Are Mystery Shopping and Paid-For-Survey jobs real? If so, could anyone recommend any?

Every time I google them I keep running into bogus-sounding sites that promise the moon for a small one time fee.

Are Mystery Shopping and Paid-For-Survey jobs real? If so, could anyone recommend any?
Mystery Shopper are real. Being a secret shopper is not a career. It set up for people who love to shop and make money alone the way. This job is ideal for anyone who pays close attention to detail and have a great memory. The person you are evaluating should not know you are a secret shopper. You must be prepared to spend your own money first and be reimbursed after wards. This could take up to 1 month before you are reimbursed. You are an independent contract and required to pay taxes on it at the end of the year.





You should go to http://www.mysteryshop.org/ and look at the website. Choose your location and look for assignments. You will see that you would either be reimbursed for your purchase or they will pay you a small fee such as $10.00 for the completed shop. You need to register and receive a MPSA certificate before you start getting assignments. If you are not able to pass the test you could still apply for a mystery shop but keep in mind you might not get that shop if someone else have a MPSA certification number. Good luck and remember this is for people who would normally shop a lot because receiving $10.00 for your time at a shop that might last an hour or two, plus you have to drive there than, believe me it might be worth it for 10.00 extra dollars
Reply:I have been earning money performing mystery shopping, audits, and inspections away from home and then inputting the reports at home for several years. Occasionally, some of this type of work can be done at home, such as phone and web audits but you will likely have to have done some of the out of home work before being offered it. There are a lot of Companies out there trying to charge you for more information, but I DO NOT. I have given you a link below to my website and also my new Yahoo Group and is free and open to all. It is free information and advice because I may earn from referring you to Companies or from one of my sponsors you CHOOSE to click, but never from YOU. Alternatively email me if you want me to do a quick search of opportunities within 20 miles of your location. I just need a city name and Zip Code!
Reply:if you see those ads on the web-site and news papers they are FRAUD!! be careful. I almost got caught up in one, but thank godness I was smart enought to do some investigation. If you get a call from them they will act like the are real and make it sound good to work for them. You will receive a check in the mail for $2500.00 with a letter giving you instructions on how to go to money gram or any cash check place to cash the check. You will keep $500 and transfer $2000 to there account. It just sound to goog to be true to me that is why I did my investigation and found out that the check was fake.





But there are companies that do hire secret shoppers; companies like Commerce Bank. but you would have to apply directly through them. I know that because I use to work for them and they have a lot of mystery shopper to grade their employees. Therefore, be careful and be smart. If it sound to good to be true than it is.
Reply:Whilst the sites trying to sell you information "promise the moon" there is a sound basis to their claims - only not to the income levels they claim. Market research companies have been canvassing opinon for decades but the advent of the internet has made it much easier for them to collect this information, from a wider range of demographics. Of course, to ensure they get the number of responses they need, incentives have to be offer, hence the chance to get paid.





Unfortunately, the income levels claimed are not the norm. Whilst you may well earn $75+ for an online forum lasting an hour or two or for visiting a top of the range car showroom to book a test drive, most online surveys last no more than 20 minutes and will usually pay you in the region of $2-$5 (more for longer surveys). In reality, this means most people will earn in the region of $100-$200 a month plus a few products to test.





If you're still interested, there are several good free directories of paid survey sites. The one I always use is http://www.whichsurveys.com which gives details of hundreds of companies, sorted by country. I've not yet found a site on that that hasn't paid me.





As regards mysery shopping, this is much more competitive than it once was, so rates have fallen dramatically in the last couple of years. Take a look at http://www.homeworking-directory.com/mys... for details of some of the bigger companies looking for shoppers as well as a really good articles on what's involved.
Reply:1. WelI I actually take surveys for cash. And yes they do pay as long as you know the good ones. I have some free survey sites that are very reliable just check out my profile by clicking my name or email me for them. I only give sites that I've been paid by so you won't get scammed. They're all reliable and I've never had a problem with them. (I've been doing them for a year now) The best part is that anyone can do them and they're easy. You won't get rich but they definitely help with bills :)





2. Btw a lot of the ones above are spammers and I wouldn't trust them
Reply:Forget the mystery shopping ...IMHO..it's bogus and not worth it....I HAVE tried the paid surveys though..again, IMHO, not REALLY worth it, as you have to spend 20 minutes or more doing a on-line survey which may give you 50 cents or $1.00, but they sell your e-mail address to other ppl, which =





YOU GET MORE SPAM MAIL...YAY!!!
Reply:unfortunately there are an abundance of scams that turn people off from the whole process of making money online... especially paid surveys...... however, there are still a few legit sites that exist, and based off personal experience... i've created a blog, flushed with video tutorials, that can help you make a few extra bucks online.. I also have proof of payment pictures to show that these sites are not scams.





http://erykjay.blogspot.com/





*the key is not to just sign up for one site and expect loads of riches, but to sign up for a few and have the smaller checks add up*





*be mindful of the sites you sign up for... check out reviews of the site in yahoo answers before wasting your time*





*if you ever have to pull out a credit card, its not worth it*
Reply:mystery shoppers are real but you cant find those jobs on the internet macy's target walmart and some on all have them try the store website or the store itself paid for survery jobs are all rip offs