Info On Mystery Shopping


(Lewis T. Pace, Jr. asks...)





Do you happen to have any info on legitimate mystery shopping contacts and opportunities? (And, the editor thinks you are also wondering how to avoid those offers out to scam shoppers.)

Coleen, the working while RVing editor comments:

If you enjoy shopping and are detail orientated, if the idea of free products appeals to you, if you have a lot of time with nothing to do, and if you don't particularly need an income, you might like to give it a try.

I've done some mystery shops. I thought it would be fun. Although the company I reported to was legitimate, I felt it was a waste of my time. Maybe that was because the products I bought to test had little value to me -- they weren't something I would otherwise have purchased.

It turned out to be a lot of work for very little pay. Granted, the work wasn't hard. But, it was very time consuming. The actual shop took considerably longer than I was told it should take. Filling out the forms… if they said it would take 10 minutes, I could plan on it taking an hour.

But, back to your question about legitimate mystery shopping companies.

The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) is a good source of information for you. Their website lists their business members and provides contact info for them. It also contains a lot of general information, such as explanations of terms, such as "merchandising audits" and "incentive based shopping program." You can also search for assignments from the MSPA site.

Mystery shoppers work as independent contractors.

You should not need to pay a fee. They should pay you. If they ask you to pay a registration fee, that is a sign of a scam -- not a legitimate mystery shopping opportunity.

Go from this info on mystery shopping to the Workers On Wheels Work for RVers and Campers blog.





Comments for Info On Mystery Shopping

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MSPA Website Address


I should have included a link to the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) North America website. MSPA Website
Mystery Shopping


I agree 100%. There is a tremendous amount of paperwork to fill out and if you make even one little mistake they will not accept it. Way too much work for little pay!
They do pay


Mystery shopping companies do pay, I've done it and been paid. I haven't been turned down yet, but they can turn you down if you don't fill out all of the information or follow their directions. If you follow their directions and fill in the questions, you should get paid. The way I found out how to figure out the real mystery shopping jobs from the scams, is to mostly go onto their websites. If they put an ad out for your name, phone, etc., they are the ones who want to send you a money order and want you to take it to Western Union. Those are no good. The legitimate ones, are the ones that actually send you out on a job to a real store, sometimes train you, and have you fill out the question usually online. They want you to fill out the whole questionnaire, on time, and you had to follow the directions, to get paid. They usually don't pay you until after the job. I have had real mystery shopping companies pay in advance, but now days, those are the ones to watch out for. That is not common anymore. The ones that do really pay in advance, would be a good reputable company that you would probably know, or can find out about. The legitimate companies who use ads, will usually have a link back to their website.

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