You all have probably seen those ads looking for mystery shoppers when researching work at home jobs. The sad fact is, a majority of those companies are scams looking to make a buck off you, and most of the rest don't really pay what it's worth.
When I first was looking for a work at home job, I did a large amount of research on mystery shopping, and came up with a list of legitimate companies. For those that do not know, mystery shopping is a job in which a company will pay you to spend money at their business, while making sure that it is being run well and everything is satisfactory. When I first started this job, it seemed to be quite fun. No, I wasn't making a profit, but I was able to buy items while the company paid the tab. After a while though, I came to the realization that to me, mystery shopping is definitely NOT worth the time and effort it takes. With most of these jobs, you are given a specific time to shop and even the specific item to buy. After shopping, you are expected to usually fill out a very specific report form (with lots of detail) on almost every possible aspect of the shopping experience. I found these to be extreme time wasters. It is unusual to make money off mystery shopping, as the companies will usually only help you to break even with your purchase. So no, for me mystery shopping was not a job that I could enjoy doing for months. Still, some of you might want to give this unique job a try, so I am posting a few links to companies which should match you with businesses in need of shoppers.
Note: Though the companies below are recommended, DO NOT sign up with one if you are required to pay money to join, as this is likely a scam. If the job seems fishy, it probably is! Use common sense when applying for these jobs.
Links:
http://www.aamerch.com/b2c/secret.htm
http://www.a-closer-look.com/
http://www.a-insights.com/
http://www.mystery-shopping.com/
http://www.mysteryguestinc.com/MGI/
http://www.usd-datatron.com/
