by Susan Smalls

Created on: October 28, 2008

It is every girl's dream to get paid to shop, but is it too good to be true? Many sources indicate that people can make large sums of money from mystery shopping, but I am hesitant to believe it. My mystery shopping experience, although positive, did not leave me with hundreds of dollars, as promised by many companies. I did, however, make some extra cash that helped me, although slightly, through college.

During college, I was strapped for cash, just like most college students are. As I was playing around on the internet one day, I saw an advertisement for secret shoppers, which I decided to further research and pursue. Several weeks later, I was given an assignment to go to a local store that will remain anonymous and look at a variety of things. I was not supposed to write anything down in the store, so I had to remember everything until I got home. Here's a short list of a few of the things I had to check out while in the store:

- If the bathroom was clean and had enough toilet paper and soap

- If the parking lot was almost free of trash

- If the store was clean (no spilled drinks, no clothes on the floor)

- If the prices were accurate

- I had to ask the customer service desk several questions off a list

- If employees were wearing proper attire and looked well-groomed

- If employees said the specific welcome phrase for the store and if they wished me a good day as I left

There were many other things I had to check out while in the store, and since I wasn't allowed to write anything down, it required a good memory. After shopping, I had to fill out a report about my observations and mail it to the company, along with a receipt of my purchases, which had to be less than five dollars. A few weeks later, I received ten dollars in the mail, along with a reimbursement for my purchases. Like I said earlier, it wasn't much money, but since I had to shop there anyway, I figured an extra ten bucks could come in handy. I continued mystery shopping for a semester, but then decided to get a different, more practical job.

Although I didn't stick with it long, I think mystery shopping would be an excellent source for additional income for college students, stay-at-home parents, or anyone looking to supplement an income, even a full-time one. It is available for adults of any age, and no opinions are required; it is strictly observations. My only advice is to do your research first. Some companies pay more and have higher reimbursement rates. And most importantly, don't pay a website to become a mystery shopper. You would never pay to work at a business would you?

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