Thursday, December 4, 2008

Need a little extra this month???

Thanksgiving pictures and stories to come but I just wanted to put a plug in for any of my blogging BFF's who might be looking to make a little extra $$$.
Have you ever heard of "secret shoppers" or "mystery shoppers"?
If not, let me explain what they are: secret shoppers are sent into businesses posing as regular customers looking for a product or service then they fill out a form about their experience with the business (customer service, cleanliness of store...). Usually you're asked to make a purchase of some kind where you are either reimbursed for up to a certain amount of money or you make the purchase and then return the item.

I've been interested in doing secret shopping for awhile but never really knew what companies where reputable and legitimate. Well, I finally found a few companies that are who they say they are. Somethings I've learned from my search for a good company is that a legit company won't ask you to pay them a "fee" also don't expect to be make "$500.00 in one day..." Most shops pay $8.00-32.00 per shop with reimbursement for whatever you purchased.
I signed up for a few different companies and they send emails with secret shopping options. I did my first secret shop on Oct 31st. I was required to call ahead of time to make sure of the location of the store, then I was required to go to the store and stay for at least 20 min and make a purchase of at least $75.00. I felt weird because I had to make up a few stories about why I was buying the product. I ended up buying a $275.00 pair of sunglasses (which I returned later that night). I filled out the form and submitted it via the shopper website and faxed a copy of the receipt for proof of the purchase and return. It was pretty easy and I made $15.00. All the companies I go through make payments through Pay Pal which is awesome so I don't have to give out bank account numbers.
Most of the companies I've signed up for go through a common website called SassieShop. You can check out shops in the area and pick and choose ones that you'd like to do. One thing you will want to be aware of is that when you sign up for some of these you'll be required to enter your SS#, you don't have to but they can't pay you unless you do. The reason is because they need to verify who you are and if you end up making over $600.00 in a year, they need to send you a tax form.
Below are a list of companies that I've registered with and who send me secret shopping opportunities all the time (it's just a matter of me taking them).
Kerns Scheduling
AboutFace

So, maybe this will be fun and help make a couple bucks here and there.
If you have any questions just ask.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

www.nationalshoppingservice.com is a legit company as well. They hook you up with a lot of different businesses in your city and you receive checks in the mail. I did it for awhile, but there aren't very many places near me that I am interested in.

gigi said...

That's really neat but I've never heard of any of those stores. Good for you it sounds fun and easy.

I love your new winter looking wal paper. I'm going to learn to change mine one day :)

Rabidparadise said...

I've always wondered about this..Thank you!!