Secret Shopper | Scam or Legit Mystery Shopping Site?
Introduction:
The mystery shopping industry has been booming now for over the past few years. The concept of mystery shopping is often tied to market research and surveys. Ideally, retailers and manufacturers are willing to pay buyers to try out their products/services and give feedback on their overall experience.
Growing demand for secret shoppers has resulted in the rise of mystery shopping sites. Some are legit sites, but others are flat out online scams looking to steal your money and personal information. Therefore, if you are looking to become a mystery shopper, you should do your due diligence to investigate and research the site you are about to sign up with.
Secret Shopper is one of the many mystery shopping websites on the internet. But is it legit? Can you really make money with the site? This Secret Shopper review will answer these questions and more in great detail.
At LegitWorkOnlineForReal, our mission is to help our readers find legit online job opportunities and avoid the evil scammers. We are not affiliated with a lot of the companies that we review, which helps us give honest and unbiased reviews.
We will be covering the following topics concerning Secret Shopper:
- When was it started?
- What is Secret Shopper all about?
- What does it cost to join secret shopper?
- How to earn with Secret Shopper
- How much money can you make with Secret Shopper?
- What we liked about the program
- Good vs. bad qualities
- What are internet users saying about the website?
When Was It Started?
Secret Shopper is a for-profit private US company founded in January 1990, as a market research and training firm. The company is headquartered in Minneapolis Minnesota, but the website is available and accessible from different countries around the world.
As of this writing, the company’s Crunchbase profile claims that Paul Ryan is the acting President.
What Is Secret Shopper All About?
As the name suggests, Secret Shopper is typically a mystery shopping site that claims to reward members for completing secret shopping tasks.
If you are new to this industry, a mystery shopper or secret shopper is a person who is paid by a retailer or manufacturer, to buy and evaluate the quality of their products, services, and customer support.
The site is ideal for individuals who love shopping. The sections that follow will discuss more about the program, including the earning opportunity.
What Does It Cost to Join Secret Shopper?
Joining this website as a mystery shopper is free. You will not be prompted to pay any registration fee, but you must meet all eligibility requirements. Below is a list of the requirements for signing up with Secret Shopper:
- No previous experience needed
- You must be a detail-oriented shopper with impeccable written communication skills
- Access to a computer or smart device to submit your shopping reports
- Access to a scanner or digital camera for submitting proof of shopping
- Must be 18 years or older
- Ability to meet strict deadlines
Though it’s free to register with Secret Shopper, the company has lodged scam alerts, claiming that there are scammers posing as Secret Shopper agents to defraud the public. The scammers use the company’s name and charge an upfront “training fee.”
Secret Shopper is calling upon consumers to be bewared of such scam operations and report any encounter to the FTC.
How To Earn with Secret Shopper
The company offers only one way to make money – becoming a secret shopper and accepting mystery shopping tasks.
Since becoming a mystery shopper calls for specific skills, you will be properly informed about the basics of being a mystery shopper after registration. For instance, the target shop shouldn’t know that your a mystery shopper during an assignment.
To take up a secret shopping assignment, you must log in to your account and pick one of the shops available in your area. Every shop will indicate how much you stand to make after completing its assignment.
A Step-By-Step Guide
- If you are interested in taking any of the available assignments, click the “Sign Up Details” button to see the task’s instructions
- Upon making up your mind that you want to proceed with the assignment, hit the “View Waiver” button to read the attached waiver
- After reading and understanding the waiver, choose the date and time you want to shop. Pick the best and most convenient date and time because you have to honor your commitment
- If something important that might affect your shopping visit comes up, you can reschedule, but repeated cancellations can attract heavy penalties such as reduced payments and account probation
- When doing the shopping assignment, make sure that you follow the instructions to the letter
- Write a detailed report about your shopping experience and the quality of the products and services rendered. The report must capture all requested deliverables. Failure to capture even a single deliverable can result in reduced payment or assignment cancellation
- You must submit the report within 24 hours after the scheduled time to complete the assignment. Failure to meet this deadline can results to an assignment cancellation or reduced payment.
- You will receive your payment after your report has been reviewed by Secret Shopper
How Much Can You Make with Secret Shopper?
According to Secret Shopper’s FAQ Page, every mystery shopping assignment has a different earnings potential. However, the average earning per assignment ranges between $15 and $25.
Some shops such as restaurants can choose to pay their secret shoppers with a meal for two – payment in kind. As such, you must check the terms and conditions that come with every task.
All payment information regarding each assignment will be explained before commencing the assignment.
Your earnings will also be impacted by other factors such as the availability of shops in your area, gas costs when driving to shops located away from your area of domicile, and the frequency of assignments. Secret Shopper pays via PayPal every 20th of the month.
What We Liked About the Program
Below are the things that stood out to us concerning this website:
-
It is a member of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA)
The MSPA is a US-based institution that regulates legit mystery shopping providers in the country. Being a recognized member of MSPA, you can rest assured that Secret Shopper is a legitimate website.
-
Takes the initiative to educate the public on scam programs
During our research, we discovered that Secret Shopper has been on the frontline of educating the public on scams linked to the mystery shopping sector. The company has a Scam Alert page directly on it’s website.
Good vs. Bad Qualities
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of joining this mystery shopping website:
Pros
- Free to join
- Relatively higher rewards compared to it’s competitor sites
- No payment minimums or maximums
- Automatic payment processing
- Offers PayPal payments
- Offers a user-friendly mobile app
Cons
- Only one way to make money
- The availability of assignments will depend on your location
- It might take some time to receive your payment
- Not a full-time job opportunity
What Are Internet Users Saying About the Website?
Below are some Secret Shopper reviews from real shoppers who have already used the website – as published on Sitejabber.com:
Peach R.
Meggan H.
Our Conclusion For Secret Shopper:
After some detailed research on this website, we can confidently state that Secret Shopper is a legit mystery shopping website and a member of the MSPA. The site offers a lucrative remote job opportunity for people who love shopping.
The program pays $15 to $25 for every secret shopping assignment. Considering that assignments might be rare, the website cannot be pursued as a full-time job opportunity. In simpler terms, don’t quit your job simply because you got accepted as a Secret Shopper freelancer.
Now that we have come to the end of our Secret Shopper review, feel free to share your experience, thoughts, opinions, and comments below in the comment section. Thank you for reading and we’ll see you in our next review.
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