Why I love Mystery Shopping to earn extra money

I always thought so. All I ever saw was these companies offering to pay me to go into stores, but before they would pay me, they wanted me to pay them. My Momma taught me better than that. No legit company is going to make their new employees pay them to work for them. If they are, it's a scam.

That is really the key here. There are so many different mystery shopping companies out there, and so many shady mystery shopping companies out there, that you have to be very careful when deciding who you are going to work for.

That being said. I have accounts with quite a few mystery shoppers. I use some all the time, others occasionally, and there are a few I have yet to find any shops with. But I have them and I check them every single morning.

Later I will give you a little list of mystery shoppers I know are legit and would recommend you start there, if you decide to try to make money with the mystery shopping.

But the bottom line?

Mystery shopping is something that had been taken advantage of by unscrupulous people. It gave the industry a bad name. There are still lots of dirty businesses out there, and they continuously are giving the industry a bad name. But there are good companies

I really think it is important to have multiple companies to work for if you plan to mystery shop. These companies do not have endless supplies of shops at every place imaginable. And for me, personally, I am very picky about the types of shops I do. This basically means I leave a lot of money on the table.

I am going to give you a list of mystery shopping companies I know to be legit, and hope that from this list you can either find more, or you can find enough work from them to satisfy your needs.

1.)Bestmark - This is one of the more regularly used ones for me. Lots of automotive stuff, which I like, and some email shops which I am also a big fan of.

2.)Intellishop - This one I do not do much work for. They have a few automotive shops, and also they have a lot of Home Depot shops, which I would generally like, I just haven't had much lick with timing on this.

3.)Market Force - Another regular for me. They have lots of restaurant shops, which I am a huge fan of! Not only can you get a free meal, but sometimes they even pay you to eat it. I am totally into that.

4.)The Source - I have yet to find a use for this one. For the longest time they have done mostly Medicare shops. I don't have Medicare, I am unable to do them. They do have some grocery store shops, but they are not really my style.

5.)A Closer Look - This is another mystery shopper I use primarily for the restaurant shops. Not as much as Market Force, but they are pretty good if you want food.

6.)Second to None - Another I have not found much use for yet, but I am holding out hope. I do know they are considered a reputable company though.

There are tons of other legit secret shopping companies. But these are the ones I use and I know to be the real deal. They have forums for secret shoppers, I would recommend you hit those if you want more companies. Most of them will have lists.

There are two shopper companies that use smart phones only. I love both of them and most of my shops really come from them.

1.)Field Agent - I have made hundreds of dollars from Field Agent. It is by far and away my favorite mystery shopper. They pay quick too. A huge variety of shops and most of them take less than 10 minutes.

2.)EasyShift - I don't use this as much as Field Agent. The shops take a little longer, but they also pay really fast. Usually withing a few days, and directly into paypal. Mostly grocery store shops. Checking inventory stuff, but pretty easy.

I would recommend everyone who wants to start shopping to try these two first. They are so convenient, and easy to use, I think most people will stick with them.

I use mystery shopping for my spare money investing. I make maybe a extra 20 or 40 dollars a week. I do it on lunch hours on my way home from work mostly. It is generally pretty easy. But it isn't going to let you get rich quick. It is a bit of work for only a little money, usually. I do not think most people will be able to make a career of it.

That's not to say you can't. That is just the reality. I hate when people tell me it's easy, you can be rich, financial freedom, and all that jazz.

It takes work, but it can be fun, it can get you free food, and it can even put some spare money in your pocket. I recommend it to anyone who likes that.