There could be a couple of different scenarios why that might be happening:

1. Some shops are posted in large numbers, and when a certain limit of scheduled shops is reached, the rest become unpublished - they get "hidden" from the Available Shops page, as no more can be assigned at the time.
2. (The more common scenario) - the exact number of shops that should be done in a specific period gets posted, but the shops themselves have various scheduling rules (i.e. "Shops at the same location must be at least X days apart. Or "One shopper can only do X shops per location / per client, every X days", or "Shops can only be request X days in the future" or "Shops can only be done on weekends" etc) - when the first few shoppers grab the shops for the available dates of their choosing, the rest of the shoppers have to pick from the few available dates that remain. Sometimes, if there are several scheduling rules, there are no available dates left, but the shops themselves are still open and still need to get done. If you encounter this, the best thing to do is to contact the schedulers directly and let them know you're interested in the shop, and propose a few dates you could complete it - they have the right to override these rules and assign a shop to you for any date (if that is something they feel would be appropriate).

As an update on the above mentioned calendar improvement - the project has been created for the developers, so it is something that will be implemented - the available/non-available dates will be visually distictive on the calendar when picking a date for the shop. That should make seeing and choosing an available date much easier :)

Cheers guys!

Awesome addition! Thank you iSS!!

Hi Candace! There was a few months back in May and June I guess (can't remember now) that a ton of web/phone shops were available. Not right now though... It comes in waves I guess :)

Candace_15211973559854 @ Jun 2, 2018 10:22:08 AM

Tara_NJ @ May 27, 2018 5:25:57 PM

I am getting really frustrated with the time it is taking to try and apply for shops that are listed as available only to pop up as taken. It's really starting to take a toll on my patience. Why can't available shops just show dates available? Why do we have to play the guessing game when trying to apply for available shops? 98% of the 220+ available web and phone shops listed as available right now actually aren't available. It takes me literally at least an hour to go through the web and phone shops just to find out most if not all are already scheduled and not available. Why do we have to go clicking through every date listed as available on each shop just to get a pop up stating "Another shopper is already assigned to perform this shop, please choose a date x days apart"?

I've actually stopped trying to apply for shops at the end of the month as soon as I see the pop ups starting because it so time consuming and fruitless.

I know people in this forum have suggested emailing the scheduler/msp and just request one of the available shops. I've done that especially this past week and never got a reply. I know they're crazy busy at this time of month but seriously this is really a problem.

Thanks for listening to me vent! I know I'm a bit cranky right now but I'm trying to apply for shops which should be the easy part and it's turning into the hardest.

How do you find that many web shops? Thank you.

Are you checking for shops daily? I noticed that you mentioned at the end of the month or when the app badges appear. Really, if you wait until the app badge indicates new jobs are available then you’ve missed most of them. I check the website or app daily for iSecretShop & other providers. I follow up on email blasts but find that by that time the jobs are gone especially in competitive areas like where I live in San Diego. Check daily, even a couple of times daily since new jobs appear at anytime. It’s also worth mentioning that if you are new or have not conducted many shops that your lower seniority means that you will see new jobs only after others have seen them. Another way to get seniority has been to become a member of the MSPA-NA. They offer a free & Plus (paid annual membership). I try to keep it current though I don’t know if the paid membership has advantages over the free. What has been explicitly clear from many MSPs is that completing even 1 certification online will help shoppers get more jobs because it shows them that you have a good background in conducting mystery shops. Additionally iSecretShop has a few free certifications as well as a $10 course. I haven’t asked if these are seen by schedulers but I assume that they are & again the education might get you more shops. Well, I think that I’ve regurgitated every piece of info that I know about improving chances of getting more jobs. My fingers are tired typing on my mobile device now. :-) Cheers!

Tara_NJ @ Aug 27, 2018 9:56:26 PM

Hi Candace! There was a few months back in May and June I guess (can't remember now) that a ton of web/phone shops were available. Not right now though... It comes in waves I guess :)

Candace_15211973559854 @ Jun 2, 2018 10:22:08 AM

Tara_NJ @ May 27, 2018 5:25:57 PM

I am getting really frustrated with the time it is taking to try and apply for shops that are listed as available only to pop up as taken. It's really starting to take a toll on my patience. Why can't available shops just show dates available? Why do we have to play the guessing game when trying to apply for available shops? 98% of the 220+ available web and phone shops listed as available right now actually aren't available. It takes me literally at least an hour to go through the web and phone shops just to find out most if not all are already scheduled and not available. Why do we have to go clicking through every date listed as available on each shop just to get a pop up stating "Another shopper is already assigned to perform this shop, please choose a date x days apart"?

I've actually stopped trying to apply for shops at the end of the month as soon as I see the pop ups starting because it so time consuming and fruitless.

I know people in this forum have suggested emailing the scheduler/msp and just request one of the available shops. I've done that especially this past week and never got a reply. I know they're crazy busy at this time of month but seriously this is really a problem.

Thanks for listening to me vent! I know I'm a bit cranky right now but I'm trying to apply for shops which should be the easy part and it's turning into the hardest.

How do you find that many web shops? Thank you.

Hey everyone, since my last post, I have discovered a wonderful way to get those fun phone shops. Ask a scheduler at the MSP. Lol, but true. One MSP I work for will give me a few. Work with the MSP long enough and do good shops for them, then you'll be in the running for web and phone shops. Happy shopping

Lol, sometimes the simplest solutions do work! :)

I would guess they're more popuular because you don't have to buy anything or go anywhere.

Yeah, probably...They can be completed from anywhere, in a very short amount of time, and if you get experienced at them, you'd be getting more and more, so it's a quick, easy way to earn some money - the appeal is obvious. But...there's a special appeal to me in physical shops, experiencing stuff, noticing all the details, playing your role...there's something very cool about that, at least in my opinion :)