Does anyone have any information about mystery shopping. The ads say they pay you to shop and keep what you buy....Is this for real or a scam?
2006-11-09 15:47:13 · 13 answers · asked by Sunshine 3 in Business & Finance ➔ Careers & Employment
it's true there are such things as mystery shoppers but you want to watch out for scams. Advice: http://www.snopes.com/fraud/employment/shopper.asp
2006-11-09 15:50:00 · answer #1 · answered by hot.turkey 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mystery shopping is a legitimate service to business owners. Unfortunately, there also a lot of scams associated with mystery shopping. The # Rule is: NEVER pay to become a mystery shopper. Just like any other job, it is the employee who gets paid, the employee does not pay the employer!
There are many legitimate companies you can apply to, try googling "mystery shopping." Stay away from those who request you pay a fee. Two companies I work for are: http://www.shoppersconfidential.com and http://www.beyondhello.com
I have been given jobs, and paid as scheduled, and they're free to join.
2006-11-10 03:39:09 · answer #2 · answered by tdmatte 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was a mystery shopper once upon a time ago. It is real, but dont get fooled by wording. Unless they are fools that can afford to throw away money....then the stuff you buy is on your dime. Yes you can keep it. I could shop myself or rate the person based on their way with other customers so I didn't have to buy stuff all the time. They sent me to different malls on certain days and I rated random people. The hard thing was the rating system. I was only allowed to rate 10 ppl and only give 2 (I think) great reviews and the rest basically failed since they could have done better evidently. That was SO hard for me to fail them when it was going into their files.
They do pay a minimal type salary if I remember correctly.
2006-11-09 15:55:23 · answer #3 · answered by bellgoddess1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have been a mystery shopper for the last 14 years. I can tell you that most shops do not include keeping the merchandise. Of course if you are "shopping" some of the fast food outlets of course you get to keep the food. Some of the card shop ones let you keep the card you are required to purchase. Mostly it's observing the sales staff and how they interact with customers.
If you are looking for a legit mystery shopping program go to any retail outlet even grocery and where you find samplers/demonstrators ask them if their company uses mystery shoppers and ask how to apply. Most companies hire for sampling and mystery shopping. There are legit mystery shopping programs out there - actually lots of them unfortunately most of them really don't advertise.
2006-11-09 15:55:25 · answer #4 · answered by junebug 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I do mystery shopping all of the time, but I get so many emails and I can't do them all. I have started listing links to mystery shopping companies that do not charge a fee to shop. They have currently have active shops for TGI Friday's and Lens Crafters. I will post more as I get them, so check bookmark my blog and check back often.
http://sunegrl72.blogspot.com
2006-11-10 07:08:36 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
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
2006-11-10 00:32:15 · answer #6 · answered by RAS 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Scam.....I saw two cases on "The Peoples Court"
2006-11-09 15:48:22 · answer #7 · answered by Diamond in the Rough 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
4 real
2006-11-09 15:48:54 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
you actually can get paid to shop. check out http://cafesmoov.tripod.com to get a free shop list.
2006-11-10 15:59:48 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
what you saw on the ads might be scam because they usually don't put on ads !!
2006-11-09 15:51:42 · answer #10 · answered by Brianna 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋