Mystery Shopping

{Photo by Sarah Love Photography}

Hi friends,


So...I've had a lot of people ask me how to get started doing Mystery Shopping over the last year.  Here is a copy of an email I sent to my brother last month regarding the topic:

My biggest piece of advice before you apply for any of these, is to create a separate email address just for Mystery Shopping/Surveys. You will get a LOT of emails from the survey companies.  It's nice to have it separate from my regular email.  

There are zillions of companies out there.  I have only tried a few.  As far as Mystery Shopping goes, here are some companies that are legit, and that I've done stuff for:

Mystery Guest/Grass Roots Measures - http://www.grassrootsmeasures.com/GRPM/

Retail Eyes - http://www.retaileyes.com/

Marketforce - http://www.marketforce.com/ (i've done the most for them, they have a lot of opportunities in my area, and it's an easy process)

ICC Decision Services - http://www.iccds.com/become-a-shopper-2

I've signed up with GFK, Market Stat, A Closer Look, and Feedback Plus, but never actually completed a shop for any of them.

About 18 mo. ago I came across this blog that sparked my interest in Mystery Shopping.  She has a lot of posts about different companies that are legit, some FAQ's, etc.  http://www.nicolesnickels.com/mystery-shopping  

I've also made money doing online surveys.  I haven't been into it for the last few months, but used to do them a lot.  Here are a few survey companies I like:

Mindfield Online - http://mindfieldonline.com/referral/5678e7dc (my referral link)

Surveyhead - http://www.surveyhead.com/index.php

Opinion Outpost - http://OpinionOutpost.com/join/8154428 (my referral link).  They are based in UT.

HCD Surveys - http://www.hcdsurveys.com/panel/join.cfm?referralid=241552 (my referral link)

Valued Opinions - https://www.valuedopinions.com/eng/join

American Consumer Opinion - http://www.acop.com/Default.aspx?L=1&PID=15027715

After you do a bunch of surveys, you get a feel for which ones are worth your time, or not.  Some are really annoying.  Actually most are...I would do them while doing something else, like watching a movie or show.  Some surveys will end up in them sending you product to try.  That's awesome.  

Have fun trying it out.  Let me know if you have any questions!

**Another Note: Check out what the method of payment is, and what the cash out threshold is for each company you look into.  Some pay with gift cards, some deposit to pay pal, some send a physical check to you.**


**Have any of you done Mystery Shopping/Surveys?  Any companies I haven't listed that you like?  Let me know!**