Is Shadow Shopper (ShadowShopper.com) A Scam?
Shadow Shopper is basically a website that charges users for a list of companies that hire mystery shoppers also known as secret shoppers. Mystery Shopping is when a company hires people like you and me to act as undercover shoppers that visit various stores to purchase a given product or service. Sometimes you’re not even required to purchase anything, it’s just a matter of visiting the store to evaluate the appearance or customer service of a given shop. The shops that you visit don’t know you’re evaluating them. At the end of your visit you must fill out a report detailing what you’re observed. Whatever money you spent is usually reimbursed plus an additional fee. So you usually get some free products and some extra money for your troubles. It’s a great opportunity for stay at home moms and people that have great attention to details.
ShadowShopper.com is very much like the various websites you find on the web that offer lists of survey opportunities for a fee. The problem with these websites and why they’re often viewed as scams or have negative reviews is because you can get the information they’re selling you for free. Personally it’s hard for me to call theses sites scams because honestly books, newspapers and magazines are also offering you a lot of information you can get for free if you know where to look.
The issue with sites like ShadowShopper.com is how they misrepresent the amounts of money you can make and how soon you can get started. The other "shady" thing about ShadowShopper.com is that they offer you a free membership. But in their terms of services they clearly state that after your 7 day free trial is up they will automatically charge you, and process your membership. I put the word shady in quotes because this is just a matter of being aware of what you’re signing up for and taking the appropriate action.
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If you cancel before the trial period there isn’t a problem. But most people aren’t as careful as they should be and forget to cancel the trial and you end up paying for something you didn’t necessarily want. Most companies that offer free trials depend on this, so it’s not only companies like ShadowShopper.com do employ this tactic. This is where you get many complaints because from what I gather ShadowShopper.com isn’t going to give you a refund because you forgot to cancel your free trial. Ideally they should but they are in their rights since they let you know this up front in their terms and conditions.
Personally given that there are free resources that provide you with legitimate Mystery Shopping opportunities I would pass on Shadow Shopper. I don’t think it’s a flat out scam because it’s not against the law to sell you free information. But they are a little deceptive in their representation of earnings and how easy it is to get started with secret shopping. And just be mindful of the free trial and the terms associated with them and you should be fine if you decide to try them.
But again, I would save my money and use sites like www.WorkAtHomeCareers.com or www.MoneyMakingMommy.com which are free!
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July 10th, 2008 at 7:37 pm |
Hi Eddy, I know of a sight that has a Huuuuuge free list of Mystery Shopping jobs, maybe you know of that sight as well. Wondering if I could post the name of it here?
July 10th, 2008 at 7:56 pm |
Hi Rocio,
Are you referring to Volition.com?
If not, feel free to post it.
Thanks in advance.
Eddy
July 10th, 2008 at 8:28 pm |
LOL Yeah I actually did a few mystery shopping jobs around 2 years back, II actually found their site very helpful, Im wondering whats your opinion on the site:)
July 10th, 2008 at 8:53 pm |
Am I Psychic or what? LOL
No seriously it’s a great site for mystery shopping jobs. I tried to work out something with the owner so I could list the jobs found there on WorkAtHomeCareers.com and link back to their site but the dude wasn’t really interested.
So that’s why I’ve never really bothered to include a link to their site. But since you brought it up, now it’s out there. LOL
Thanks for sharing with us! We really do appreciate when folks are trying to help others work at home instead of complaining and calling everything a scam.
So thanks Rocio!
Eddy
July 10th, 2008 at 9:36 pm |
Sure no problem,:) the thing is you must be consistent for a lot of the Work at home jobs that are out there. Thats my problem though I start things and never finish them, (something I really hate about myself, Im working on it though lol) But there is gold in them tar hills JK lol So right now Im reading a lot of your articles and following your advice so Ill be tellin ya how Im doing!
July 10th, 2008 at 9:41 pm |
Hope you find something of interest to you.
There is definitely a lot of ways to make money at home if people are open minded and willing to venture outside the box. I’m sure you’ll find something of interest in those articles.
Look forward to hearing how you do.
Eddy
July 11th, 2008 at 6:15 pm |
I willingly paid the cash out for the website after letting a “free” membership sit long enough to fill my inbox with alerts of companies. I went ahead and paid it for a month, took the time to take down all the info the site has, get their certifications, and discontinued my subscription for the next month. It didn’t renew against my wishes, I never felt ripped off… I got good quality company leads and have been doing mystery shopping as a side job for 3 years.
I also referred this specific site to a friend of mine, who was as skeptical as me about spending $20 for a website membership and she ended up doing the same thing I did… She lived in a city that provided more opportunities and did make as much as they say you can. She now does it for a living, full-time.
People don’t seem to get it… They’re giving you leads to companies that are advertising needing shoppers. You still have to do the work, and if you don’t want to pay for a company to give you the leads, you have to find them yourself. I loved the convenience, though
July 14th, 2008 at 5:31 pm |
Manda,
I hear what you’re saying. This is the dilemma I face when writing reviews or researching companies that everyone is calling “scams”. Most of these companies are selling information that is readily available for free if you know where to find it.
If you know where to find the info then people view products like shadow shopper a scam because they’re in the know. But for someone that is brand new, who has no clue where to find the info for free and is looking for speed and convenience then it may make sense for them to buy these type of info products.
So I agree with you, it all depends on the user and their situation. For instance people fail to realize that a lot of the information they pay for in newspapers, books and magazines they can get for free in the library or internet. But no one runs around calling their local newspaper a scam.
But I guess because the work at home industry is so riddled with scams it just easier to call everything a scam when it requires a fee. lol
In any event, thanks for your input Mandy.
Eddy
August 8th, 2008 at 11:12 am |
I also used the shadowshopper service and I would have to say that it IS a scam. I paid for a 30 day trial ($5) because I could afford it and I wanted to see what they had to offer. I checked the box that said not to renew my membership automatically. The listings they provided only lead me to other websites where I had to register in order to sign up for jobs. All it did was basically provide me with mystery shopper websites that I could have found on a search engine for free. I wasn’t going to renew my membership at all.
But, then I got a notice from my back of an overdraft fee and, it turns out, Shadowshopper charged my bank account $60 for a year membership which I DID NOT authorize. And, of course, Shadowshopper does not deal with customer problems over the phone, so I can’t contact them directly to try and resolve the issue. They don’t even have someone answering the phone. They only deal through email. How convenient. There is nothing on their website that allows you to check your billing status (which I tried to do before my 30 day membership expired) or billing history. I read other reviews that have dealt with the same issue and did not receive their money back. So I’ve filed a dispute through my bank on the charge. Hopefully that will resolve it. But I would never recommend the shadowshopper service to anyone after this experience.
August 8th, 2008 at 12:38 pm |
Hi Michelle,
I’m sorry to hear about your experience with this ShadowShoppers.com. But you’re taking the right action. It’s always a good idea to pay for any of these work at home type products via a major credit card because usually your credit card company can and will reverse the charge when you provide a good explanation.
Next I want to thank you for providing such a detailed report of why this company is a scam. Too often people run around calling any work at home company a scam and don’t provide any context as to why its a scam. So thanks for being so detailed.
And finally almost any information products (ebooks, magazines, newspapers, etc) we purchase can be obtained for free if people know how to look for it. But for some people it’s just easier to allow someone else to do the work and pay for it. So to each their own. But in this case, the reason why this company is shady is because of what they did in terms of their billing practice.
No means no!
In any event, I’m happy you found our site. Please be sure to check out our scam section: www.WorkAtHomeNoScams.com/scams and follow the advice in the video to avoid any more scams. It has really helped many people out.
I would also encourage you to read our articles:
www.WorkAtHomeNoScams.com/articles
I’m sure you’ll find legitimate opportunities right away.
Thanks again.
Eddy
August 16th, 2008 at 10:12 am |
Shadowshopper is a scam. Please don’t spend your money on this scam. I have however found a place that you CAN make money at online that is NOT a scam. If you want to contact me and talk more about it please “…email email me: IPCsales@webchatting.com”
Hope this helps,
Paula