Durriyyah Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 On another forum, a mama was asking about how to make a few extra bucks, and someone said she does mystery shopping. I'm looking at mysteryshop.org (recommended by the poster) and wondering if the work to find the job and do the job is worth the money. Has anyone done it, and is there a lot of hassle? For instance, I signed up with a survey company that pays $125+ for surveys (i.e. build a book case and give feedback on the results) but I have yet to qualify for a survey because of our existing buying habits. Thoughts? Feedback? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 It can be very tough to do with kids. You can't have them with you for shops. I did make some okay pocket money before, but I just don't have the time to do it anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durriyyah Posted November 27, 2012 Author Share Posted November 27, 2012 I'm fortunate that DD1 can watch DD2, so I can leave for small periods of time to do stuff like this, or have doctor appointments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durriyyah Posted November 27, 2012 Author Share Posted November 27, 2012 I looked at some online listings and one that I was really interested in was getting a quote for at-home tree service since we need to get a quote anyway. The online form to sign up as a shopper though asked for my SS# and I'm not willing to give that out online to a company I never heard of before. I have now signed up as a shopper at two different sites based on listings that were at mysteryshop.org. Really, I'd like to get a few extra bucks to fund my knitting/crochet/quilting hobbies. :p The $20/wk I give myself from DH's paycheck doesn't go far if I want to make a sweater. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 My DD and my DIL both do this. My DD has been doing it for several years for several companies. I don't know the names of the companies, but I could get them if you are interested. She absolutely says they are worth it for her. Her DH is home sometimes during the day so she will do them during those times. Others are restaurants that they can have a date night. Recently she did a jewelry store and will be reimbursed for her $65.00 ring she purchased. Oil changes are always free for her. She has done mortgage aps too.Usually she has to pay for the item and then she will be reimbursed plus a small fee. Lately she has been doing audits for a Best Buy and they pay quite a bit of money, but it's a long day for her too. If they are out of town, she will get reimbursed for some gas money. Because she has been doing this for a while now, she occasionally will be contacted personally and asked to do a particular mystery shop and then she often can negotiate a better price because they have a need. Sometimes she gets paid by check and other times they put money into her Paypal account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessed3x Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 My DD and my DIL both do this. My DD has been doing it for several years for several companies. I don't know the names of the companies, but I could get them if you are interested. She absolutely says they are worth it for her. Her DH is home sometimes during the day so she will do them during those times. Others are restaurants that they can have a date night. Recently she did a jewelry store and will be reimbursed for her $65.00 ring she purchased. Oil changes are always free for her. She has done mortgage aps too.Usually she has to pay for the item and then she will be reimbursed plus a small fee. Lately she has been doing audits for a Best Buy and they pay quite a bit of money, but it's a long day for her too. If they are out of town, she will get reimbursed for some gas money. Because she has been doing this for a while now, she occasionally will be contacted personally and asked to do a particular mystery shop and then she often can negotiate a better price because they have a need. Sometimes she gets paid by check and other times they put money into her Paypal account. I would be interested in the names of the companies for my dd21. She is looking for extra money while she is in college. Please PM me. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I recently went with a friend on a hotel shop for 3 days--she did the shop; I went along to have fun and enjoy the extra time to work on my home businesses. It was great fun for me, but she worked so hard. She worked before we left, while we were there and after she returned home. She enjoys it so much I think it is a perfect fit for her. But it is not something I would want to do. Loved going with her though! I felt like we were on a secret mission! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 We do a lot of restaurant shops. That is how we afford to take all five of us out to dinner. ;) I usually do a few cellphone shops while in the area to help with gas, and then there are the retail shops where I get free clothes and such for the kids. It is worth it to me, but I am very picky on what I do. I have found surveys that pay anything worthwhile take too long, so I do not do those, but people have had great success with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saille Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 While it was a nice way to get out of the house once in a while, I can't say it was a moneymaker for me. Once I factored in the gas and the hassle of meeting sometimes strict guidelines (schedule, what to order, etc.) and the sometimes time-consuming online documentation, I realized it wasn't really worthwhile. Plus I got really tired of McDonald's burgers every week :bored: . Oh my gosh, the McDonald's shops were the WORST. So long and time consuming for so little money. Of course, I think this was in 2002. They may have changed things up. I always looked at Volition dot com. Their forums were a good place to look for legit shops, but it's been a long time since I've done them, for the reasons others have mentioned. That said, if people are still using the Sassie scheduling system, anyone using that was generally legit, and I was working for Foresee when they were still Synovate, and they always paid on time. The best shops I did were generally banking shops (I would swap kidcare with a friend and do a bunch in a day) and Dunkin Donuts shops. That said, when Dunkin quit allowing kids, at least for me, it was a hostile franchise owner who made that happen. The problem was that they knew what mystery shoppers were going to be ordering that month, knew they were supposed to check the bathrooms, etc.. They'd watch for that, and their customer service would be disproportionately good for anyone who met those requirements. I would bring my kids, order the required items, check them myself and then split them between us, have a kid ask me to take them to the bathroom, and so on. It was a really excellent cover, and one owner got very badly burned b/c ALL the employees were out by the dumpsters taking a smoke, and they took their sweet time coming in. When they did, they sounded like kids coming in from recess. The owner disputed the shop twice, claimed I was the friend of an employee (I had just moved to town that summer and all the employees were teens and young twenty-somethings) but I stayed firm, and I'd saved all my documentation and could back up what I'd said. Ultimately, they forbade kids on future shops to pacify the person. So, just be aware that that kind of nonsense can go on. All my other shops with Dunkin were fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Agreeing that it was always better for an excuse to get out of the house than to make any real money. At my height, I was working for 12 different companies, including some pretty exclusive ones that paid well, but with that pay, there was extensive time involved, so it still didn't come out to a great hourly rate. I worked at it maybe 15 hours a week and made $2000 that year. It eventually got to the point that I decided that the time wasn't worth it for the money, but some of the places we went and things we did were kind of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durriyyah Posted November 27, 2012 Author Share Posted November 27, 2012 Great feedback, thanks everyone! I just got an email this morning for a hotel lobby shop. I'll pass on that one, but I'm looking forward to possibly finding something in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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