So you want to become a mystery shopper and make extra money?
Then you’ll want to make sure to stay clear of mystery shopper scams by signing up with reputable mystery shopping companies.
Prior to starting my mystery shopping side hustle, I took time to research mystery shopping reviews from other shoppers.
Once I felt comfortable enough, I started signing up with legit companies and completed my first few assignments with them.
In my first month, I earned $500 as a mystery shopper!
If you want to get paid to eat and shop, then keep reading.
What is a Mystery Shopper?
Mystery shoppers, also referred to as secret shoppers and evaluators, are undercover consumers that get paid to evaluate businesses.
Every mystery shopping company provides a variety of assignments tailored to different industries.
For example, one might specialize in restaurant evaluations, while another focuses on retail store assessments.
You get to pick and choose which mystery shops you want to do, based on what you’re into and what fits your schedule best.
List of Legit Mystery Shopping Companies
I’ll kick off this list with the mystery shopping companies that have paid me for my shops. This verification is proof that these companies do pay their secret shoppers for work successfully completed.
1. Market Force
I’m a Market Force shopper.
I can undoubtedly say that they’re one of my favorite mystery shopping companies to work for!
With Market Force, I do tons of fast-casual food mystery shops and can easily get 2 – 3 free meals each week plus get paid to eat.
This is just one type of shop they offer.
They also have retail mystery shops that will require you to go into a store and evaluate the customer service experience and other aspects of the business.
That might mean popping into big-name mattress stores, jewelry shops, or phone carrier spots, all incognito as a mystery shopper.
Plus, there are theater mystery shops where you can catch movies on the house and even get reimbursed for snacks from the concession stand.
I started doing mystery shopping with Market Force in mid-March and received my first Market Force paycheck on April 22th.
Market Force reimbursed me for food purchases required to complete the shops, as well as paid me the listed pay rate for each shop.
Most of the Market Force shops pay between $9 – $30 per assignment.
Sign up to become a Market Force shopper.
2. Coyle Hospitality
Coyle is the place to sign up if you’re looking for legitimate hotel mystery shopping companies.
I recently detailed in my mystery shopper review a hotel mystery shop job that was offered to me by Coyle.
The job offered 2-nights free stay at a luxury hotel as well as covered some meals and a spa treatment for you and a guest!
These shop gigs usually take quite a bit of time to complete. So before you jump in make sure it’s something you’re really up for.
Types of mystery shopping jobs offered by Coyle include:
- Resorts
- Restaurants
- Travel and Tourism
- Cruises
- Spas
- Luxury Retail
- Banking / Wealth Management
- Auto
One important thing to note about mystery shopper jobs such as the one offered by Coyle, is that you’ll have to pay upfront for these bigger ticket services and get reimbursed for it later on.
This could be a 2 – 3 month wait before you see your reimbursement.
If that’s something you can feasibly do, then Coyle is a great legit mystery shopping company to try out!
Once your shops are successfully completed and approved, you’ll get paid around the 30th day of the month following the month the shop was completed.
Sign up as a Coyle secret shopper.
3. Ipsos
Ipsos is a mystery shopping company ideal for secret shoppers who want a wide variety of options to make extra cash.
One day you might be doing a luxury watch retail store mystery shop, while another day you could be doing an online mystery shop or gas station shop.
In my area in Boston, there aren’t too many shops available to complete (or I should say not many that are interesting enough for me to do).
Although, there are plenty of mystery shop reviewers that I’ve come across who rave about Ipsos jobs. So your area may have better shops than mine.
iShopFor Ipsos is a reputable mystery shopping company and is a member of the MSPA.
Being part of this organization is a good indicator that you’re signing up with a legit secret shopper company!
Sign up to become an Ipsos mystery shopper.
4. A Closer Look
At A Closer Look, you’ll find virtual shops like phone questionnaires, along with a range of restaurant and fast-casual food assignments.
In my shopper dashboard, I’ve spotted gigs at a famous burger joint, childcare facility tours, senior living phone interviews, and various restaurant shops.
While I like to lean towards Coyle for restaurant gigs due to better pay and reimbursements, I still keep an eye on A Closer Look for online jobs that don’t require travel.
These gigs can increase your mystery shopper hourly earnings, especially if you can knock out a few in one afternoon!
On average, a Closer Look pays between $5 – $75 per assignment. They’re also members of the MSPA. Sign up to become A Closer Look secret shopper.
Remote online jobs from home – If you prefer to work from home and get paid to participate in online surveys, complete sign up bonus offers, and play online video games, then check out Swagbucks.
It’s a free website and app that pays you to complete various online jobs from the comfort of your home. Here’s how to sign up and get a $10 welcome bonus.
5. Field Agent
With Field Agent, you’ll get a mix of mystery shop jobs, gig economy work, at-home surveys and everything in between.
I’ve been a huge fan of the app for years because it offers a wide range of ways to earn money, which keeps things interesting!
One mystery shop I’ve done in the past paid me $16 for a 10 minute assignment at a well-known fast-casual sub shop.
I went undercover as a consumer to document whether the Apple Pay payment method was available at the store.
I was also reimbursed up to $15 to purchase a sub, cookie and drink.
Another mystery shop I did involved going to a grocery store chain and checking out the new discount food bins that were placed at the front of the store.
I was given $20 to take a few pictures of the bins, as well as $20 to shop for food. It was awesome!
The best part is that they gave me this same gig to complete at two different locations. So I ended up with $40 of free groceries and a $40 payment to take the pictures.
These are just some examples of my mystery shopper work with Field Agent.
Feel free to read my Field Agent review to see all the different ways you can earn extra cash with the money making app.
Field Agent is one of the highest paying mystery shopper apps around and the one that pays the fastest.
In most cases, you’ll get paid within 48 hours of submitting an assignment.
So you won’t need to wait 1 – 2 months to get paid, like most other mystery shopping companies make you do
Sign up to make money with Field Agent.
How to Get Paid to be a Secret Shopper
So, getting paid to be a secret shopper is pretty neat, right?
First off, you gotta sign up with legit mystery shopping companies, that’s step one. Then, keep an eye out for assignments that match your interests and schedule.
Once you’ve completed a shop and submitted your feedback, you’ll usually get paid through direct deposit or by check.
Now just remember, it’s unlikely you’ll be raking in $500 a day as a mystery shopper, so it’s best to keep your expectations realistic when you’re starting out.
But you know what?
Mystery shopping is a fantastic way to score some extra cash and enjoy a handful of free meals each week!
Larger List of Mystery Shopping Companies
The MSPA is the go-to spot for mystery shoppers looking for legit jobs.
They’ve got a massive list of reputable mystery shopping companies where you can apply and start working with. I found it to be an awesome resource for finding great mystery shop job opportunities time and time again!
There are also other side hustles you can do to make money online and at home.
For instance, I make money writing helpful blog articles just like the one you’re reading right now.
If sitting at cafes or at home writing blog posts is something that interests you, then take this FREE training for starting a profitable affiliate website.