Making a few extra bucks can be a good thing at this time of year when our holiday bill comes in the credit cards have been used. I have personally used all these companies and can vouch that they are legitimate and do pay for accepted shops. For the purpose of this article, I consider a high paying shop to pay ~$25 per contract. A low paying shop pays in the ~$12 range. There are additional factors such as merchandise, difficulty of shop, number of editor reviews and time spent conducting it. Also, the fees to get the shop complete is another factor, as well as distance from home.
1. Ath Power
This company was conceived in 1997. The purpose of this company is for financial services. Ath Power was voted as one of the best companies to work for in Massachusetts recently and they treat their shoppers no differently. An added fun bonus of these shops is that Ath Power can cover sports tickets costs to execute them (all fees from delivery to insurance). These shops are also very high paying with some shops paying $30. To sign up with this company you can use this link.
2. Shopper Confidential
Shopper Confidential is a company with over 40 years of international experience. Their goal is to add value to customer experience. Some shops can include free meals, merchandise or services (i.e.- financial). Some shops will only cover the meal price (this meal price is the lowest I have seen in my 10 years of mystery shopping with no additional shop pay). These shops are easy to execute but are very low paying (shop payments typically do not cover fees charged during the shop). Some shops after all shopper expenses can only pay 3 to 4 dollars. Ownership has been known to treat shoppers in a rude fashion whereas staff is friendly and nice. Where most companies welcome questions so that shops are executed correctly, this is discourage by Shopper Confidential. To sign for this company please click here: Sign Up Here.
3. Sensor Quality Management – SQM
SQM shops are unbiased and based on quality, service, cleanliness and value. This company started in 1993. Mystery shoppers at SQM are frequently called SQM Representatives and are considered to complete inspections. SQM was recently featured on ABC with Diane Sawyer. The feature can be seen on their site. SQM has a refer a friend program where you can gain points and redeem them for gift cards. You don’t need to have a referral (but that is also welcomed) to sign up to be a SQM mystery shopper here below: Sign Up Here.
4. Premier Service
Premier Service expects their shoppers to have pride, write intelligent and clear, be honest and be observant. Premier welcomes offering guidance to their shoppers with questions. Premier only pays through Paypal (you need Paypal to shop and earn here). Premier has over 20 years of service and claim to have a 48 hour turn around time (from the time the report was sent to the time the client receives it). Premier Service often has the lowest cash paying shops (not all) with this being offset slightly by merchandise. To sign up with Premier Service, please click here: Sign Up Here.
5. Service Checker International
Service Checker International claims to have over 1,000,000 checkers (also known as mystery shoppers) world wide. They have shops in the following sectors: (Hospitality, Retail, Financial Services and Automotive). Service Checker International have had shops such as IKEA, Apple and McDonald. Many of these shops are low pay with a number of them being in the telecommunications market. These shops are also low pay with some giving shoppers $10 for their efforts. The luxury shops require to pass a Service Checker Interview and these pay greater amounts. To sign with Service Checker, please click here: Sign Up Here
I hope this helps you shoppers with their mystery elevator needs. Mystery shopping is a fun way to meet people with flexible hours. Please watch out for sites that fraud citizens into thinking they are legit companies. They often revolve around illegitimate Best Western wire transfers and pay multiple times greater than legitimate companies. Companies offering $300 for shops are just too good to be true.
For feedback, please contact Dave Blaze at dbendl@hotmail.com (out of GTA)
– Written by Dave Blaze for Mystery Shopper Magazine