Secret Shopping?

[PirateLover]

Had anyone ever signed up with an agency to be a secret shopper? I saw an ad in a local paper and since I have tons of free time while I look for a permanent job I thought it might be something I could do to keep some money coming in. DBF and I are always at restaurants and stores so it seemed like an interesting thing to look into. I called today and of course there was a sign up fee. It was very small though. Of course they signed me up for all of these "free trials" which I will cancel right away. I think that is where the scam comes in, they rely on the fact that people will forget to cancel the subscriptions to services they didn't need in the first place. Once I get that out of the way, I'm just wondering if the shopping and filling out the surveys by itself is worth it. The ad had said make up to $70 a day... When I asked about money they were vague. Basically you do as little or as much as you want to and get checks in the mail as you go.
DBF used to work in a store where they were always harping about secret shoppers, so I know that they do exist and are considered important to many retailers/restaurant chains.
So has anyone done this?

[RedheadWriter]

Hi! A good one is mystery shops dot com. No fee to join and once you are signed up you can immediately get started on doing shops. I had a lot of luck with this company. Never ever pay to join, those places are total scams.

[Tick-Tock]

A fee to join, they sign you up for unwanted "free trials," and they're vague on the money? All warning signs -- I'd look elsewhere.

[PirateLover]

Thanks guys, I totally agree it seems shady. Usually I just ignore this sort of stuff.
I did talk to a friend who said her aunt did this for a while and did make money. Her sign up fee for a similar company was $50!!!!!!!!! The sign up fee for mine was only $10... and I've already cancelled the free trials. I did research on the company and apparently, you can be a secret shopper on your own but you have to know how to get the assignments and make connections, and apparently thats what these companies do for you. They take all the leg work out of it, and then they make money off of people not canceling for "offers". If the whole thing does turn out to be a bust I will only be out $10 and I'll spread the word.

[Jeff G]

Hi! A good one is mystery shops dot com. No fee to join and once you are signed up you can immediately get started on doing shops. I had a lot of luck with this company. Never ever pay to join, those places are total scams.

I was just about to sign up for this but they are asking for a SSN, makes me nervous giving that out to a company on the net.

[RedheadWriter]

I took a course on mystery shopping at a Community College enrichment evening. This info was in a packet that we were given. I have nit had a problem with them at all, but I do understand not wanting to give the SSN. I think they only need this for tax purposes if you make over $600. Will they let you apply witrhout it?

[goofyfan4466]

i've been doing survey &sercert shopper for a while now!! with good results!!

never give your ss#!!!! for anything!!!!

1st thing u never have to pay to do either!!!
there are lots of free suvery sites, like harris poll, zoom panel, erewards, epoll, all free, u get points for doing the suverys, just sign up & they email them to u!!! u can turn your points into magazine subscriptons & other things!!!

the sercert shopper i've done 2, a good 1 is shop & check, u can punch thhis up & get local shops by zip code, but mostly u have to put the money upfront & have receipt for proof & fill out the survey afterward, u can do a couple of shops a day, but u have to have money 1st than they mail u a check 2 wks later! its really not worth it, its a lot of time & money!!


& i've done 1 for longhorne steakhouse, thats
my favorite, & u get your money in a week,
u get half your bill back!! it worth it!!


i hope this hepls!!
be carefull & do your homework!!!
:thumbsup:

[PirateLover]

goofyfan4466, thanks so much for the info. I have a Longhorne right by me and me and my boyfriend go there a lot! So that was one of my thoughts... we go out to eat so much anyway, why not see if I can get some money back. Wish I had asked about this before I dived in but I'll check out things on my own as well. No way I would've put out more than $10 though. At least I know that it is a legitimate overall practice and you can make money. :thumbsup:

[Crystal Palace]

I think it's a total scam! I signed up for it one time, and the same thing happened to me. It was $10 to join, and they signed me up for all these offers. I looked at my credit card statement and there were all kinds of charges on there. Never been so mad in my life!:mad:

[BrerGnat]

Don't ever pay to be a secret shopper.

The LEGITIMATE companies will pay YOU and not require a fee to join.

My favorite one is Retail Eyes because they offer assignments at Cold Stone Creamery. :yummy: