Mystery Shopping can be a fun way to earn some extra money while not having to go out of your way. The idea behind Mystery Shopping is pretty simple. Retail stores, restaurants, and other businesses want to know how they’re employees are performing when management isn’t looking over their shoulders.
They send in mystery shoppers to assess how their store handles customer inquiries, sales techniques, or whatever else the owners think may need improvement. As a mystery shopper you are given a specific assignment for what to buy, what questions to ask, and instructions on how to complete a detailed report.
When you are asked to purchase things in most cases you will be reimbursed after you submit your report. The pay varies based on the job, which is why a lot of people sign up with several mystery shopping services at the same time.
There is one very important thing that you need to be aware of if you’re going to seriously pursue mystery shopping. Many scam artists have started masquerading as legitimate mystery shopping companies.
So here are some tips for staying safe with mystery shopping…
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- Never pay money to become a mystery shopper, or for that matter any kind of certification programs.
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- Keep a list of all the real companies that you’ve registered with and know what their email addresses look like. Scammers will send out emails pretending to be real companies, but these are easy to spot since they use free or foreign email addresses.
- Most importantly if you get an email asking you to cash a check or do a Western Union “mystery shop” immediately discard it. Real mystery shopping companies will never ask you to do anything involving sending money, cashing huge checks, or anything financially sensitive.
With that being said if you are careful about what you’re doing and only stick to the real companies provided in this list or other trusted online sources then you should have no problems with mystery shopping.
Below you will find a list of Legitimate Mystery Shopping Job Companies (Updated 2018):
Mystery Shopping Jobs (A-B)
Mystery Shopping Jobs (C-L)
I would like to find the list that everyone is talking about. I think that it was something prepared by Jerri?
Like everyone else, I'm really in need of some legitimate work at home options. I've signed up for so many Mystery Shopping and Survey taking sites but, they want all of your personal details, then they hit you up for money of course. To top it off they want to pay you with gift cards. I don't know about everyone else out there but, my utility company and landlord wants cash, not gift cards, lol.
If someone out there can point me in a "legitimate" work direction, it would truly be appreciated.
Thanks!
Thanks.
Is there any mystery shopping firms in Uk?
Is it listed how much they will pay you?
Jerri- mentioning video, recordings, etc-I'm pretty good at 'PI' type information, researching. In a case with a rent to own center, battling billing mistakes for a friend, I legally recorded the (moron) Mgr due to 'no expectation of privacy.' Those laws are touchy, any idea how that works when doing this for the companies? The employees do have some rights in that, despite in their place of business and so on. Just curious but I'd assume it's a per case decision, per state, laws, etc.
Thanks to all for input here, Lauri
I never accept the shops that pay very little like that! Don't be fooled, there are definitely shops out there that pay anywhere from $20-$75. The apartment shops typically pay more, and you can also build a route of shops and really rack up on some money. There are recorded audio shops as well as hidden video shops. So check some of them out before you base your decision on one person's statement about payouts. I automatically delete any emails with shops that are paying less than $25. I consider them a waste of my time and gas money!