I’m not as busy with mystery shopping as I once used to be. I choose to grow my residual income online now, verses getting paid on a per job completion basis. Do I still do secret shopping jobs? Of course, if they pay well, are in my 10 mile radius, and aren’t too difficult, I will be more than happy to make the extra cash.

Unfortunately I turn down a lot of secret shopping jobs offered by various schedulers, but it’s no offense to them, it’s usually because the job is just too far away and the pay doesn’t cover the gas expenses and time I would have to put forth to successfully complete the job. Not to mention doing the hideous online report at the end of the day. Those are the worse, really.

How do I know location is so important to making money with secret shopping?

It’s pretty simple folks, if you are in or around a major city or suburb, you will have more local businesses and franchises around you. This of course equals more money in the bank for you as a mystery shopper. Sometimes it really isn’t that cut and dry. I used to do mystery shopping in Washington State. I’ve averaged around $700 to $1,000.00 extra a month doing mystery shopping part time over there. Once I moved to New Orleans, I’ve noticed a whole lot less jobs.

Maybe it was the fact that I just wasn’t registered with the right secret shopping companies that cover the New Orleans area, but I actually notice more jobs in outlying cities even though New Orleans is where you would think most of the jobs would be.

In Washington, I barely ever had to make my way up to Seattle because most of the jobs could be taken care of in smaller suburban cities.

How do I know if my area is good for earning extra income in secret shopping?

There is only one way to find out. You have to sign up with as many secret shopping companies as you can and see what kinds of jobs are offered to you and where they’re at. I’m just an online blogger, so I’m only familiar with areas I’ve secret shopped in.

Whether you’re new to mystery shopping or a seasoned vet, I hope this information helps you in your decision to continue in secret shopping as a way to supplement your income as your own boss.

I would like to personally thank Mike,  an affiliate of Signupandmakemoney for introducing this sign up bonus site. Because of this, his referral link is being used on the main site and in this blog post.

Points2Shop looks like yet another site where you can get paid to do various tasks and earn off of other people you refer. Nothing too amazing about that, but since Points2Cash doesn’t cost you anything to join, it doesn’t hurt to give it a try to see if it works better than other paid to do tasks opportunities.

It looks like you get $1.00  and 15% for every free referral you bring in. This looks like a doable program that will not screw the Company or the affiliate.

Over 463,000 members says something. Points2Shop has been around a couple of years, 400,000 + members in only two years is a pretty good job to me, what do you think?

I don’t know what kind of offers they have and if they look like they are worth the time to earn. This will have to be up to you and your good judgment.

I have never really been big into shopping opportunities because I don’t buy a lot of stuff, online or offline. That’s just me. I’m the exact opposite of a pack rat. If I don’t use it, it usually ends up going out the door. You may be different. If you do enjoy shopping, than Paid2Cash is for you.

Take a look at some other cash back shopping sign up bonuses and let me know what you think.

I wanted to become a gold secret shopper back when I was doing a whole lot of mystery shopping, but in order to do that you either had to attend a live event (usually a long distance away from your current location) or purchase a secret shopper gold certification DVD.

You really don’t have to become a silver or gold to do well in secret shopping.

In my honest opinion, I think becoming at least silver certified really isn’t a bad thing for you, but I believe it is just the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s way of making some money off their mystery shoppers network.

The truth is that they probably will call silver qualified mystery shoppers before free mystery shoppers and gold secret shoppers before silver secret shoppers. But when it really comes down to it, most schedulers will take whomever they can to get the job done. There really are a lot of secret shopping jobs out there and a good amount of them are in some real remote areas offering bonuses to get them done.

If you are reading this article and are a free mystery shopper, don’t worry about becoming silver certified. The best thing to do is to register with as many secret shopping companies as you can to get your name and profile out there. Here is a good free list of secret shopping companies to get you started.

Don’t get me wrong, the MSPA is a good thing and if you are serious about becoming a hard core secret shopper, than go ahead and shoot for the gold if that’s what you want to do. Otherwise, if you are just looking to make some extra money part time, don’t worry about becoming silver or gold and just sign up with free mystery shopping companies and accept jobs that pay well and are within a reasonable distance from you.

Feel free to take a look at one of my Gap Buster payment proofs. This is only one payment of many I’ve received from Gap Buster. I’ve never had a problem with Gap Buster paying me on time because they offer direct deposit as an option to receive payment.

Gap Buster has been around since 1994 so you know they are an established Secret Shopping Company. Gap Buster is also an international Mystery Shopping Company and operate in over 50 countries. It’s 100% free to join as a Secret Shopper with Gap Busters. All you have to do is simply apply online to see if you are accepted as a Mystery Shopper with Gap Buster.

One final thing you should know about Gap Buster is that they are part of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (otherwise know as MSPA). This means they follow a shopper’s code of conduct and are a legit Mystery Shopping Company and not a scam.

Mystery Shopping is a great way to supplement your income on top of your day job because it can be done very part time. You chose which secret shops to do and which secret shops not to do. Before applying to become a Mystery Shopper with Gap Buster I would recommend you have the following:

• a vehicle to get to the secret shop.
• a printer to print out your paperwork.
• a scanner or digital camera to take a snap shot of your receipt for proof of shopping the correct location.
• a computer to submit jobs.
• an Internet connection (the faster the connection the better) to submit your shops online.
• good grammar no matter what language you shop in.
• the ability and motivation to work independently, on your own.

In order to increase your income even more, I recommend you take a look at my Secret Shopping Company list to sign up with other free Mystery Shopping Companies like Gap Buster. The more you sign up with the more shops you’ll be able to get.

If you aren’t currently a shopper with Market Force, I highly recommend taking advantage of this free opportunity. That’s right, I said free! The only tools you’ll need to be a successful Mystery Shopper are the following:

• A vehicle to get from point A to point B
• Computer
• Printer
• Scanner or digital camera
• An Internet connection
• The ability to work on your own and self motivation
• Good writing skills

As a Secret Shopper myself, I am not allowed to mention who Market Force’s clients are. I can say that I respect their clients for wanting to improve their customer service. In my opinion, that is what makes a Company stand above its competitors.

If you like Market Force, then you’ll like my other recommended Secret Shopping Companies to join. They are all free, so you have nothing to lose. Some websites will charge a fee for this same list, but I think that’s unethical. You apply for these Mystery Shopping Companies almost in the same way you would apply for a job. Except as a Secret Shopper, you are considered an Independent contractor and work on your own. This also means you are responsible for keeping track of your income and expenses when tax time comes around.

If you are new to owning your own business and have only had a job your whole life, then take a look at some of the tax deductions you can benefit from having your own home based business.