What Is Mystery Shopping?

I wanted to start right off today with a brief introduction to mystery shopping. It's just one of the things that I do to supplement my income. It won't make you rich, but it can be a nice little bonus sometimes. The one thing that I'd like to stress to you is not to be sucked into the vision that shopping for money would be the greatest/coolest/most fun job EVER! Yes, getting paid to buy stuff can be great, but there is a lot more to it that you may not know. But I'm going to tell you! :)
The first issue to be aware of is that when you have an assignment to do there is a very specific time frame for that assignment. You can't just go into a clothing store whenever you feel like buying a new outfit and expect to be able to do an assignment out of it. The company will give you specific days, and then times within those days when an assignment must be completed, so there are restrictions on when you can shop. The other important thing is that you can't always buy WHAT you want either. Some assignments will reimburse you for whatever you want to buy as long as it's something small and under their price allotment. Other companies, especially fast food assignments, want you to buy very specific things or orders that cannot be altered. I've quite often found myself eating a meal I did not like during a shop because they required the purchase of a specific menu item. Another factor to consider is the pay versus your cost of completing an assignment. Some companies pay VERY little (sometimes less than $10 per shop assignment), and when you factor in all the MANY variables, such as gas, paper, printer ink to print assignments, and your time doing the assignment and submitting the results afterward, it may not be worth it to you. Fortunately, you can pick and choose the shops you want to do, so I recommend choosing wisely. Also, sometimes the reimbursable amount does not quite cover the cost of the actual purchase, so you may be out a dollar or two there as well. Some companies will pay extra for gas mileage and some won't. Again, choose wisely, little grasshopper...
I'm not sure if I scared anyone away yet, but there is one last important thing to mention. Being a Mystery Shopper (also known as a store evaluator or merchandiser) is a REAL job. There are many companies out there that will try to scam you, by making it sound more glamorous than what it really is. Make sure you only do what feels right for you! That being said, there are many good mystery shopping companies out there, and I work for several of them. Don't limit yourself to just one company. You can work for many and make a better income by doing so. There is a great mystery shopping resource here: http://www.mysteryshop.org/ and I recommend the site as a good starting place. There are also good international shopper companies such as http://www.shopnchek.com/ and http://www.xec.gapbuster.com/ . The 1st is the largest American mystery company and the latter is based in Australia but has offices in North America with one of the biggest clients in the world.
Bottom line is, it can be a fun extra income opportunity and a great way to get a free meal or pair of pants sometime, but don't expect to retire from it. In fact, a large percentage of shoppers ARE retired people looking for a little extra something to do to supplement their income.
Above all, have fun with it!