Author Topic: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper  (Read 8759 times)

lax4life93

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New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« on: January 15, 2015, 12:36:19 PM »
The Mrs. and I decided that in 2015 we would try to bring in at least $50 extra every month trying out different methods. (i know, small goal but we want to push ourselves to try different things and see which work best for us)

This month, we are trying our Secret Shopping... and so far so good.
1) we signed up for 3 companies between the two of us --> this can be scary since they seem like scams.  Make sure NEVER to pay a fee
2) we completed a couple quizzes and were accepted
3) we accepted a couple "missions" that fit within our planned activities
     - We have a road trip planned this weekend, and we are doing a secret shop at a gas station for $15 of free gas plus $5 payment.
     - The guys at work are always bugging me to go out for lunch, but my stache is stronger than that.  Next week I am completing a mission at a fast food joint near work     where my meal will be free plus $6 extra!


There are a number of things to remember and complete after the shop, but they are not very difficult.
We will not get rich secret shopping, but it seems to be lowering our monthly costs and providing fun/free date ideas.

If you have any other side gig ideas that are simple, please let me know!
Next month: Selling something on Ebay... I am alittle intimidated by determining shipping costs and not losing money.

THANKS!

CheapskateWife

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2015, 01:46:24 PM »
Hmmmm....links please?

lax4life93

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #2 on: January 15, 2015, 01:53:45 PM »
Oh yes, my bad.

Please note some of these are for CANADIAN secret shopper orgs.
Some may apply to the US, some may not.

To get a list of legitimate companies, check out: http://www.mspanorthamerica.com/shoppers/membercos.php

We have signed up for:
www.premierservice.ca
https://www.applymarketforce.com/
http://www.mventix.com/imjob11/job_description.jsp?postingId=97

cashstasherat23

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2015, 04:45:00 PM »
Regarding your interest in the Ebay side hustle-you are already ahead of me in that you are worrying about fees/shipping! I listed a few things on Ebay, but didn't take into account that there were final value fees/shipping costs-I ended up losing on a few sales.

I actually made a spreadsheet to calculate everything, and now check the profit of the item before I list it. If I'll only make a few cents on it or will come out in the red, I don't put it up. Ebay and Paypal list the fee percentages, so you can calculate it pretty easily.

Blonde Lawyer

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2015, 10:08:32 PM »
I just started using Mechanical Turk on Amazon.  You make small amounts of money doing things like surveys, focus groups, transcribing, clicking links . . . you have to watch out for scams and you probably don't want to do any that download stuff on your computer. Many aren't worth the money but if you get good at searching you can get $10 or so in an hour.  The more you do the more you qualify for.  I'm still new so this is just a projection on my part. I find it fun though.

Unique User

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2015, 03:58:14 PM »
I use this as a  way to add some side income and lower our restaurant budget as well, this month I'm at $145 in "fees" and $275 in "reimbursements".  Most were places or things I would do anyway and I get paid to do them - gas stations, an oil change, grocery store, date night dinner at nice steakhouse, shipping something at the post office, a couple fast food for my teen daughter and the one I love, but would never pay for on my own - getting my car washed and detailed.  I'm pretty picky and there is still a lot for me to choose from, but the reports can be tedious and do take time, you always need to make sure that you are not working for nothing.   

I didn't pay a dime to get my car taken care of last year - oil changes, emission test for license plates, brakes checked, tire rotation, new windshield wipers plus lots of free gas.  Other great freebies from last year were movie tickets, science center tickets, clothes for my teen, jewelry, hair cuts, wine, makeup and plenty of restaurant meals. 

It is amazing to me the things that are shopped, I noticed lots of timeshare places give you seven free nights plus a $100 fee and a bit of travel expenses to go record a timeshare presentation.  I've also seen hotel rooms, amusement parks, golf, massage places and lots more.  I often wish I could find somewhere to shop getting a pedicure, that would be awesome.

This site has a list of all the companies (http://www.volition.com/mystery.html) and if someone asks you to pay them to shop, it's a scam.  Marketforce is a great one to learn, their reports are easy.  When I try out a new company I'll do one shop and make sure I get paid before I do another, you can also google companies to make sure they are reputable. 
« Last Edit: January 18, 2015, 10:22:00 AM by Unique User »

tracylayton

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #6 on: January 17, 2015, 04:19:21 PM »
I am doing 10 secret shops this month...collecting $54 in shopper fees and scoring 10 free meals. My son loves to go with me on some of these. I've taken my best friend out for breakfast twice and my parents for Mexican food. It keeps my restaurant budget low and even cuts my grocery bill a little. I need to sign up for the "oil change" shop. Last year, I collected $592 in shop fees(taxable) and about $1200 in reimbursements(non-taxable).

Calvawt

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #7 on: January 17, 2015, 04:20:04 PM »
I signed up a while back, but everything has been an auto appt and you need a Chevy or GM.  We have a Ford and a Mazda!

Blonde Lawyer

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #8 on: January 18, 2015, 03:27:10 PM »
For the secret shopper thing, can you turn down assignments and stay in good standing? I have food allergy restrictions so I can only eat at certain restaurants. 

tracylayton

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #9 on: January 19, 2015, 07:43:45 AM »
For the secret shopper thing, can you turn down assignments and stay in good standing? I have food allergy restrictions so I can only eat at certain restaurants.

Yes! They have a website and you only sign up for the shops you want to do.

MakingSenseofCents

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #10 on: January 19, 2015, 09:14:54 AM »
I used to do a lot of secret shopping. If you are in the U.S., Bestmark is a great secret shopping company to use. They always paid on time and they always had a ton of secret shops in my area.

The pay isn't the greatest, and that's why I eventually stopped. Sometimes the surveys are SUPER long and I don't have the patience for it.

eyePod

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #11 on: January 20, 2015, 10:28:09 AM »
eBay is so much simpler than this.

http://flippingadollar.com/ebay-re-selling-101-get-started/

Please feel free to PM me any questions, and I can give you my website e-mail if you have questions on individual items. I cleared almost $5,000 in profits last year in eBay. Shipping is the simple part! Especially being able to print out labels online through eBay onto regular paper.

MrsGreenPear

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #12 on: January 20, 2015, 04:03:12 PM »
I recently started using Swagbucks. You can earn gift cards for Amazon, etc. but also can get money deposited into a PayPal account (which you transfer to your bank if desired). I received $25 so far, but I don't do all the surveys, etc. I mostly just use the search engine, let videos play in the background when I'm doing other things online. If you do more, you'll earn faster. This is a referral link if you ever join:  www.swagbucks.com/refer/swaguser16946249

lax4life93

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #13 on: February 07, 2015, 09:52:44 AM »
Secret Shopping Update:

So far I have found that they aren't a whole lot of opportunity to complete secret shops in my area, but there are enough to do 1-5 a month no problem, without easting fast food every other day. If you act fast, you can usually get the really good ones in town and gas stations and such.

I have completed 4 secret shops so far and received the following.
- $30 free gas
- $4 free snack items
- $13 five guys burger meal
- $42 payment. ($30 of which came from 1 Costco trip)

It has been ok so far, but I will likely start to try to do more gas stations and more Costco trips as they seem to be the easiest and pay better than the fast food missions, and I don't really eat fast food.

The Mrs. has also signed up for swag bucks too! she sits down and does a few surveys every night while unwinding infront of the TV and we get points towards gift cards and other things as well!

lax4life93

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #14 on: February 07, 2015, 09:55:06 AM »
eBay is so much simpler than this.

http://flippingadollar.com/ebay-re-selling-101-get-started/

Please feel free to PM me any questions, and I can give you my website e-mail if you have questions on individual items. I cleared almost $5,000 in profits last year in eBay. Shipping is the simple part! Especially being able to print out labels online through eBay onto regular paper.

Eyepod, thanks for the link! I will definitely start diving into it a little further.  Could you please send me your email and I am sure I will have some questions for you! - I Cant wait to start getting rid of some of our stuff and removing the anxiety and uncertainty surrounding eBay.


lax4life93

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #15 on: April 24, 2015, 08:55:46 PM »
Secret shopping is still rolling along slowly.  Doing one or two shops a month is an extra $50 bucks or so.
Haven't ventured into the Ebay world yet... still a little hesitant. 

lpep

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #16 on: April 24, 2015, 10:34:20 PM »
You should start a journal about this! I know I'd be interested to see how you do dabbling with little side income projects.

Cezil

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #17 on: April 25, 2015, 07:46:47 AM »
Thank you for this.  I always figured mystery shopping in general was some sort of scam  and people supporting it were somehow part of a pyramid scheme..but clearly, if done right and handled well, it is not.  I will have to give this a try.  Thank you again!

cchrissyy

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #18 on: April 26, 2015, 10:47:20 PM »
I put my XH through college on a mix of Ebay (In its early years... I did used clothing and books) and mystery shopping (restaurants, grocery/drug stores, and mostly apartments).

But this was a long while ago, I don't recall company names. I do remember volition.com and getting certified by the MSPA (?).  I do know the  rental tours paid $40 each, something like $20 an hour considering the travel time, phone call, tour, and detailed write up.

dalexa1010

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #19 on: April 27, 2015, 12:39:09 PM »
I was a serious secret shopper a few years ago and this is the best website that details legit opportunities.  http://volition.com/
I peaked at about $1000 per month, easily could have made about $400 a month with little or no effort.  Lots of freebies too!

Jouer

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Re: New Side Gig Today - Secret Shopper
« Reply #20 on: April 27, 2015, 02:00:31 PM »
I used to mystery shop at the LCBO (liquor store in Ontario). That was sooo much fun - I got a ton of free booze out of it and even learned a few things, since part of my test was to ask an employee a product question.