I would like to know about the silver & gold certifications as well.

I have not gotten certified, but you should be able to get these courses through the MSPA website, that is Mystery Shopper Providers of America or something similar. I do not feel compelled to pursue certification. I do okay with what I am able to do. I have learned a lot from doing and more than lurking on the Mystery Shop Forum MFJohnston recommends. There is so much there it can be tedious to sift through the best info. Follow it long enough and you will note the best or favorite posters for your needs. Always remember that regional differences and experiences with opportunities in those regions do shade opinions and advice, whether or not it works for you where you are at.

I have checked into certification myself based upon this thread. It looks good, sounds good, and maybe good. I even reached out to iSS and asked them. They said that the certification looks good, shows that you are increasing your knowledge base with shopping, and it looks good. Does iSS or MSPs on this platform use it, very rarely. However, if you are on multiple platforms, then certification might be more of an added +.

For video shops, I recommend checking out the video courses listed in other threads in this forum. Basic knowledge in the equipment and the shop expectations might come in handy, especially for newbies not having done any, like myself. Also, you can lease or get a loan on the equipment to get a start, so its not so much out of pocket. This way, after a shop or so, if you like it save up for the stuff, and if not, you at least get some points and even a badge for just trying it out.

I did both silver and gold certification through MSPA.

Always good to keep learning in any field, including mystery shopping. Happy shopping

I did not know that there were classes or certifications that you could do. Interesting.

Thanks for the inputs everyone!

I've been doing mystery shopping since 1990, when I had to HAND write out information on a survey form and fax it in.

I took a break 4 years ago and started up again in October 2018.

I've made about half a million dollars in mystery shopping in my entire life. I've made almost 30 grand since I started up again.

I've never needed an MSPA certification of any sort. I honestly didn't even know that the MSPA served the evaluators in any way until February of this year, I thought it was only for the shopping companies.

Didnt_you_get_hacked @ Apr 4, 2019 7:26:10 AM

[...] I've made almost 30 grand since I started up again [...]

Hi! Am I reading this correctly? In 6 months you've made $30k? So in a year, you will have made $60k? Not sure about you, but I would be perfectly fine with that as an annual salary, especially considering the many freebies/perks associated with evaluating a product and/or service like free meals, free entertainment experiences, free personal services like massages, hair cuts, etc, or, the item purchases vendors allow you to expense during a shop 'just because', as well as all of the associated write-offs. This puts you well over that $60k annual salary. And considering I live in a relatively moderate to moderate/medium cost of living region (South East Michigan), this is a perfectly respectable income that would allow for a relatively comfortable life (I need not for much).

May I ask how many hours you put in? Shop time, drive time, and of course the time spent completing evaluations, etc? Are there certain vendors you find more lucrative? Or I should say, the shops they offer you find to be more lucrative over others? Have you found a good way to manage and track your schedule considering the vast amount of vendors and your assigned shops from so many different sources?

I have many more questions to be honest, and I hope you don't mind my inquiry or find me to be intrusive, it's just that I am very much interested in pursuing this type of work full time, but it seems people can only earn enough for part time work. I'm trying to find other positions/jobs within the industry so they not only compliment each other, but possibly even be advantageous for the other. Maybe a shop coordinator/scheduler who might have access to the good shops before the general public (though it seems scheduling for this industry might be rather nightmarish with all the people that come and go) or maybe a reviewer or editor. Ideally, a remote/work from home position.

However, if i can maintain my livelihood by shopping/auditing/evaluating only, I'm all for it!

Would you be willing to speak with and/or email me directly? I can provide you with a junk email I wouldn't mind sharing publicly here and we could exchange info from there?

If not, I understand, but as you can probably tell, I am excited about the notion of working in this capacity on a full-time basis instead of needing 2 part-time jobs. I would be eternally grateful and indebted to you if I could please just have a conversation or two with you?

I certainly hope you get notified of any responses to your posts, or this was a waste of a good 20 minutes. (I re-read and correct WAY too much) haha

Thank you for any help and/or info you might be willing to provide!!

Linda

Does anybody know where to get free certifications or classes?