proudAPmom

More Mystery Shopping Jobs: Data Quest, Ltd.- www.dataquestonline.com/Datatron - www.usd-datatron.com/David Sparks & Associates - www.sparksresearch.com/**DSG Associates - www.dsgai.com/Eyes R Us, Inc.- www.eyesrusinc.com/The Field Force - www.thefieldforce.com/First Bank - www.efirstbank.com/Focus on Service - www.focusonservice.com/Franchise Compliance, Inc - www.franchisecompliance.com/Full Scope Mystery Shopping - www.fullscopemysteryshopping.com/G3 Mystery Shopping - www.sparagowski.com/Grantham, Orilio & Associates - www.goashoppers.com/Graymark Security Group - www.graymarksecurity.com/Green & Associates - www.greenandassociates.com/Greet America, Inc.- www.greetamerica.com/ 

Are you a stay at home mom or dad who is just trying to make ends meet? Need to earn a little extra income in your free time? Well, then we are in the same boat and I am trying hard to figure out how to do just that. Maybe I can help by sharing what has worked for me and what hasn’t. It sure saves some time when you know where to look and who to trust. 

First, look at the skills you have. Can you type? Do you have transportation? Can you shop and evaluate stores? If you were to go to the store, could you remember the name and description of the cashier, sales associate, and/or manager? Can you be observant and see if the store is clean and items are well stocked.  If you can do these things you may be a good canidate for a mystery/secret shopping position. 

Mystery shopping if a fun and rewarding job that is real, if you find the right company. I’ve signed up for more than 10 different companies but have found only 3-4 that I really like and that I’ve actually done any shopping for. I will share some of those with you - Trendsource is my favorite. They pay pretty well (although not the highest in the business) and they pay quickly. Matter of fact, they offer direct deposit into your checking account which makes the pay even faster. They offer a good selection of jobs every month, and if you work really hard and turn in your assignments quickly and they are of good quality you can earn a good enough score that you will be able to self-assign jobs. This means that if you see a really great shop become available you can just take it, rather than wait for someone at headquarters to approve you for the job -whle your waiting someone else may get the job.  Check TRENDSOURCE out here. Click on the Become a Field Agent. You will be required to fill out an application and provide you SS# for tax purposes*.  When you are hired, they will request a photo id as well. You should have a scanner or digital camera for you use as well, since it makes it so much easier to submit receipts and other forms this way.

Another secret shopping company is NSG. I’ve recently been shopping for them and they have some of the highest paying jobs that I’ve done so far (around $30 for a shop that required a visit to two stores in one day). The reports have been more detailed and a little longer to write them, but as long as I get my paycheck I am happy. They also have a scoring system, but I think that they just offer the best jobs to those with the higher scores. So far, for three shops that I’ve done I’ve scored 10/10 on them all. They also like for you to upload receipts/quotes and other info to their website, but you can aslo fax the info to them.  I haven’t been paid by them yet, but when I do get my first check I am looking at $90 for about 3.5 - 4 hours total work. Not too shabby! Click here to go to NSG.

Now I will share with you about a few other sites that I’ve found. These sites are better if you don’t  have transportation and would rather work right from your home office. These sites are best if you have some writting skills and have some time to sit at the computer. 

1. Textbroker - this site is for those who have some writting skills and can write articles that people/companies request. You sign up, write a sample of your work (you have to pick a topic) and then they grade your work (1-5; 1 being poor while 5 would be professional) and then you can search the job board to find projects that you want to work on. They pay per word based on your score. I did two projects so far (with a writing score of 3-average) and have made just over $5. You cash out when you reach $10 or more and it is deposited to a Paypal account (so you must have one before signing up). The work is pretty tough and you have to have the article written just the way the customer wants it or it can be rejected. Each time you submit an article they must approve it before you are paid and then they will also score it. Your goal is always to raise your score as you get paid better when you have a higer score. I’ve only been with them for about a week now, but I think that they could become something if I can devote a bit more time to the research and writing of the articles - it takes some time.

2. Gather.com. This site is one I’ve been with since December 2006. It is basically an adult Facebook. You join, post pictures, articles (now called posts) and movies. You comment on others stuff and participate as much as possible. The more you view pages, the more you earn. The more you post, the more you earn. Connect with other people - look for people with simmilar interests, or just find people who seem interesting and ask them to be your friends (friend request link button) and as you build a network of friends, they will see your writting/photos, etc and you will see theirs. Join groups - there are many, many groups on Gather. Find groups that share your interests and post content to them. You will find many different people and groups on Gather. You earn points and when you reach a certain amount - you can cash them out for either gift cards or Paypal payments. Since my joining in 06 here is what I’ve earned:

The rewards come quickly and they even have more offers than what I cash out for - Gap, Target, Home Depot, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, CVS, Borders, Macy’s, Brookstone, Pretty Good Goods, Omaha Steaks, My Wines Direct, and Amazon.com are some of the gift cards you can get.

Gather is a great place to just write about your daily life, things that interest you, publish photos of your family and friends. You can even make any of your work private to a certain group of friends or just to your self. Check them out here.

Be sure to keep checking back here at my blog as I learn about more companies where you can really make money - I appreciate any feedback from your experiences with these companies.

If you are interested in working from home and enjoy shopping then I have a job for you - Mystery Shopping. Yes, it is real. Yes, you can make some money. Yes, it can be fun. Yes, it is flexible. Yes, it is something you can do with children (most of the time).Let me begin by telling you a bit about what I do - then you will have a better idea if this kind of job is right for you.Last week I had a job that I chose to do. I took my husband and my son out to dinner at a restaurant (it was already chosen which one I would shop - as most companies have contracts with certain stores) and I was told what time to eat (lunch/dinner). We went out to eat and was allowed a reimbursement of $25 for the meal, plus $7 to do the shop. We all had a great meal- for free. I had to call before going and ask a ‘knowledge question’ such as “What are your specials tonight” and then had to record the answer. Did the person who answered the phone say the script that they were supposed to? Did they say their name? How was their personality - friendly, welcoming, etc.Then at the restaurant I needed to record the name of the host and a description, the name of the waitress and a description. Evaluate the service throughout the whole time we were there, and then also check the place over for cleanliness. All without being spotted as a mystery shopper. At this point I am doing on average 2-3 of these shops with the same company every month - I have this shop down pretty good. I carry with me a small slip of paper where I jot down a few notes about the service and the names so I remember later when I need to write my report.After the meal, we pay and leave. In the car, I have a report printed out that I fill in, so that I don’t forget any details. It is mostly multiple choice answers on the service, but I must write a few sentences at the end of each section. Then I go home and input this same info into the mystery shopping website. After inputting everything, they then require me to scan in my receipts from the meal and upload them to their website. I submit my report and with this company I am usually paid the same week via direct deposit to my checking account.This is one of my favorite companies and my favorite shops - since money is often very tight there is no way we would go out to eat if it weren’t for this job. We now get to go out to eat 2-3 times a month for free. On the rare occasion that we go over the $25, we are usually still within the $32 total that we get to take home for this shop.Other shops that I’ve done for other companies have paid more- another company  I worked for asked me to compare two mattress companies. They would send me the name and address for two companies in one town. I would be asked to go to visit them in the same day, evaluate the sales person and what they were selling. I had to obtain a business card and scan these in at the end of the shop as well as write a report on the sales techniques and which store I would buy from between the two. These shops were easy, I could take my son, and I enjoyed learning more about mattresses (since I need to get one soon). These shops ranged from 15 minutes in a store to up to 1 hour in a store depending on how much the sales person showed me and how in depth they got with the info. Once they were submitted in I got $30. I did four shops for this company like this for a total of $120.One other company I work for asked us to evaluate a eyeglasses store. My husband needed glasses and we had a flex account so we said sure. My husband got two pairs of glasses, used his insurance who reimbursed a portion, then we used the flex spend to cover the rest. The mystery shopping company paid us $120 to do the shop.  You are not going to get rich doing mystery shopping, but it can be a nice break to do something out of the house, put a few extra bucks in your pocket, and give you a nice meal out on occasion. I really enjoy it and will continue doing it as long as I can. Here are a few of the companies I mentioned in my post:http://trendsource.com/http://www.nationwidesg.com/pages/1/index.htmhttps://www.bestmark.com/http://www.beyondhello.com/secure/index.htmThese are all companies that I personally work for and would recommend them. Some don’t pay fast (one I had to wait for over a month to be paid) and others pay every week or every-other week. Many pay by PayPal, some by USPS, and others by direct deposit. You will need to apply to become a mystery shopper - there is no need to become certified - it doesn’t really help anything. Just do a good job on your reports and always turn them in quickly.