Make Money by Combining Mystery Shopping and EBay!

Periodically, I like to write about ideas I've had but won't be carrying out any time soon. Last time it was webhosting. Today it's secret/mystery/whatever shopping combined with a dash of eBay.

I'll start of by saying that I can't guarantee it'll work or anything. I'm just throwing out how I would do it and if you like the idea, then I hope it's useful.

This would probably work best for people who are working part-time or who do side-jobs but aren't sole income providers for their family. You'd also need a certain reserve of starting cash--for reasons you'll see below.

Interested?

First: Sign with some mystery shopping group.

Don't find one that charges you to shop, there's lots of free ones out there! The FTC has a good page about this.

They say: The truth is that it is unnecessary to pay money to anyone to get into the mystery shopper business. The shopping certification offered in advertising or unsolicited email is almost always worthless. A list of companies that hire mystery shoppers is available for free; and legitimate mystery shopper jobs are on the Internet for free. Consumers who try to get a refund from promoters of mystery shopping jobs usually are out of luck. Either the business doesn't return the phone calls, or if it does, it's to try another pitch.

So this isn't where the initial investment comes in. They recommend MysteryShop.org for getting started.

Second: Go shopping.

Depending on the jobs you get, you may be required to purchase something. However, you should be able to get a reimbursement. They might also offer a discount. This is ok, because it's part of your business plan.

You want to focus on these jobs (for the plan. You can do whatever you want, but for the plan you're going to have to buy stuff).

Third: Get the reimbursement/discount.

Keep the item on hand until you get your expected money back. Only mystery shop at stores with good return policies. If the promised money doesn't come through, register a complaint about the job (I'll talk about that below) and return the item.