Hey Rebecca,
There can be various reasons why the shops that you were emailed about are not on the Available Shops page:
-Some shops have specific requirements such as age or gender, and if you do not meet those requirements, you will not be able to see the shops on the Available Shops page or do them - this is done to prevent the cluttering of the Available Shops page with shops you can't do.
This is usually the case with "compliance" shops, those designed to test if you'll be asked for an ID when buying alcohol or cigarettes (you have to be a specific age to do those, for example)
-Some shops are posted in large numbers, and when a certain limit of scheduled shops is reached, the rest become "hidden" from the Available Shops page, as no more can be assigned.
-Some shops are in very high demand, and it often happens that they are already picked up by other shoppers by the time you login and check the Available Shops page (as the others have mentioned here).
-Sometimes Mystery Shopping Providers suspend shopper profiles from seeing/accessing their shops, in case they do not wish to work with a specific shopper, and in that case all shops from that MSP will be hidden to that shopper. As a new shopper, this is almost certainly not the case with you, but it's still worth mentioning.
In any case, for the most accurate information about any shop's availability and/or reasons why you might not be seeing some shops, I suggest you contact the MSP that posted them, and their schedulers will provide you with the most accurate answers.
Cheers!
Well, every completed shops grants the same number of points - 20 points per shop currently. That goes even for really simple, easy to complete shops, that can be done in great numbers every week. My theory is that the person just completed A LOT of same type shops.
For example, I know of a lady that completes about 30 price audit shops in one day every two weeks. There are 6 shops that get posted per location (and can be done simultaneously, in one visit), 5 different locations, and she takes them all on and drives from one location to the other, spending about an hour or so at each.
Some retail shops (like those for cellphone recommendations), or some Gas Station or Parking shops are also often posted in large numbers every week/month, and shoppers who are experienced with them (and comfortable with doing many) take on a dozen or two dozen at a time.
So, if we combine doing a bunch of similar shops a few times a week with maybe some telephone/web shops that can be done from home, and maybe some opinion polls, it is technically possible to rack up that many points, although it honestly still is a very large number of points, and probably does require a large amount of time and dedication to achieve that.
Some of those highly experienced and reliable shoppers are sometimes contacted by schedulers a few days before the shops are posted, and given the opportunity to be the first ones to grab them, although most just make sure to login when the shops are posted and self-assign right away as many as they can do.
Hi Chris,
Here is how to get started:
-Once you log into iSecretShop, go to the "Available Shops" page, and browse the shops that are posted.
-When you see the one you are interested in, you click "View Details" and it will open a pop-up window with all the information on the shop.
-Then, you can either self-assign that shop, or click "Request shop" to submit a request for a specific date. The schedulers are frequently reviewing these requests, so it should be approved soon.
*If you are prompted to sign the iSecretShop Terms of Use or the Mystery Shopping Provider's contract first, you can do so on the "Provider Contracts and Policies" page.
*If you are prompted to enter your PayPal email address, you may do so on the "Update Extended Profile" page.
-Once you have a shop assigned to you, you can always view it on the "Assigned Shops" page - there you can see all shops you have assigned, and can click "Complete Shop" on any of them to see the full shop information, the shop instructions, the questions, or/and fill out the shop report.
-If you have any questions about a particular shop, you can always contact the MSP that posted it, and their schedulers/editors will be happy to help.
-When you are done filling out the shop report - you click "Finalize Shop" to submit it - it will be reviewed to editors and either approved, or returned to you for additional information (if so, it will appear back in your "Assigned Shops" page).
-After the shop is approved, you can communicate with the MSP regarding your payment for that shop.
I also advise going to iSSprep.com and doing courses like "iSS 101" and "iSS 102" - these will not only provide you with additional knowledge, but will also grant you shopper points, boosting your rank rather quickly.
I hope this helps!
Haha, well, the Adult Only shops are...tricky to explain, but they can also be some of the most fun and interesting shops there are :)
Yes, exactly - every shop on iSecretShop has a shop form(report) that you should fill out - and it can be done from a computer or a mobile device. You can find them on your Assigned Shops page when you login to iSecretShop.
I hope this helps!
Yep - persistence is the mother of success! :)
Hello Debbie and Jennifer!
Jennifer - it depends on a lot of things - but generally speaking, the sooner you dive in and start doing shops, the sooner you'll start turning in some $$$ :)
Feel free to browse the shops, explore, and take on those you'd like to do. On this thread, you can find a bunch of useful tips to help get you on your way:
https://www.secretshopforum.com/thread/1/2/94/pro-tips-for-those-who-want-to-be-the-best-shoppers#post528
Good luck!
Exactly like Wendy said - rescheduling or cancelling with no penalty is much easier than asking for points restoration, plus it gives the schedulers more time to deal with the shop appropriately, making them appreciate you more.
Good luck with the points, and keep in mind that you can do a quick course or two on iSSprep to give your points a little boost, if you haven't done so already.
Cheers!