I'm just wondering how mystery shopping works? How one get paid for doing it?

A friend of mine told me to try it. But I need some advice first as this will be my first time to do mystery shopping.

Thanks!

I have never seen it work. I havent heard of anyone getting paid for this neither.... probably a SCAM!

Hello

This CAN work and I have a friend back home in the UK that has earned from this sort of thing - but they did not find it online.

There are many legitimate 'Mystery Shopper' companies, but you need to ensure that they are genuine. There are scams out there, as Will alludes to, but with a little research, you should be able to find the real deal. There are many 'real', offline companies that use Mystery Shoppers to test their staff and facilities etc.

Best Regards

Tony

I would stay away from the mystery shopping area online

There are many other ways to earn money online that aren't borderline "scam"

Hi,

Mystery shopping involves visiting places like restaurants, shops and banks to find out how well employees are carrying out their customer-service duties. It's the employers themselves that ask for this type of service as a way of finding out how well their employees are doing.

The 'mystery' part means you're expected to make the visit without revealing what you're actually there for. You act like any other customer.

To get involved in mystery shopping, you have to be able to follow instructions very well, be very observant as well as organised and objective.

How much and how you get paid is down to the mystery-shopping company you join.

I don't know if you know of the MoneySavingExpert forums, but they have an extensive forum dedicated to mystery shopping that you might find useful.

take care...

I don't think so .it REALLY WORK .

Bare International is probably the largest mystory shopping company worldwide, correct me if I'm wrong.

I've done shops with them in the past and they did pay. Unfortunately it's not always easy to get selected and to find mystery shops in your own town/region.

I am registered with BARE ..have done a couple of assignments & had no problems so far!! They pay well and on time!

You seem experienced in 'Mystery Shopping'. Why don't you generate and post a list here so that we can get familiar with all such companies who conduct this kind of campaign.

I also have done some mystery shopping inthe past.

Here's what I can share:

1. Don't pay to join a service. That is a scam.
2. You should expect them to ask for your social security number. You would be an independent contractor with them (as a myster shopper) and so that is a standard request.
3. It is time consumer. When I tried it out, it was not uncommon to get a shop that took and hour to do and then have follow up paperwork that also took and hour and I'd get paid $10 for it.
4. I found the sites I used to shop with through volition.com They are a great resource.
5. It helps to be in a larger city.

All that said, I don't do it anymore. It was waaaay too much time for far too little pay.

Unfortunately, Mystery Shopping doesn't pay as well as it used to. The market is flooded with companies. A couple years ago a friend of mine used to do it and would get paid really well, and get reimbursed for the purchase they were required to make.

Now a days, you're lucky if you get paid $10 for 2-3 hours of work, and no reimbursement for purchases. There is also a lot of paperwork and memorization. Since you're not supposed to reveal who you are, you have to try and remember every single question you're supposed to ask and that can be very exhausting.

Here is a site you might find helpful

Mystery Shoppers Providers Association (MSPA): http://www.mysteryshop.org