MYSTERY SHOPPING THREAD XI ** New people make sure you read the first 2 Posts **

J-D_4

I am thinking of becoming an MS, am presently unemployed & seriously need work so was thinking of doing this on a FT basis. I love shopping so it sounded ideal for me but have now got mixed feelings after reading this forum. All advise would be greatly appreciated :-)
BTW has anyone heard of UK Mystery Shopper Employment as they are not one of the companies listed on page 1?

Thanks in advance for all your advice.

System

gallygirl wrote: »

Ok, think of a pencil, and the different grades/codes they used to give them. That will give you two initials. The first initial is the surname of the character Johnny Depp played in Pirates of the Caribbean. The second initial is the name of something lots of places hold this time of year where you can buy cakes & small gifts - a Christmas .......... and no, not a fete or jumble sale

Sorry to jump in late to this (been catching up with the last week of the thread!) but in case anyone's still confused... I think you mean the character in Treasure Island - Johnny Depp is Jack Sparrow! All the jobs are gone now but it might help someone for next time...

cte1111

Oh no! I went out all ready for a long list of shops. First one - catalogue shop 20 minute queue but otherwise OK. Second one - stationers, couldn't find parking nearby for less than 3 pounds, so thought never mind will go back tomorrow with my OH so he can hover on a yellow line.

Third one - stamp shop in City Centre, managed to find parking at a meter. Go to pay and realise that I've left my wallet at home! Awful realisation that I was going to have to go all the way home and start again. At least I've saved on buying lunch out I guess.

Mystery_Shopping_Ninja

J-D wrote: »

I am thinking of becoming an MS, am presently unemployed & seriously need work so was thinking of doing this on a FT basis. I love shopping so it sounded ideal for me but have now got mixed feelings after reading this forum. All advise would be greatly appreciated :-)
BTW has anyone heard of UK Mystery Shopper Employment as they are not one of the companies listed on page 1?

Thanks in advance for all your advice.

If it's the same uk mystery shopper agency that I am thinking of, they are not actually a mystery shopping company themselves but just a website where potential mystery shoppers can register. The idea is that any mystery shopping company that requires shoppers can then find suitable candidates from the available "pool". I registered some time ago and have had no work from it whatsoever, but it didn't cost me anything to join so nothing lost.

If you are looking for standard written mystery shopping work it's best to start with the companies listed in the first few posts. It depends how much you are looking to earn as to whether it's worth doing it full time. I earn a comforatble full time income from mystery shopping because I specialise in video visits, however I'm not sure if it's possible from the standard written visits. My advice would be to get registered, accept a few visits and then take it from there - once you've done a few you'll be able to judge whether it's right for you and whether you can earn a full time income from it.

Good luck.

hjb123

just wondered if anyone could help, am looking at mystery shops and there is a catalogue one but it calls it a 'main stocked in store visit' - have done others for this company before but not this store or scenario - what will it involve?

thanks

cte1111

hjb123 wrote: »

just wondered if anyone could help, am looking at mystery shops and there is a catalogue one but it calls it a 'main stocked in store visit' - have done others for this company before but not this store or scenario - what will it involve?

thanks

After you've returned the item, you have to order another item. There is an extra page at the end of the instructions telling you exactly what to do.

hjb123

cte1111 wrote: »

After you've returned the item, you have to order another item. There is an extra page at the end of the instructions telling you exactly what to do.

ah right, i just reread the info page and realised it is like one I have done before - head a bit fuzzy today so not very quick on the uptake:D need to be tomorrow as got an exam and was trying to arrange a few mystery shops for after it:D

kitchpoo

J-D wrote: »

I am thinking of becoming an MS, am presently unemployed & seriously need work so was thinking of doing this on a FT basis. I love shopping so it sounded ideal for me but have now got mixed feelings after reading this forum. All advise would be greatly appreciated :-)
BTW has anyone heard of UK Mystery Shopper Employment as they are not one of the companies listed on page 1?

Thanks in advance for all your advice.

I would say you may struggle to move straight in to full-time mystery shopping. I am just at the point of making this move and it does not make a wage from written reporting in my area.

A lot will depend on how many companies you work for (I'm with 22), how far you are prepared to travel, how many hours you can commit and where you live as well as how much capital you have. Remember you often have to purchase items and often not get reimbursed for up to 2 months in some instances. I currently have around £2000 owed in expenses but normally a £500 'float' is about right.

I have heard of UK Mystery Shopper Employment - they are running a heavy advertising campaign at the moment and strangely they reduce the application fee after a while. My concern is that on their information page is a page of retailer's icons, most of which I currently shop for through the companies listed on the front page.

Start small, go for the ones on the first page and see if it is for you with some of the small outlay shopping assignments.

And good luck.

J-D_4

Thanks for your help & advice Mystery Shopping Ninja & Kitchpoo, much appreciated :-)

jacand

Can anyone PM me the name of the "school pencils" alert on Aba-i am I just been thick? I don't have a clue.