The key to getting mystery shopping assignments is to find companies that actually have assignments for you.
I’m here right now to tell you how that is done.
When I first got started in mystery shopping, I thought that I had to find local companies for shops in my area. I thought that all it would take was to open up the phone book.
That’s definately not how it works.
Sometimes people ask if they should call the business they want to mystery shop and ask what companies do shopping for them. Many people have tried that, and very few people have succeeded. That is just not how its done.
Mystery shopping is a huge billion dollar industry. There are hundreds of companies operating in the US alone, and they are constantly competing for business.
That means one month a company might have shops in your area. And then the next month, they lose their contract to a competitor and they don’t have any shops at all.
But take heart! Things are not as dire as they may seem.
It is actually quite easy to find companies that DO have shops in your area, whether you live in the middle of nowhere Nebraska, or in a giant city like New York.
In the past two years I’ve talked to hundreds of mystery shoppers, and I’ve experimented with dozens of ways of finding companies with assignments in a specific area….all with the goal of making it as quick and easy as possible.
There are several good options. If you want to have the most assignments offered to you with the least amount of effort, I recommend doing all of them.
First, sign up for ShadowShopper. Yes, I know some people hate that they are a ‘for-profit’ company, but they also have a very comprehensive scheduling service. That means they automatically connect you with companies that have assignments in your area.
Second, register with Kern Scheduling. They are another big scheduling company. They’ll be pretty likely to find assignments in your area.
Third, scour the job boards. The biggest job board is run by the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. They’re the trade organization that represents 200+ mystery shopping companies. You can easily search for assignments in your area. Don’t worry if the assignments you find are out of date — register with the companies anyways. It’s likely they’ll have assignments for you next month.
Fourth, read the forums. I own and operate MysteryShopForum.com, and it has turned into a great community of active mystery shoppers. It is also a great source for finding new mystery shopping companies. You can get feedback about the good ones, the bad ones, and the ones that have assignments in your area.
Follow those four steps and your inbox will fill up with assignments. But remember, the more companies you register with, the more assignments you will be offered. Don’t just register with four or five companies. Most full time mystery shoppers have a list of 10-20 companies they work with on a regular basis, and another 20-30 companies that they might check out from time to time.
I am just getting started with Mystery Shopping.
Would Like To Be Mystery Shopper
Still not with Shadow shopper, not doing a lot of shops either, but this is not a large area. I am with Kern scheduling and get a lot of offers, although some are for father away than I’d go. Love to try for the jobs. Do quite a lot for a local grocery, free food and $$4 me.
When I first got started (4 years ago), it was through Shadow Shoppers. I did get lots of email with shop opportunties. I paid the minimal fee-bronze I think it was. Along the way, I found MSPA, and, again, I paid the fee for Silver. That was in 2004. I don’t like the idea that Shadow Shoppers charge you a fee annually. Whereas, MSPA is onetime, until you upgrade. But once I became registered with those mystery shop companies I found through Shadow Shoppers, you don’t need to continue to pay Shadow Shoppers. I have steady work. Good Luck to you all.
I am new to mystery shopping, but I have signed up with more than fifty companies. I would like to know what companies are in the Palm Beach area. I am honest, dependable, and available.
would like to become a Mystery shopper , but dont know how.
I would like to be a Mystery shopper, but just don’t know how
I AM INT. IN MERCHANDISING AND MYSTERY SHOPPING.
Hi, I am so sick of all these site that have to have 3 steps completed be for you can get to the end. It is a waste of time. I have signed up with these site and then there is a sign that says you have to sign up with x amount of offers. I eliminate these as they come up. You name a bunch of these site over and over. You say you can do surveys and make money I dont find these too often. A lot of site have the same thing. Sign up and you get the same companies. I do not enjoy all this rigamarole.
Yes I want to get start tell me how.
Carla
I would like to know how to get started to be mystery shopper in the Michigan area? and to they really pay for you to do surveys.
I am interested in merchandising and demonstrating work in Delaware. Are there fees involved.
I am interested in mystery shopping 65 1/2 atlantic street Jersey city new jersey 07304 apt 2 201 413-9825
Please fill free to call me for we can discuss. when to get started
I agree that the survey business is a headache. A lot of the companies end up at the same doostep , web perspectives. Also I have not found a website with Sassie that I can enter from Canada
I agree Laura, Its a major waste of time to get these companies who say that they pay the best or will pay surveys but once you start the process you have to subscribe to this and that. Most the time you will see ads that tell you never to pay for a mystery shopping job and yet I get these types of e-mails and job offers all the time.
I agree on surveys, unless you buy their products, they do not pay. They are a fraud.
i need help getting a hold of omega research&development.they sent my friend areadea bassett a 4200.00 check and i put it in my new account and it was fake and me&areedea have the some addresss.but with my house burning down 3weeks ago and two of my familey menber killed in this fire.and on top of that in the last 3weeks leave last 4 very close friends of my the most reson one was yesterday. so with this coming puting this over drifted my new account by $600.00 and now we can find then or get ahold of then.i cant even get a ckeck from the fire cash cause no i.d. but if my bank account was over drifted i wouldnt have to worry about cashing a ckeck so i can rebuld my life and this company is using your name in a bad was an the stress in under is about to make me have a siezer.please if you can in any way help us please im on my knees please.ive lost everything i owen and my love ones and i dont no what to do.you can e-mail areadea bassett at liquorforme@yahoo.com or me dustin.mcauley@yahoo.com or can call us at 3167757054 anytime welcome to leave message. please help a girl that lost everything find this company using your name and make them pay me for what they did.dustin mcauleyplease help
Dustin,
I am so sorry for your all that you are going through. I can’t imagine how difficult things must be for you right now.
The Secret Service actively investigates check scams. You should contact them immediately.
Read this post for more information:
http://www.mysteryshoponline.com/blog/scam-warning-2/
Jacob
I am wondering if I got an e-mail from scam mystery shop. The name is Harland Clarke. The send you some information to print out on doing bank shop that pay $35. I did not have to register or anything. The more I thought about it, I did not want to send them any information. One of the things they asked for was my SSN. I just did not feel right about them. Are they a scam?
Diane, Harland Clarke is a legitimate company. They do indeed do bank shops that pay $35. The shops are handled differently than most MSPs but they are reasonable shops and they pay on schedule. Definitely not a scam.
When I first started mystery shopping I did go to Shadow Shoppers, but I have never paid for their membership. The few words they give you are enough to search for the company on your own. I don’t think you should ever have to pay for mystery shopping, even if you are just starting out. I also agree that the more companies you sign up for, the better chance you have at finding many shopping opportunities in your area.
I have been mystery shopping for couple of years and I think that it is possible to find mystery shopping companies without paying to be on any sort of a list. It takes some time but with a little skill you can definately find many mystery shopping campanies if you know where to look. I usually just searh mystery shopping and go from there.
I am new at this, I found one the site is kim@mysteryshoponline.com is this one fake or real.
I have shopped for about 2 years I am now making over $1,200.00 a month on a slow month. First I’d say do your research and use common sense. I find these blogs many times to be an insult to good shoppers. Grammar is a huge part of this type of work and if you can not spell or use proper grammar or punctuation please do not pursue this type of work.
Go back to school or buy a book on how to communicate and write before you sign up. If however you think this is easy and you can get away with typo’s and poor grammar, coupled with grade school sentences you will soon find that no one will hire you, you will not be awarded any jobs and in some cases you will not be paid for a job you completed because it was worthless to the client.
I do video recording shops (covert assignments, Hotel over night stays, Resort stays, new home shops and even some over night travel), where all expenses are paid. But I only get these types of jobs because I know how to communicate and give the client what they are looking for.
Please do yourself and all legitimate hard working shoppers a favor and either get educated or leave the jobs to those of us that will maintain the level of integrity that a client is looking for and please don’t sign up just to give us all a bad name.
Mystery shopping is a fun job but might not be right for everyone.
I am really impressed with your writing abilities and also with the format for
your blog. Is this a paid subject matter or did you
customize it your self? Either way keep up the nice high quality writing, it is uncommon to see a nice
weblog like this one today..