Shop #1:  Mattress Store – evaluate service at mattress store – $15, with possible $7 bonus

Shop #2:  Auto Dealer – test drive a car and evaluate service – $17 with possible $3 bonus

Shop #3:  Auto Dealer – test drive a car and evaluate service – $20 with possible $3 bonus

Shop #4:  Paint Store – shop in a paint store and evaluate service – $13 with possible $3 bonus

I can easily do all these shops in one day.  Estimating one hour for each shop which is longer than I think they would take and including travel time, these four shops could be done in half a day.  The auto test drive shops would probably take longer.  I generally prefer shops where I can get in and out fast.  Bank shops are very fast.  I found a couple of shops paying more than the ones listed above.  I found one shop paying $30 and one paying $54.

While I am working from home on the Internet, I want to make the best use of my time.  I look for mystery shops that are quick, easy and pay a substantial sum.   This is what you can make on a part-time basis.  If you were doing this as a full time job, you could double the money you can make.

Using the Internet, you can search shops on several mystery shopping sites in a matter of minutes.  Then you can pick the best shops based on time, pay and effort.  As you can see the four shops above pay a total of $65 with a possible $16 bonus for a total of $81.

Working at home on the Internet can open up a whole new world of opportunity.

Unusual Mystery Shops

There is a growing trend of mystery shoppers being used by government agencies and non-profit organizations. These are service oriented organizations and they want to be sure the public is getting appropriate and comprehensive service.  In addition, they wan to make sure the public is getting helpful information.  Some government agencies are even using mystery shoppers to evaluate their online presence and test usability of their websites.

Recently the American Medical Association released a recommendation for mystery shoppers to evaluate physicians as a way of promoting quality improvement. Within the mystery shopping system is a built in control of having “patients” who are trained to evaluate the same office or physician to make sure service is consistent, questions answered and that the accurate care is given.

Merchandising and Assembly Job

You may be more interested in stocking or assembly jobs but want to choose them on a per job basis. Theaters are looking for shoppers to check and assemble cardboard movie displays.  Retailers are looking for merchandisers to straighten stock or restock. Most of these jobs are quick jobs taking less than an hour of your time. Some of these jobs are reoccurring jobs offering you the same job twice every month.

Mystery Shopping on Black Friday

I recently saw a shop posted for black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and one of the biggest shopping days of the year.  This shop, a merchandising job, is a five hour job, 7:00 AM-12:00 noon paying $8 per hour.  The shopper/merchandiser will work with a representative of Mattel to keep toys stocked and straightened on the shelves.  How easy is that? $40 and you will get a little exercise after the big Thanksgiving dinner.

As you see, there is a wide range of jobs offered by mystery shopping companies. All shoppers will not be interested in the same type of shops.  Being able to search for and choose the type of mystery shop you are interested in is one of the benefits of mystery shopping.  The flexibility and variety offered by mystery shopping is just another reason it is becoming one of the best job opportunities for flexibility.

Serious shoppers have expressed interest in obtaining education and training in order to take their mystery shopping business to the next level. Certification can provide an extra level of professionalism and experience shoppers can offer to placement companies.  There are no companies that state they only use shoppers with certification. Some secret shopping companies are not even aware that there is a certification process. Other companies, do not use the certification and do not even ask if you are certified.

You are always reading that you should never pay a fee to shop. You will have to pay a fee to become receive certification.  The companies that provide certification do not see this as a fee to shop. They are offering shoppers education and an opportunity to learn.

There are two levels of certification – silver and gold. Silver Certification can be obtained by taking a simple online test that will test your knowledge and understanding of the mystery shopping industry. There is a component that will test basic reading, writing and comprehension skills.  The test for Silver Certification can be taken online for a $15 fee.  Shoppers must obtain Silver Certification before they can advance to Gold Certification.

Until recently mystery, secret and shadow shoppers were required to attend a one day Shopper Education Conference to obtain Gold Certification. These conferences also provide networking opportunities for shoppers. Representatives from mystery shopping companies are in attendance at the Shopper Education Conferences. For those not interested in traveling to a Shopper Education Conference, a Gold Certification DVD is now available so that shoppers can become Gold Certified in their own home.  The at home certification is another aspect making the secret shopper opportunity a perfect work from home job. The Gold Certification DVD is $99 and there is a $5 shipping fee. Shopper Education Conferences are still offered if a shopper desires the conference experience.

Because you are an independent contractor, any and all expenses related to your business are tax deductible.  Conferences, fees for testing and educational materials including the Gold Certification DVD are tax deductible.

There are many reasons to look for a work from home job opportunity.   The reasons include corporate burnout, desire to stay at home with kids, tired of commuting, wanting to build a successful home based business.

Whatever the reason, mystery shopping can fill the need to work from home, earn extra money and help you build a work from home job opportunity.

The ability to access the internet is really all you need to get started.  The internet makes it easy to find mystery shopping companies.  Once you get started, you may need access to a fax or scanner.

Getting started is simple.   Locate and sign up with mystery shopping companies, search the job boards and sign up for mystery shops. Then you simply shop according to the terms of your shop, report findings and collect a fee.

Service shops are good shops to start. They require no purchase and the fees are usually a little higher.  Try to group several shops together to maximize your work from home income and be responsive to requests of the mystery shopping company.

Once you have tried a few shops, you will get comfortable and see how you can increase your income with this exciting work from home job opportunity.  In addition, once you do a few shops for a mystery shopping company, they will recognize you as someone they can call on for shops.

As you do more and more shopping, you will find good mystery shopping jobs that you simply can’t do due to scheduling conflicts.  Why not share those jobs with someone else who wants to get paid to shop.  If you are in a network, you will have contacts that you know are interested in these jobs.

Mystery shopper networks also provide a group to help with research insuring that you all know about the most profitable jobs helping everyone in the network have the most profitable secret shopper business possible.

There are online support groups and forums for mystery shoppers and information about how to form your own neighborhood mystery shopping network.  While mystery and shadow shoppers interact with the public regularly, they may feel isolated without a network to discuss issues of the job.  Because of its very nature, mystery and shadow shoppers are not likely to meet one another in a regular networking or public environment. It is important for mystery shoppers to interact in order to share information about scams and non-paying companies as well as sharing job leads and tips on how to shop smart.  By “shop smart”, I mean find easier and quicker shops and learn time saving tips to help you earn more money in less time.

Any secret shopper can start their own network of shoppers in their area. If you know of shops you are not able to perform, reach out to others you know who might be interested. If you are shopping restaurants, stores and dealerships in your neighborhood, it is likely your neighbors shop the same places. Reach out to share information and ask if anyone would like to get started with mystery shopping opportunities and form a neighborhood or area network.

Any place you can find retail locations there will be a mystery shopper job. Once you become a reliable mystery shopper, schedulers are going to be very eager to give you shops when they are available.

The purpose of your mystery shop is to find out whether a store is following customer service standards set by the company. Mystery shoppers call or visit the stores acting like ordinary buyers and then report back detailed information of what they experienced via questionnaires or written reports.

The mystery shopping companies look for shoppers that are detail oriented, observant, and reliable. As a mystery shopper you will have jobs evaluating many different industries like entertainment, travel, department stores, service suppliers, gas stations, convenience stores, banks, restaurants and retail stores just to name a few.

While doing a mystery shopper job it’s important to understand all the instructions for every store, be accurate, detailed and unprejudiced. Shoppers could be required to document the employee’s descriptions and names, how clean the store is and if the employees are knowledgeable about the services or products. You will also have to submit your reports on time.

Many companies now require their mystery shoppers to be able to have access to a fax machine, a scanner, email and internet access. Some may even require you to own a digital camera to record product placement, cleanliness, signs and other focal points.

A mystery shopper job can be exciting and a fun way to earn a great income. You get to pick the jobs you want. This is why it’s the ideal job for students, stay at home moms or anyone looking for a part time or even full time job.

The most important tools are your eyes, your ears and your brain. A good attitude, attention to detail and organizational skills will also come in very handy. You must be reliable and perform the mystery shop when scheduled. You will only have a small window of time to submit the report and paperwork to get paid for that shop.

A few tools will make you work as a mystery shopper easier. I recommend a notebook or folder with filing pockets – a simple folder will work.

Needless to say you will need access to the Internet and a printer. Almost all mystery and secret shopping companies now run their businesses exclusively online. After finding the jobs online you will need a printer to print the job order. It also helps to print out the instructions and questionnaire when they are very detailed. To keep my mystery shopper career profitable I usually review these documents one more time right before going in to do the shop. When you submit a detailed and comprehensive report, the schedulers will see you as a professional and will offer you higher paying jobs.

Access to a scanner/fax machine in order to submit paperwork and receipts to the mystery shopping company is a must. You can find an all-in-one printer-scanner-copier combo for less than $80. This will be a good investment if you plan to make money mystery shopping as a professional.

Some shops require digital photography or video reports. While others would be much easier if you had a stopwatch. Of course, you will see all of these requirements before deciding to schedule a shop. As a professional mystery shopper you should always work within your experience and the tools you have.

Some companies will pay you to go to a store and stock their merchandise or straighten their merchandise.  I know this doesn’t seem like thrilling work.  That is not the reason you are doing this – you are trying to make extra money.  Merchandising can help you build a holiday shopping fund so you can get the kids those toys they are hoping to see Christmas morning.

This is how it works.

You go online and search for opportunities to find jobs that have the dates and times that work best for your schedule.  An example of the type of merchandising opportunity might be going to a local chain drug store, presenting yourself as a representative of the merchandising company, asking for the shipment of calling cards, taking down the old cards and hanging the new ones on the pegs.  You can do this type of stop in about 30 minutes.

Another example might be going into a retail store and dusting a shelf holding a particular item.  Recently I saw a shop needing someone to go into a record store to make sure the display of a CD coming out that week was located close to the door.  These are easy jobs.  They don’t pay a huge amount but can be lumped together to add up to a decent amount of extra money.

Theaters are looking for folks to come to a certain show and count empty chairs.  Theaters might also ask you to count the number of movie trailers shown before a particular movie.  Your job is simply to provide the company with information that they might use to better market their product or provide better customer service.

The most difficult part is probably managing the dates and times to do the job.  Some jobs might have more flexibility than others.  Some jobs might require mid-day or mid-week completion.

This is a way to make extra money on your own time – choosing when and where you work while controlling the amount you earn.