Mystery Shopper Job...is it real or just a scam??

Question

I came across www.shopinvestigator.com a mystery shopping website. Become a Mystery Shopper today and get paid to shop, eat, and even go on vacation! Make money by doing the things you love, and keep the items you purchase for FREE!!! Get paid to go shopping and get fully reimbursed for what you buy - Keep what you buy
Get paid to go on vacation
Get paid to eat at restaurants
Get paid to visit an amusement park
Get paid to see the latest movies
Flexible hours and schedules
Full-time, Part-time, or Spare-time
WORK FROM HOME
Choose which "assignments" to take, and which to decline

The only catch is you must pay a one time only $17.95 registration fee for a life time membership. Then you can access th database with tons of hiring companies looking for shoppers, and you chose assignments.
Do such jobs really exist?? Has anyone tried this?? They do have a 30 day money back garantee but is it real???

Answer 1

YES mystery shopping jobs exist. They are an important tool used by businesses to get an objective feedback on their establishments.

But beware as there are many scammers. And the rule always is -- if they ask for fees, stay away.

The best resource to check out is the National Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) http://www.mysteryshop.org , an organization of mystery shopping companies. Check out their listing of shopping assignments by country and by state from member companies. Some of the listings may be outdated, but the companies listed in their database are usually the biggest companies in the industry and most importantly, legitimate. Companies are accepted as members of the association only if they have been in existence for two years and they can submit proof of business existence. Make a list of these companies and check out their requirements to be a mystery shopper.

Answer 2

I have done a few mystery shops. There is such a thing as a mystery shopper certification. That is based on how many successful shops you do and how well you do them. The good assignments go to the experienced shoppers.

I shopped a fast food restaurant. It paid $8 plus a Big Bufford Combo. I had to study, take a quiz, get stuff mailed to me, do the shop in a very small window of time, reveal myself to the manager, award pins, then drive home. It was not worth it.

I considered some interesting gas station shops. They sent a huge manual that was very complicated for completing the shop. Ultimately, I email them and sent the materials back. The shop was just not worth the money or effort.

I would not pay that money.

I think Yahoo has a mystery shoppers group where assignments are posted via email. You can wait a very long time until there is a shop close enough to complete and the preparation for each shop is a real pain. It's not worth the effort.

Answer 3

Never pay to mystery shop! Mystery shopping is like any other job-you get paid, you don't pay the employer. Sites like this are charging for information that is readily available on the internet for free. Legitimate companies never charge a fee. Try googling "mystery shopping" and you'll find lots of companies you can join at no cost to you. You may have to pass some sort of quiz to register, but they're usually common sense. A good company that I know of is Shoppers Confidential. They hire shoppers across Canada and the United States. So does Beyond Hello.

Answer 4

There is NEVER a charge to get info on Mystery Shopping as stated in the above information. The above information is NOTa scam, but is inaccurate. I am a Mystery Shopper and have shopped 7years. Never pay to be a Mystery Shopper! NEVER! Go to: mysteryshop.org (this organization monitors mystery shoppers & Mystery Shopper industry.) Start here for information: http://www.mysteryshop.org/shoppers/forum/
Ask and answer questions on the above link. When you see an ad to PAY for MS it is to SELL a BOOK about Mystery Shopping. The info is FREE on: mysteryshop.org NEVER pay for info. I get free dinners, lunches, candy, CD's, gallon of paint, depending on the type of "shop" I do. MS is a legitimate business. The pay is LOW (most mystery shops pay $3.00 per shop). You must know Excel as some reports are submitted in an Excel speadsheet. Do not apply to shops until you are familiar w/the industry. More info: ttp://www.mysteryshop.org/shoppers/forum/
Understand the industry BEFORE you apply for shops. Mysteryshop.org is the best place for information! NEVER, NEVER pay for mystery shopping information.

I am a Certified Mystery Shopper (mysteryshop.org)

Answer 5

Mystery shopping is a method adopted by the management of a shop or company to evaluate their own performance by sending hired byres with out the knowledge of the working staff. You have to apply to become a mystery shopper at the websites of these market research companies. They will then contact you if they have any assignment in your area. List of companies where you can apply free and links to relevant websites available at http://tinyurl.com/n474j

Answer 6

Hey there, this is a 100% scam. The company name for us was S.B. Ideas International. In the future when this might happen to you always remember to call the bank that the check is drawn from. They will be able to let you know if the account is open and if the company will match the account number. That is what we did and the routing number wasn't even right. Hope it goes well for you and you don't get caught in the middle of the scam.

Answer 7

They exist but these type of sites charge you a"fee" to give you information you can get yourself and usually are not the ones with the job but telling you about the companies that do offer the jobs.

Answer 8

My ex did this for over 2 years and made okay money. Just be careful, there are lots of sites out there that will take advantage of people.

Answer 9

It's a scam. I tried several of them for a research project and all - I mean all - regardless of their sterling reputations are out for one thing - get your money, sell you something else you need to get to the real ones, etc. Don't get scammed in this multimillion dollar crookedness.

Answer 10

hey you can go to http://cafesmoov.tripod.com to get a free mystery shop list.