Interested in Mystery Shopping?

If you like shopping, eating out, working independently and have a pretty good memory, mystery shopping may be for you. If you like shopping, eating out, working independently and have a pretty good memory, mystery shopping may be for you. It's not likely you'll be able to quit your day job but it is a great way to get free stuff and make a little money too.

There are many mystery shopping companies that you can sign up with to get free meals, merchandise and services. Signing up with as many companies as possible helps guarantee a more steady flow of available assignments in different stores, restaurants, etc. Sites such as volition.com provide free lists of many mystery shopping companies that you can sign up with. Any company that wants you to pay them money to offer you assignments or a company list is probably a scam. I've mystery shopped for many companies and never paid to receive mystery shopping jobs. I'm including a list of sites that I've had experience with.

Mysteryshops.com (Corporate Research International)
Corporate Research International is one of the first companies I signed up, about 7 years ago. I've received assignments from them for Kmart, Logan's Roadhouse, Sally Beauty Supply, Lowe's, CiCi's and Papa John's pizzas, and Gordon Food Service. You must perform an online training session for each assignment type and pass a test before requesting a new location. Most reports are fairly short. You usually receive reimbursement for your purchase plus a fee (often around $5) for performing the assignment. They pay by direct deposit approximately two weeks after receiving your report.

Ardentservices.com
I've worked for Ardent for almost a year. They are a great company to work for. They provide paid in-person training and are easy to communicate with. The only shops they offer are for Chipotle restaurants but it's the only company that guarantees me at least two assignments per month. At the first of each month, I receive an email with 2 to 3 nearby Chipotle locations that I can accept or decline. You get $23 per assignment regardless of how much you spend. You're required to make a purchase from a list of menu options. It's a fairly long and detailed report in which you have to describe each food item/ingredient, service, each employee, and many aspects of the restaurant itself. Payment is direct deposited the month following completion of the assignment.

Baidata.com
For Bare Associates International, I've shopped the Hilton dining room and bar, Dave & Buster's bar, dining, and arcade, and Faber News. Each report is graded The fee paid is usually 10 or 20 dollars and reimbursement ranges from about 10 to 60 dollars. Payment is by direct deposit approximately 3 to 4 weeks after submitting your report. Each report is graded from 1 to 10 after being reviewed. About 99% of my reports receive a 9 or 10.

Msishopper.com
My favorite TrendSource assignments are for Blockbuster. They're easy, have a fairly short report and include reimbursement for a movie rental plus a 6 dollar fee. I've also performed shops at Microcenter, OfficeMax, and Kroger. These assignments are more time consuming and include reimbursements from around 1 to 9 dollars plus fee. Payments are made on the 5th and 20th of each month via Paypal.