Review of Shadow Shopper

Have you ever thought about becoming a mystery shopper?

Are you already a mystery shopper who is constantly on the lookout for other mystery shopping jobs?

Would you like to find one website totally devoted to posting nothing but mystery shopping jobs?

Well, then Shadow Shopper might just have a way to meet all three of these requests.

What Exactly is Shadow Shopper?

Shadow Shopper is a mystery shopping company founded in 2002 as a way of servicing only those individuals who want to do mystery shopping jobs by posting nothing but jobs, tips, step-by-step guides as well as certifications, and articles devoted only to mystery shopping. Shadow Shopper claims to have an abundance of 113,877 mystery shopping jobs throughout the United States and Canada with 600,000 shoppers.   For those of you who do mystery shopping, you know that this is a good thing, since most mystery shoppers depend on more than one company to do mystery shopping as an income.

There are two levels of membership to the site, which are Bronze and Gold.  Bronze is free and Gold is $4.95 a month.  Gold will give you the job notifications and all of the benefits of the Bronze, but you do get priority listing/routing to the jobs as well as a live personal assistant (chat agent) to answer questions about a particular job or situation.  The Gold membership also does not limit the number of jobs that you may apply for at once.

There is a free two-week trial if you are undecided as to whether or not you want the Gold membership.  Even if you decided to downgrade to the Bronze membership or even cancel, you would be compensated for any mystery shopping jobs done within that two-week period.

What Do the Mystery Shoppers at Shadow Shopper Do?

Mystery shoppers are compensated to shop or dine at local establishments and then record their experiences.  Mystery shoppers look not only at the service of the establishment, but overall cleanliness, atmosphere, and a variety of things—both the positive and negative—about their experiences.  This information helps local businesses improve products, services, displays or even prices.  The mystery shopper is to pose as a shopper or diner, but evaluate the business establishment.

Some companies will want you, the mystery shopper, to fill out a questionnaire while others will want you to take your phone and snap pictures of products, receipts, and/or displays within the store or restaurant.  Because there are such a variety of mystery shopping jobs available, it will really just depend on who the individual client is and what they want.

Are There Any Special Skills Needed?

Mystery shoppers should be at least 18 years of age.  Mystery shoppers should have excellent communication skills and have an overall friendly demeanor.

Once you create your own mystery shopper profile, you will also want to read some of the articles and complete the certifications.

Are You an Independent Contractor?

You are an independent contractor and are not just limited to the jobs at Shadow Shopper.  If you have other mystery shopping jobs that you have been doing, you may continue with them.

What Are the Computer Requirements?

Really just a good Smartphone will work at Shadow Shopper.  You will need an email account with access to that, since that is where the job alerts will be sent.

What Are the Hours at Shadow Shopper?

The hours will vary depending upon who the client is.  Unfortunately, if you are an extreme “night owl”, mystery shoppers don’t work late, late hours into the early hours of dawn.

What is the Pay Like at Shadow Shopper and When is Payday?

Again, all of that depends upon the client.  Most clients will pay via PayPal or direct deposit.  You will need to read and understand all of that once you respond to the job alerts.

What is My Overall Opinion of Shadow Shopper?

While their website didn’t have a lot of information, it did have enough to explain who they are and what they do.  However, the reviews are not as favorable.

I always recommend that people also do their own research on any work-at-home jobs; one good place to go for that is the Glassdoor Reviews.  The reviews there were mixed, but I had heard similar complaints from people who had applied there before.

The biggest complaints were:

• Bronze membership will not get you any jobs in your area.
• There is too much pressure put on mystery shoppers to take the Gold membership.
• Most companies will only let you work one job at a time.
• The pay is not worth the gas money.
• Unless you can eat or shop on your own lunch hour at a regular job, it is not worth doing all the paperwork (company feedback).

Their rating was only 2.6 out of 5 stars.  However, again.  You read and decide for yourself.

How Would I Apply to Shadow Shopper?

If interested, go to home page of the Shadow Shopper website and decide whether or not you want the Bronze or the Gold memberships.  Click on the one you want, and apply.  Good luck to all.

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