My goal was to make $500 from mystery shopping this month. It looks like my total will probably be around $300 unless I get some really lucrative shops at the end of the month. There usually are shops with raised fees at the end of the month but I’ve not been quick enough to get the ones I want.
I probably would have made $500 but I did hardly any shops last week and I don’t have any scheduled for the rest of this week. I have decided I am only going to do shops if they are either especially lucrative or shops that I enjoy doing. It seems that a large percentage of the shops are petroleum shops and I don’t care for those. They take me too long and there is too much stuff to remember and too many pictures to take.
My conclusion after doing lots of shops this month is that it is possible to become a full time mystery shopper. It would require several things to be able to achieve this though. It would take some time to become more efficient at doing the shops so that you are returned a decent wage for your time. You also need to be highly organized to schedule the shops and report them in the most efficient manner. You would also likely need to persevere through some lower earning months because the mystery shopping companies do not show you all the opportunities when you first work for them. After you have worked for them for a while they will give you access to more and better shops. Although, I do believe it is possible to make a living as a mystery shopper it would be a lot of work. Since I don’t enjoy most of the mystery shopping jobs it wouldn’t be worthwhile for me. My plan for now is to continue making online income and look for a regular j-o-b, possibly in the legal industry.
****Don’t forget to enter my giveaway this week if you haven’t already.
That’s interesting to know that Mystery Shopping is actually real. I think I’ve read more about the scams than the real thing. It’s also good to know that you don’t enjoy it, so I probably won’t look into it.
If you’re looking for work, check out Demand Studios. They hire freelancers to work from home. It’s great. I make a full-time income at it. They need writers, filmmakers, editors, categorizers and QA.
Also, there’s Mechanical Turk and Cloud Crowd for random small tasks. Cloud Crowd tends to pay a bit more than MTurk, which doesn’t pay well, but you can put an easy few bucks in your pocket. I like to do transcription and it pays the best or university studies because they’ll pay between $1-$7 for just a few minutes of time.
Good luck!
There are lots of scams associated with mystery shopping but it is real. Don’t pay to join a mystery shopping company, the legitimate ones won’t charge you to join.
I’ve heard of Mturk and Demand Studios but it didn’t look like they were worthwhile. Perhaps I’ll take another look at Demand Studios and check out Cloud Crowd as well.
Sorry to hear you aren’t doing as well with the mystery shopping as you wanted. It really does get easier with time though. I was wondering why you had not pursued a legal job after all the education you have in that area. Good luck with it.
I like the new logo on the home page, by the way.
I plan to cherry pick a few mystery shops now and then. A couple hundred dollars extra a month won’t hurt. Thanks for the good wishes.
I have been a mystery shopper for years. And, you’re right. It’s still work and it’s not for everyone, but I LOVE it! I also don’t do the petroleum shops. They just aren’t worth the headache. I do take a few shops that I don’t particularly enjoy because my goal is to use the money I make to pay off my mortgage and I suck it up and drive on because work is work. I also take a huge chunk out of my food bill every month because I eat out on a mystery shop almost every day and have dinner out on their dime several times a week. I get the clothes I wear and oil changes for my car and other things that my family needs this way. It’s a good job for moms with school age kids–I do the majority of my work while they’re in school, so I am at home by the time that they get out. Some jobs pay more than others, so you’re right the income does fluctuate. You have to spend time finding the jobs, and I have to keep a date book and print out the paperwork the night before, after I put in the paperwork from the day’s jobs. It’s lots of paperwork! But, so is just about any other job. For me, the money is good, I’m experienced and I’ve adjusted to the work….just like any other job. It’s still work, but it works out for me and my family and this way I don’t have to pay someone for after-school day care and I enjoy getting to keep some things that we need (or, even want). I save a lot of the things I get on shops for birthday presents, etc.