Many people or companies promise to sell shopper-wannabes lists of opportunities or companies that are hiring mystery shoppers. "What you do is pay $40 for a list that is basically on the Internet for free," says Newhouse.
Instead, start with these Web sites:
Do you have some dream companies you'd like to secret shop? Call their corporate headquarters, ask for the marketing department and find out who they hire when they need secret shoppers, says Gary Foreman, publisher of The Dollar Stretcher. Then contact that company and get on its list.
A numbers game
If you want to mystery shop regularly, remember it's a numbers game. Each company will only have so many assignments, so if you want to work often, you need to sign up with a lot of different companies.Newhouse's rule of thumb: Apply for 10 a day for 30 days; your phone and email will be flooded. After that, she says, gauge your schedule and adjust your applications accordingly.
Swinburn recommends starting with companies in your geographic area, then contacting ones in other parts of the country.
"Signing up with 12 companies doesn't guarantee you will get a [shopping assignment] today, tomorrow or next week," Swinburn says. So he advises you to be persistent and sign up with as many services as you can comfortably handle.
While some professional shoppers groups offer certification or training, you don't need it to start shopping. But companies might ask for some basic demographic information so that they can match you to assignments. (That's yet another reason to do some checking on the company to make sure it's legit.) Never give more information than you're comfortable with. No matter how great the company, it's not the only game in town.
When you're offered a job, make sure you're getting something out of it. In the beginning you may opt to take a couple of lower-paying assignments to establish yourself, but you don't want to be pigeonholed for low-wage work.
Some of Newhouse's litmus tests: Is the assignment nearby? Is it somewhere I'd be going anyway? Is the pay worth my time?
Understand the shopping rules
When you do take a job, make sure you understand exactly what you're supposed to do, what questions you need to answer for the company, how to fill out the report and how much and when you'll be paid.The typical lag time between doing the job and getting paid is 60 days, says Newhouse, but a lot of new shoppers don't understand that. "We get a lot of first-time shoppers who haven't read their contracts," she says. "They go on public message boards and start bashing these companies. It's career suicide."
Also be vigilant about guarding your personal financial information. Reputable firms will pay you by check, so they don't need your account numbers. The company might, however, need some tax information, such as your Social Security number.
If that makes you uncomfortable, Newhouse recommends contacting the Internal Revenue Service and applying for an employee identification number (EIN). That way, you keep your Social Security number between yourself and Uncle Sam, and also protect the company's tax reporting needs by providing the EIN. At tax-filing time, when you file your Form 1040 with your personal Social Security number, you'll also file a Schedule C or C-EZ -- complete with your EIN -- to report your mystery shopping income.
Speaking of taxes, since you're on your own, keep all your check stubs so that you can compare them to any tax forms (usually 1099s) you'll get from the various companies that hire you as a mystery shopper. You also might need to file estimated taxes.
And keep abreast of policies and laws regarding mystery shoppers. For instance, it's illegal to mystery shop in Nevada, says Newhouse, unless you have a private investigator's license. Make sure you keep up with what's going on in your state.
Dana Dratch is a freelance writer based in Atlanta.