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I did mystery shopping for about 4 years. I thought I'd share how I got started and give some tips, address some issues, etc.. Please feel free to ask questions. I don't do it anymore, and ***I am not getting paid to post this information!***
First, NEVER pay to mystery shop. You should never have to pay to *sign up* for mystery shopping. There will be some out-of-pocket expenses, and I'll get to those below, but never pay a "mystery shopping company" any money.
There is no "one website" you can visit to sign up and see all the mystery shop jobs available. If one claims to do that, I'm sure they're asking you to pay for it. If you do pay for it, chances are you will be disappointed with what you see. They might just give you general information, or post old jobs. That's what I've heard anyway.
There are hundreds if not thousands of companies that provide mystery shopping services. You will need to sign up for companies individually. This sounds like a daunting task, but there are ways to find out which companies have jobs in your area, which ones are "good", etc. When you sign up or apply, you will be considered an "Independent Contractor", not an employee of their company. Among other things, this means you'll be responsible for paying your own taxes, so keep good records.
First, I'd suggest you create a separate email account for this. You might also consider a separate checking account to better keep track of expenses and payments.
Also, when I did this, some companies paid via PayPal. If you don't have a PayPal account, get one and link it to your mystery shopping email address and checking account.
Here's how I started:
There is a Mystery Shopping Providers Association (mspa.org). This is not an association for shoppers, but for the businesses that provide mystery shopping services. They have a job board. I went to the job board and looked for jobs in my state, then applied at those companies first.
Through that process, I found another website that also posted jobs, but also has a large community of veteran mystery shoppers that share information (I'm not sure if I can post a link? We'll see: http://www.volition.com). This website also has a list of mystery shopping companies I believe most if not all of them have been "approved" by shoppers as good and legitimate companies to work for. Go to the mystery shopping forum and you can look up information on the various companies to see what other shoppers' experiences have been.
Then over time, I applied for various companies as they posted jobs in my state, or as I heard good things about them, and eventually just started making my way down the list of companies.
When you start applying for companies, you'll start seeing emails announcing jobs, or you'll be able to search for jobs in their databases. Some companies allow you to "self-assign", meaning you just take the job and are expected to complete it on time and correctly. Other companies want to assign the job to you, so you don't do the job until they have confirmed with you that it's yours.
You should be able to see a description of the job requirements and pay when you apply. After you're assigned the job, you'll see whatever it is you'll have to fill out (like a survey) and anything else.
Payment depends on the job (or "shop") you do. Some shops pay a flat fee eg. $10. Some pay a fee plus reimbursement for some purchase you might be required to make. Some pay reimbursement only (this is pretty common for restaurant shops). You have to decide what's worth it to you.
The out-of-pocket expenses I mentioned might be that you need to make a purchase at a store or buy a meal, then are reimbursed for it later. Or sometimes you need to make a purchase, then they ask you to return it later.
Chances are to start, you'll have to take some relatively low-paying jobs to get started and build your reputation with various companies. A lot of companies keep a "rating" system and will offer the better jobs to their best shoppers first.
The MSPA offers a certification program for shoppers. There were two levels when I was shopping, silver and gold. You have to decide if it's worth it. Silver was $15 and a test, Gold I think was $199 (??? been a while), a day-long seminar, no test I don't think... I don't believe any mystery shopping company requires a certification. Shoppers have had mixed opinions on whether or not it's helpful in getting better shops.
Anyway, that's all I can think of to start. Again, feel free to ask questions. Hope this is helpful to someone!
First, NEVER pay to mystery shop. You should never have to pay to *sign up* for mystery shopping. There will be some out-of-pocket expenses, and I'll get to those below, but never pay a "mystery shopping company" any money.
There is no "one website" you can visit to sign up and see all the mystery shop jobs available. If one claims to do that, I'm sure they're asking you to pay for it. If you do pay for it, chances are you will be disappointed with what you see. They might just give you general information, or post old jobs. That's what I've heard anyway.
There are hundreds if not thousands of companies that provide mystery shopping services. You will need to sign up for companies individually. This sounds like a daunting task, but there are ways to find out which companies have jobs in your area, which ones are "good", etc. When you sign up or apply, you will be considered an "Independent Contractor", not an employee of their company. Among other things, this means you'll be responsible for paying your own taxes, so keep good records.
First, I'd suggest you create a separate email account for this. You might also consider a separate checking account to better keep track of expenses and payments.
Also, when I did this, some companies paid via PayPal. If you don't have a PayPal account, get one and link it to your mystery shopping email address and checking account.
Here's how I started:
There is a Mystery Shopping Providers Association (mspa.org). This is not an association for shoppers, but for the businesses that provide mystery shopping services. They have a job board. I went to the job board and looked for jobs in my state, then applied at those companies first.
Through that process, I found another website that also posted jobs, but also has a large community of veteran mystery shoppers that share information (I'm not sure if I can post a link? We'll see: http://www.volition.com). This website also has a list of mystery shopping companies I believe most if not all of them have been "approved" by shoppers as good and legitimate companies to work for. Go to the mystery shopping forum and you can look up information on the various companies to see what other shoppers' experiences have been.
Then over time, I applied for various companies as they posted jobs in my state, or as I heard good things about them, and eventually just started making my way down the list of companies.
When you start applying for companies, you'll start seeing emails announcing jobs, or you'll be able to search for jobs in their databases. Some companies allow you to "self-assign", meaning you just take the job and are expected to complete it on time and correctly. Other companies want to assign the job to you, so you don't do the job until they have confirmed with you that it's yours.
You should be able to see a description of the job requirements and pay when you apply. After you're assigned the job, you'll see whatever it is you'll have to fill out (like a survey) and anything else.
Payment depends on the job (or "shop") you do. Some shops pay a flat fee eg. $10. Some pay a fee plus reimbursement for some purchase you might be required to make. Some pay reimbursement only (this is pretty common for restaurant shops). You have to decide what's worth it to you.
The out-of-pocket expenses I mentioned might be that you need to make a purchase at a store or buy a meal, then are reimbursed for it later. Or sometimes you need to make a purchase, then they ask you to return it later.
Chances are to start, you'll have to take some relatively low-paying jobs to get started and build your reputation with various companies. A lot of companies keep a "rating" system and will offer the better jobs to their best shoppers first.
The MSPA offers a certification program for shoppers. There were two levels when I was shopping, silver and gold. You have to decide if it's worth it. Silver was $15 and a test, Gold I think was $199 (??? been a while), a day-long seminar, no test I don't think... I don't believe any mystery shopping company requires a certification. Shoppers have had mixed opinions on whether or not it's helpful in getting better shops.
Anyway, that's all I can think of to start. Again, feel free to ask questions. Hope this is helpful to someone!
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