It’s a question I am asked a lot, can you get paid for mystery shopping?
And where can you apply to do this?
This guide should help you weigh up the pros and cons of mystery shopping and help you decide if it is worth you doing it…
Pros
You are paid to be a customer by a business to rate their customer service and/or products
It is a great way to top up your income
You can earn up to £30 plus expenses
The perks of the job are free meals, free products, free overnight hotel stays and much more
It is flexible work and you can easily manage it to fit around your family
It is an easy way to earn money
You can usually take a friend, the kids or even your partner with you
Most assignments can be done within 30 minutes
Anything you buy when on a mystery shopping trip is yours to keep and you’re reimbursed
When reviewing restaurants, you normally have pick of the menu and you can choose anything you like – again, you will be reimbursed
You can sign up to as many mystery shopping websites as you like, that way you are more often to have regular jobs
Most mystery shopping websites reward their most active, longest serving members with the best, highest paying assignments
If you live in a large city, you are more likely to have a higher number of assignments
Also think about taking part in market research with companies like Saros. You can earn over £100 an hour for your time!
Cons
You have to be very discreet and not make it public knowledge you are a mystery shopper. The industry is surrounded with confidentiality and you may lose your membership if the company find out you have been sharing the information.
You may not get picked for many assignments, so don’t pin all your hope on hoping this industry will make you a quick buck
You need a good memory and write long reviews making sure you don’t miss any detail
You have to have very good English and be able to write up your experience pretty fast – most of the time it is within 24 hours
A printer and scanner is needed so you can print and scan any reports you do for the mystery assignment
All receipts and paperwork must be kept and stored safely and securely by yourself incase the company need to refer back to it at any point
Taxing your earnings
You will need to register with HMRC as self employed and do your own tax reports
You can make up to £10,600 before you have to pay tax on any earning – this includes any other job you may do
You may also have to pay National Insurance contributions, speak to HMRC about this
Who are best to sign up with for mystery shopping jobs?
Pros
Payment usually within 4 weeks
You will receive a detailed brief before any job
You can choose the jobs you would like to do
Cons
There is a big difference in pay for some jobs – you have to be fast to get the well paid jobs
This could be a pro or con – assignments are listed by postcodes near you – so you won’t be able to travel too far for a job or you may not be able to turn your hotel mystery stay into a little getaway
Assignments need to be completed within 24 hours
Pros
You write your report online so it is easy to use
You are paid monthly directly into your bank account
Choose your own jobs
Gap Buster work with big, well known brands so you get the chance to work with these brands too
Cons
You aren’t always paid for an assignment with Gap Buster, your expenses are only covered
You have to choose your own jobs
You have a tight 8 hour deadline to complete assignments
Pros
Jobs are allocated to you via email and text message
You are paid monthly, you can be paid sooner if expenses are over £18
You can do other tasks such as carry out customer surveys
Cons
Most of their assignments are to be done in ‘office hours’
Again, there is a big difference in pay rates per assignment
You must be outgoing for your role with Retail Maxim as a lot of their assignments are ‘complaints’ so you can see rate their complaints procedure and how it is handled
Pros
You are reimbursed for anything you spend plus a payment per assignment, usually between £5-£10
You get to choose your own jobs
Get paid twice monthly directly into you bank account
Cons
You need to keep an eye on the website so you can choose the best assignments
You often need a professional email address rather than your bog standard hotmail, yahoo, gmail etc
