If you want to learn a lot of about mystery shopping, make friends, and have a little bit of fun…then participating in a ‘mystery shopping forum’ just might be for you.
A forum is a meeting place. It is an online discussion group. It is a place to ask questions and share your knowledge. But forums are also about making friends and building a community. In an ‘anonymous’ profession like mystery shopping, they can be a great way to connect with other people who are just like you.
One thing to keep in mind though: Forums can be addicting. You might notice yourself spending more and more time reading the forum, and less and less time actually out there mystery shopping.
There are a lot of mystery shopping forums out there — some of them big, some small. Each is different in its own way. There are even ‘private’ forums out there, that you have to be invited to. The best way to get invited to one of those is to become a valuable participant in a public forum.
Here is a list of some forums:
- MysteryShopForum – This is my favorite mystery shopping forum! OK…so that’s because I started it…but it has a core group of members who are fun, intelligent, and very helpful. It’s a great group and I highly recommend that you join them.
- Volition Forums — This is the ‘big’ mystery shopping forum. It has been around a long time, and has a lot of members. It is also very strict. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because it does help keep such a big community under control.
- MSFreedom – This forum requires registering before you can read anything. It has a solid community and good discussions.
- MSPA Forums – This is the forum put on by the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. It is not very active, but the ‘beginners’ section has some good information for, well, beginners.
There are other forums out there, but most aren’t very active. If you know of any more, feel free to post one in the comments section below!
This is a good read. I’m new at Mystery Shopping, haven’t gone on a job yet. I’m eager to learn how to have fun, be professional and make good money.
IF YOU LIKE MAKING 5 DOLLARS PER HOUR |Mystery shopping IS for YOU>(ive been on a few) this is perhaps the biggest economical scam that you can pull on yourself. It takes about ***1 AND 1/2 hour***** (THATS ABOUT 90 MINUTES TO MAKE YOUR 5-10 BUCKS)…to COMPLETE a Shop…from Acceptance to Report Completion and Manager Approval..AND that is the Truth.{AND YOU STILL HAVE NOT GOT PAID YET}[IF THEY APPROVE YOUR WORK-THAT COMES LATER] Hopefully it will not take you long to figure out that you are NOT doing THIS for the Money BUT RATHER Because of what you were S O L D in the advertising to ’sign-up’ to become a mystery shopper. OH THE ALLURE OF BECOMING A M Y S T E R Y S H O P P E R ! HA HA HA. HERE’S YOUR SIGN, I mean for example: lets say they pay you 5-10 bucks to go do a mystery shop. YOU THEN get dressed up to look the part-and lets say that takes 10-15 MINUTES to look good,and then you drive a couple of miles to the location-another 10-15 MINUTES(lets just say that includes time to park your car and go inside), then you spend about a half-an-hour(30 MINUTES) in the store, then you make some notes in your car-5 MINUTES, then you drive home-10 or 15 MINUTES(including parking and getting back inside your place. Now lets see, oh yeah, the report.
well that should only take 10-15 MINUTES-if all goes well with the computer, the fax line, the phone line, the response time trying to reach someone and waiting additional MINUTES for them to respond so you can re-enter all your info because you have been timed-out from the BIG computer and so if you do not have to wait and have any additional problems . . .and when it is all said and done Take your 5 dollars and Deduct some GAS money and take the rest and laugh all the way to “THEIR BANK” cause you do not make enough to drive to ‘your bank’. ……maybe we can get them to send you the F i v e
in the mail . . .
Jacob:
How you doing, I have a question about the $5.00 shops Boycot, I don’t receive any more news about it; what about slow pay shops.
I appreciate it if you give a letter about it.
Thank you and have a good day.
I am with Randall. Those $5-$10 shop are not worth your while. There should have been a boycott on them. I never accept them.
I have to agree with the above. I am new to this and after the first week, I knew the $5 – $10 shops aren’t worth the time it takes to do the “requirement” for the shop. And forget about being paid if you are not up to their standards. Think twice about which ones you accept. It is about time these companies realize we are real people trying to earn some money and they should definately think about raising their fees.
I agree about the 5-10 dlls shops. we don’t even pay for gas. But I have a concern, A company named GAP sent me a check for $3,650.00 and I supposed to shop at Macy’s and send 2 money order to two different people working there, they are paying me $100.00 but nthey does not specify business addresses, the ones I supposed to check. Please let me know if this is real, what do I do with the check. the name appears on the check is SHAMIN AHMED, 9431 59TH AVE, ELMHURST NY. do I sent the check back to him at this address? PLEASE ADVISE. thanks
Please do not send any money to anyone or atleast not any of your own. Take a check to a bank to check out to see if it is real or fake. Do what you feel is correct.
hi. i have a concern that is making me uncomfortable. there is a company in chicago for mystery shopping, at least they say that, that says they will pay me 500 per week doing mystery shopping for them. i agree and now the send my pay and first assignment BEFORE i make the job. they even send the money for making the shops. but the amount of the check is really big, taking in mind that mystery shopping pay a misery on each task. we are talking of three ceros. now i do not know what to do. what if i send the money on my name and it is not legal. i really want the job. i need it but….. if anybody knows about this company please reply coylehos steel co. inc in chicago. thanks so much
Do alot of research before making any moves. Check it out with the Better Business Bureau.
Huh! I just got a hit from Miland Steel Company out of Kansas City, Missouri….same deal – they send you a check for like $3500 and you take $500 out for yourself and the rest is either a Money Gram transaction back to that company…a shopping trip for like $60 – and you get to keep the merchandise….sounds dicey to me!
First to address the issue of the 5-10 dollar jobs. Some companies will only let you start off by doing the small paying jobs. They do this to make sure you are going to do the job for them and do it right. After doing 1-2 small jobs, alot of times (if the quality is good), they will start sending you higher paying jobs. Another thing to do is sign up on as many companies as possible (I am signed up on 53) and do as many jobs as you can in one day in the same area. That is the only way I will do the small paying jobs. Sometimes I do as many 7 jobs in one day and can make $150.00 to $200.00.
Now for the checks….DO NOT DO IT!!!. If it sounds to good to be true it is. Alot of time you can go to the company’s website the individual says they work for and the website will tell you it is a scam and they are not involved with it. I have seen some with a BBB tag on it and when you click the tag it is for a different company. It is illegal to send the money Western Union unless you know the person you are sending it too. There isn’t any Mystery Shopping Company that is reputable that will ask you to do this.
If you have any questions feel free to email me….christinalong34@hotmail.com.
Macy,s and Gap are going out of business!!!!!!!
scams galore…by our very nature we are the epitome of the good guy scam artist…we pretend to be something that we are not. frankly though for a good reason. we are looking to catch the bad guy/poor employee or bad businsess practice in our efforts so i am ok with my premeditated pack of lies—all in the name of improving business practices—so that others my have a more pleasurable shopping experience. having worked retail in a previous life i hated hearing that we were going to be ‘mystery-shopped’…how dare someone waste my time…after all i was one of the good guys…truly…i gave everyone the same level of impeccable service time and again….but it was not me that they were after…it was the other guy…but the business owner just wanted prove that you were doing the job in a no.1 fashion and that no doubt you had his best interests in mind…dummys reduce business and cause low sales and sometime cause a business to actually fail…so if i deceive you for the grand purpose of the ultimate scam…but for the purpose of helping the business stay in business then i have done my job…i do not give high score to morans…i call ‘em like i see ‘em…and for the most part i observe alot of good folks doing a good job. then there are the other people….we are the ones we are there to observe…no doubt if business were booming there might be less of a need for us….we are truly a public servant…so i look at my job as a mystery shopper as a very important one, although a rather unfortunate reality of business. while hordes of businesses are currently failing all around us consider this…your best scam skills may very well be the actions thay save your neighborhood business from going under. i put on my best scamming game face for the absolute benefit of the honorable business owners that hope to not go under. i am the epitome of a very Good scam artist and proud of it.
I WILL NOT EVEN CONSIDER APPLYING FOR A JOB THAT PAYS LESS THAN $ 18.
Minimun wage is $7. something, Most MS job take 2 hours of your time..
You are working for less than minimum wage if you perform MS assigments that pay $12 to complete,
As MS are independent contractors, I often send notices to the schedulers stating that I an interested in, and would be happy to complete the assignment , but i must decline as it is m opinion that the compensation level is unacceptable to an experienced behavior analyist.
RITA, go to IC3.gov…….turn it over to the feds
Well,this year everybody is about politics anyways.My experience was express well,empowered well,the effect was unexpressive.
I’m a very good worker. I’m a very reliable person and I’m a focus person. You won’t be sorry for giving me a chance. I’m very responsible person always on time. I like to dance and sing. I like to meeting people. I like to do anything exciting.
I’m a very good worker. I’m a very reliable person and I’m a focus person. You won’t be sorry for giving me a chance. I’m very responsible person always on time. I like to dance and sing. I like to meeting people. I like to do anything exciting.
I’VE APPLYED FOR THIS JOB I GOT MY AISSAMENTI I COMPLETED AND I SENT ALL INFO BACK TO THEM AND THE CHECK DID NOT CLEAR. WHAT CAN I DO TO CLEAR. THIS PLEASE HELP ME?
I am new at mystery shopping and would like some feedback on which companies have lots of shops in Canada, Saskatchewan in particular. I spent lots of time applying for one company to find they had no shops in Canada although they claimed to.
well mi q is how does this work! do u get a check or u just go were they tell you to go n they expect u to be their. do i need to give a down payment to get in n is it going to afect me if i dnt do anything of he service you tell me about, do i chose them wel aws you can see i have to many questions!
lets shop i need a income thank you
Just a quick note as to mystery shopping companies that provide you with the money up front–ITS A SCAM–never do it espcially if they want you to deposit it into your bank account and then wire it via money gram or western union–
I hear that there are some good companies and bad companies to work for–anyone have some feedback on which ones are good?
i am looking to make extria money.
i am looking for a good part time job as a mystryshopper. let me konw of a good one.
I am interested in applying for a mystery shopper job. Any advice?
Linda Lollis
Has anyone ever heard of a mystery shopper company called Micro Consult Concepts Inc. run by a dennis huntt or donald stafford?
I also want to becoming a mystery shopper with good companies but not sure how to get started with the right one please help
John posted April 30.2009 “Just a quick note as to mystery shopping companies that provide you with the money up front–ITS A SCAM–never do it espcially if they want you to deposit it into your bank account and then wire it via money gram or western union–” CAN you explain how the scam works? I’m at the start of just such an offering.
My name is William. I hail from Kenya. I am interested in mystery shopping assignments. Please feel free to contact me. I am hardworking, reliable, innovative.
regrds
william