advice of applying to mystery shopping companies, actively looking for assignments, and following through.
A recent discussion on MysteryShopForum.com really opened my eyes on this. The question was asked: What was your favorite assignment in 2007? There were some really interesting answers, and some very high paying assignments. Including getting $305 for much needed plumbing, eating a delicious streak dinner(for free) at $100 a head, and earning an EASY $100 for just one simple fast food assignment.
But guess what — the people that had the great assignments are the ones who are serious about their mystery shopping…And they show it by following through. They have done the simple legwork of finding good mystery shopping companies to work with, and they have established routines of getting assignments from those companies.
Not surprisingly, these people are also some of the most active members of MysteryShopForum.com — showing that it PAYS to be involved in the community.
So YES, there are people out there who are getting fun high paying assignments with mystery shopping.
Want to be one of them? Here’s what I recommend
- Apply to a few mystery shopping companies a day for 4 weeks. Then narrow that list down to companies that you want to work with, and that have assignments in your area.
- Become an ACTIVE member of MysteryShopForum.com. Dive in headfirst. Ask questions, answer questions, and just plain get involved. It is bar-none the most powerful way to become an expert mystery shopper that knows exactly how to make the most money and get the best assignments. (Just look at members such as Flash, Bugspost, Nwazshopper, Rudymiker, and JoanG and you’ll know what I mean.)
Hello Jacob,
Thanks for popping in! Thanks for all of your wonderful e-mails which taught me a lot about Mystery Shopping. This is a whole new stimulating world for me.
The key to this whole mystery shopping thing is being teachable, flexible, following directions, and submitting shops accurately and on time. A person will only get out of it what they put into it. I am now registered with about 75 companies and have to check my e-mail a couple of times a day. Continue reading ‘Mystery Shopping Success Story’
I have been mystery shopping since Jan. 06, successfully completing approx. 15-20 shops. I have applied to 15 companies. However, I have had my best experience with mysteryshops.com and I mainly do shops for them.
I work full-time so this is an excellent part-time job for me. I can shop when I feel like shopping. I love to shop and I love to earn cash. Therfore, this is perfect for me. I dine out a lot. Now I get to do it for free. All of my shops received perfect scores and I never had a problem getting paid. Continue reading ‘Mystery Shopping as a Part Time Job’