Can You Really Get Paid For Going To The Mall? (Mystery Shopping)

1. 
   Neil DeMarco said on October 7th, 2008 at 6:32 am

   VERY INFORMATIVE, BUT NOT FOR ME. WHAT WORK AT HOME JOBS WOULD YOU RATE AS YOUR TOP 5/10 PICKS.

   I JUST FOUND THIS SITE

   Reply
2. 
   eddysalomon said on October 7th, 2008 at 6:50 am

   Hi Neil,

   Welcome to our blog.
   The first thing you want to do is subscribe to our email updates so you’re made aware of any new legit work at home opportunities or scams we may discuss:

   http://www.workathomenoscams.com/subscribe

   Next you should read some of our best articles listed here: http://www.workathomenoscams.com/articles

   Here you’ll find my recommendations for the top work at home opportunities and other information to help you succeed at working at home.

   And finally you should visit our scam section so you know what to avoid and know how to determine when a company is a scam or not:

   http://www.workathomenoscams.com/scams

   Hope this helps you get started.

   If you have any questions be sure to visit our questions section:
   http://www.workathomenoscams.com/ask

   Eddy

   Reply
3. 
   MsJaxxee said on May 23rd, 2009 at 2:38 pm

   Yeah, they are much too grown. They come to the clinic where I worked looking the same way, but that’s the way it is now. Your baby is now here, she has an intelligent and sensible father and mother, both of whom I’m sure will be teaching, so not to worry.

   Again, thanks for the information.

   Reply
4. 
   Eddy Salomon said on May 23rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm

   Let’s pray that the home training that we provide her with help. lol But ultimately times have changed and as parents we have to adjust to a certain point. There are some thing I will stand firm on because I’m just “old school” like that. But there are other things I will probably have to relent on especially because my wife is much more lenient than I am. But everything in life is a bout a balance.
   Thanks for sharing your words of wisdom!

   Reply
5. 
   Brenda Rorie-Baety said on June 18th, 2009 at 4:04 pm

   Hello Eddy,
   I’ve been looking for something to do from home for about 4 months now. My Brother found your site and forwarded it to me after I got caught up in a survey scam. I learn fast but now I’m paranoid of everything. Now, the reason I’m writing. I received a check from a shopping co. in the amount of $4965.00!!!!! Imagine my surprise. I immediately thought , “Oh boy,. Here we go again” I looked the company up on the website that they noted and the company is an internationally known company. What sent off bells and whistles is they wanted me to deposit the check in my bank account before they would tell me what I was supposed to do with the bulk of the money. They said I could keep $300 for expenses and all of the goods I bought from Walmart and JC Penneys but there was a wire transfer for 1500 and I was supposed to exchange 2800 in cash for foreign currency. Enough to make you go Hmmmmmmmmm! Well after I discussed it with my husband ,we decided to decline their most “generous” offer. We decided that we didn’t want anyone to have access to our checking account. I’ve seen too much on your website for that. Did I do the right thing? Was this a scam? Or am I just being paranoid. The website was payme4shopping.com. The company name is Service Inspection Limited. The parent ccompany is out of New Zealand. What do you think? I think if it quacks like a duck……….

   Thanks for what you do. You have saved me months if not years of floundering around in this new world. I still haven’t found anything that appeals to me, but I’m still looking. Wish me luck.:)

   Brenda
   San Diego CA

   Reply
6. 
   Eddy Salomon said on June 18th, 2009 at 4:35 pm

   Hi Brenda,
   Thanks for sharing your story with me. You and your husband made the right decision. I’m not sure if you’ve ever visited our scam section. If not I encourage you to read it from top to bottom including the comments. So many people have fallen victim to these check cashing wire scams. They disguise themselves in various ways but at the end of the day its always the same scam. So you did the right thing. Head over to our scam section now:
   http://www.workathomenoscams.com/scams it will expand on the knowledge you’ve already gain.

   At the end of the day if something sounds to good, its probably is. One of the questions when I read about opportunities like this or visit one of those work at home product sales pages is; “If it was so easy and people were making money like that, then why are people working 9-5 jobs they hate or struggling to find work at home jobs?”

   In any event, thanks for sharing. You might want to do your part and post the scam you discussed above in our scam page. Take care.

   Reply
7. 
   Brenda Rorie-Baety said on June 18th, 2009 at 5:38 pm

   Thanks Eddy for you quick response. i feel better that I did the right. It goes to show you that you should listen to that little voice that says something’s just not right here.
   thanks again,
   Brenda

   Reply
8. 
   Eddy Salomon said on June 18th, 2009 at 8:04 pm

   Indeed!
   You’re welcome!

   Reply
9. 
   Tj said on October 27th, 2009 at 4:34 pm

   This is very informative! Thanks so much for all the time and effort you & your team put into this site! It has been most helpful to me, again many thanks!

   Reply
10. 
    Eddy Salomon said on October 27th, 2009 at 4:38 pm

    You’re welcome TJ.

    Reply
11. 
    sunflower said on March 5th, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    Oooh…this looks veddy, veddy interesting. I tried one years ago and just received a lot for places like Taco Bell. I just did not want to HAVE to go to fast food places so I lost interest. But, your list is extensive so I may give it another try and sign up with a few companies. Thank you for doing the research for us. I know when I was ‘shopping’ around for mystery shopping opportunities, years ago, it was hard to filter out the spammy ones. Another reason why I may have only signed up with one back then. I wanted to see if it was legit.

    Eddy…I was just in the process of filling out an application. Is it normal for them to ask for a lot of information like age, b-day, past jobs, SS# (though not required at the time)

    Reply
12. 
    Eddy Salomon said on March 5th, 2010 at 8:41 pm

    Hey Sunflower,

    I’m glad you’re giving this another look because mystery shops range from fast food to car dealerships. So there is a lot of variation.
    In terms of your question, I was asked a lot of questions when I filled out a profile for these companies and focus groups. So it is normal. But as always do your research to ensure the company you’re working with is legit by following the steps in our scam video:
    http://www.workathomenoscams.com/scams if you’re uncertain about a given company. Hope this helps.

    Reply
13. 
    Cathy said on March 23rd, 2010 at 10:05 am

    First, thank you so much for your dedication to the research of work at home opportunities with no spam, scams, and stuff. Secondly, on the subject of daughters. This I can help YOU with. It is the job of teenage girls to give there parents, especially fathers several heart attacks/heart breaks before they fully mature. I know, I was a teenage girl. I’m sure you are intelligent enough to be both a parent and a friend to your children when they need you to be, whether they know it or not! It can be done if they know you can be their go to person when life gets confusing for them. There is nothing wrong with the words “You are not leaving the house dressed like that!” And ” I don’t care that all the other girls can”. Clear expectations and a friendly attitude wins in the end. Unfortunately there are exceptions to this rule, but very few.

    Reply
14. 
    Eddy Salomon said on March 23rd, 2010 at 1:28 pm

    You’re welcome Cathy! I appreciate the kind sentiments and the thanks.
    In terms of your parenting advice, I’m totally there with you. My girl is close to two years old since the time of that article and I’m already on top of my expectations of her.
    I don’t want to be in the far extreme of being too over protective or too passive. I’m trying to stay in the middle. My nature is to air on the side of being over protective and a disciplinarian. Fortunately
    my wife is the nice balance. But the point is I’m starting very early with her about rules and what will and will not be accepted by us. It’s so interesting to watch the development of her personality because she’s already testing our boundaries. While others may find it cute, i view it as an opportunity to nip future situations now. So I hear your advice loud and clear and have been implementing it.

    I know my daughter is going to drive me crazy in later years but I can minimize the pain by working on her now. lol

    Reply
15. 
    Monica said on March 23rd, 2010 at 5:42 pm

    Yes Eddy, you do NOT want to end up being a helicopter parent lol. I have the unfortunate incident of having both my mother and stepfather being helicopter parents, so I grew up resenting them both because I no individuality (I’m just NOW starting to develop some), can’t make decisions without someone else, and am finding it really hard to be an independent woman after being dependent by force for so long.

    A nice medium is the perfect way to raise a child, you don’t want your little girl hating Daddy because he never left her alone, not even for a second

    Reply
16. 
    Eddy Salomon said on March 23rd, 2010 at 5:46 pm

    I totally hear ya Monica and respect your advice considering your own situation. Trust me I’m all too aware of the damage I can inflict on my little girl’s development. I know no matter what we as parents do some damage. But my goal is to keep that at a healthy minimum. lol

    Reply
17. 
    Ignacio said on April 6th, 2010 at 11:20 am

    Hello Eddy, thank you so much for all the info. I have 2 questions, if you don’t mind. First, how long does it take for me to get my money back after I spent it on whatever I bought? and if you need to send the company a SS# so they can discount my taxes or do I do that on my own, or how does it work?
    Thanks alot, I hope my question isnt too frequent or dumb.

    Regards,
    Nacho

    Reply
18. 
    Eddy Salomon said on April 6th, 2010 at 1:52 pm

    Hi Ignacio,

    You’re welcome as always. To answer your question, I think it all depends on the company. I’ll be honest with you I just don’t know because I never gave mystery shopping a fair shot because it involved leaving my home. lol But I do get assignments regularly. But the best thing to do is contact the companies of interest to you directly or read their faqs on their sites.
    In terms of taxes, like most of the non-traditional opportunities I recommend, you’re on your own regarding taxes. There is a cost involved with handling the taxes which is why most of these companies don’t do it for work at home related folks. The reason this relationship is appealing is because they can avoid such cost. So you’ll be responsible for reporting that. But here’s how it works: You’re usually considered an independent contractor not an employee. When you reach about $600 for a given company, you may be required to fill a w-9. At the end of the year you’ll receive a 1099 that is filed with the Feds and a copy is sent to you. You then take that to your accountant. They will ask you what expenses or deductions you have such as internet fees, computer, etc, etc. That will be subtracted from what you earned. If there is anything left, you’ll be taxed on that when you send in your return. When you start making some big money, I would suggest getting incorporated. It definitely helps your tax burden.
    So that’s pretty much how the taxes work. Keep in mind some companies aren’t based in the U.S. so they may not require this. But as a rule you’re suppose to report the income regardless. Please keep in mind I’m not a tax advisor or professional. You should always seek the advice of a professional tax advisor for questions like this as the information I provided here may not be accurate.
    Hope this helps.

    Reply

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