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The secret's out on secret shopping

My Gmail account is filled with spam mail from companies that offers jobs as a secret shopper. Initially, I was not interested, however I decided to do some research and my research led me to become a secret shopper. I had fun doing it, going to different shops, being able to meet new people, getting free meals and doing a lot of window shopping, however, here are some things you should know about secret shopping based on of my research and experience:

Your earnings may not be fair when you consider the amount of work you have to do. You can earn an average of between $20 - $40 per assignment, however, you may spend three hours doing the required tasks, which works out to $6.60 per hour if you have been assigned to a $20 job.

Some companies may not reimburse your expenses, that is, gas, train or bus fare etc. may be your responsibility.

Being a Secret Shopper is not a good career option as you may only get between 1- 2 assignments per month.

You have to be available to the company who wants your service at a moments notice.

Ensure that you do your research by using search engines on line or through BBB.

You will be required to do a lot of face to face interaction/communication with store employees, so if you do not like that stuff, do not become a secret shopper.

You may have to do a lot of store returns, so if you do not like dealing with returns, stay clear of secret shopping.

Avoid Secret Shopping companies as they are usually scams. Most of them charge you a fee to find assignments for you, but they never do. Legitimate Secret shopping positions are usually offered by the company you will be assigned to and does not require any payment by you.

Being a secret shopper can be fun, if you are into the whole spying thing, but as a good income earner, it may not be satisfactory.

A lot of paper work is usually involved in being a secret shopper as you have to detail the results of your assignment. You will need to have good communication skills and be very descriptive when writing your results on the check lists that the company gives you.

In summary, even though the job can be fun, it is not all that some people make it to be, as earnings are not great relevant to the time you spend on these assignments. Being a secret shopper will get old real quick, so do not invest a lot in it.

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