Show all answersShow just the questions

1. Who can be a Web Mystery Shopper?

Anybody with access to a computer and an Internet connection.

2. What do I have to do?

Visit our What You'll Do page for more information. And e-mail us if you've still got questions.

3. How much does it pay?

Rates vary depending on the project and how long it is likely to take, but are usually in the $10 - $15 range. You'll be told the exact pay rate when you are offered a particular project. You can't make a full-time living at this. Since you don't have any travel time, and your reports are submitted automatically as you visit the site, you'll likely earn more per hour than you would with a traditional mystery shopping assignment. (See Links for Mystery Shoppers for more on that.)

4. How many assignments can I get?

That depends on how many you qualify for. Some clients are only interested in selling to a certain type of person (say, 18 - 39 year-old women, or retirees), so you won't qualify for every assignment. Also, you will eventually reach a point where you know too much about computers and web shopping to represent a "typical" shopper. We plan to develop other types of work you could do once you've reached that point (such as online surveys, and in-store mystery shopping assignments.) But, for now, assume that you won't get a lot of projects. Months may go by between them.

5. Purchases: Do I have to buy anything?

No. Until we can find a safe way for you to make purchases without putting either your credit cards or ours at risk, you will shop up to, but NOT including hitting that final "SUBMIT ORDER" button.

6. Credit Cards: Do I have to use one?

No. See question 9.

7. Sample Assignment: What does it involve?

It is just like a regular Web Mystery shopping job, but shorter. You'll learn how the system works (it is quite different from store-based mystery shopping), and we'll assess the quality of your work. You do the assignment from your own computer, at a time that suits you. It should take about half an hour. Think of it as a job interview.

8. Why Don't I Get Paid for the Sample Assignment?

Ethics are key to us, so any time we get paid for your work, you get paid. The sample assignment is mainly to make sure you understand what you need to do. We use some of the sample assignments to get media attention, to help generate more paid work for you. Sometimes companies who are cited by the media ask to buy that research. If they do, we go back and pay the shoppers who did those assignments. Hundreds of shoppers have been paid that way. We also do a quarterly prize draw among everyone who has done a sample assignment but not yet got a paying job.

9. Costs or Placement Fees: Do I have to pay anything to Web Mystery Shoppers?

Absolutely not!

10. Payment: How and when will I get paid?

You have two choices. If you entered a PayPal address in your application form, we'll pay you that way. Otherwise, you'll be paid by check (cheque, for Canadians!), which will be mailed to you . So make sure we have your current mailing address! You should see a check (cheque) from us within 45 days of completing your assignment. If you haven't seen it at the end of 45 days, please tell us!

11. Non-payment: What sort of "problem" would result in my not getting paid?

If you missed your deadline, didn't answer the questions on the survey forms, missed big chunks of what you were supposed to be testing, or failed to include open-ended comments -- in other words, if your survey is unusable, we'll be unable to pay you. However, if deadlines permit, we will try to contact you first to give you a chance to fix the problem.

12. Legal Agreement: Why do I have to OK it?

Our lawyer made us do it. He was worried about things like shoppers bad-mouthing our clients, and the clients turning around and suing us. You wouldn't do that, would you? But lawyers don't trust anybody! Even us -- we had to give him a huge deposit before he'd draft that agreement.

13. Legal Agreement: What if I change my mind after I've OK'd it?

You are never forced to do a shopping assignment for us. Each time an assignment comes up that you might be suitable for, we'll send you an e-mail asking if you'd like to do it and are available to do it before the deadline date. Just say "no" if you don't want to do that one. If you decide that you don't want to be offered any assignments, ever, send us an e-mail asking us to remove you from the database. We'll do so right away, sending you an email to confirm that we've done so.

14. Goods & Services Tax (GST) - What is it?

It is a Canadian sales tax. If you are US-based, you don't need to worry about this.

15. Who's my employer?

You will be an independent contractor who is hired by us on a temporary contract basis. You are not our employee, nor a "commissioned agent" of ours. You may turn down assignments that don't suit you. You may work for other organizations. As an independent contractor you are responsible for paying taxes on what you earn. There are many tax deductions available to self-employed people for which you may qualify.

16. Why haven't I heard from you? I signed up ages ago!

We are still a young business, growing our client list. To get new clients, we need a large database of potential shoppers (so we can match you to their desired market). That means that it can take many months before we have an assignment that's right for you. Please be patient. And rest assured, unless you got an error message when you tried to submit your application from, you ARE in our database.

17. When will I hear about my Sample Assignment?

Sometime after you sign up, but we can't say exactly when. We try to do them in batches, so we can use your feedback to keep improving our mystery shopping process. You'll be notified by e-mail when a training assignment is ready for you to start work on.

18. How do I update my address or other personal information?

Click Login/ Update Personal Info ( For Shoppers> Login/Update Personal Info), enter your user name and password, then click Log In. That will take you to a screen where there's a link to click for updating your personal information.

19. Projects: What if I see more than one listed in my Projects Page?

Each mystery shopping job is given a project name (usually the URL or web address of the client's home page). You may have more than one project on the go at a time. If so, click on the name of the project that you are ready to work on at that time.

20. What if I have to stop before I'm done?

Please try to do it all at once, but if the baby's about to pull the boiling kettle off the stove, or another crisis hits, be sure to SAVE the survey page you were in the middle of answering. Your work to that point will be saved in our database. Try to remember what you've already commented on, so you don't have to start all over later. When you can get back to the project, Login again, which will take you to your Projects page. Find the project and click 'Ready to Shop' and you can continue your work.

21. How do I log out?

You don't need to log out; it happens automatically. But if you are using a public computer, it is a good idea to close the browser window (click X box in upper-right-hand corner of your screen) so no one can see what you've done.

22. My connection was lost while I was working. What should I do?

The answers you had entered but not yet saved will be lost (sob!). But the pages you'd already done and saved will be in our database. So just sign-in again, which takes you to your Projects page, click 'Ready to Shop' and continue at the page you were on before you lost your connection.

23. I can't see the five buttons at the bottom of the green survey forms?

Try clicking on the maximize button in the upper right-hand corner of your screen. This will resize the window for you.

24. I can't see any words on the 'Overall Impressions' form?

Unfortunately, this last page isn't compatible with Netscape Navigator 4 (all versions in the 4.0 series). Try upgrading your browser online, or use Internet Explorer.

25. How do I know you got my report?

To double-check, Login, which takes you to your Projects page. If we've got your completed report, instead of saying "Ready to Shop", the link for that project will say "Done". If we haven't seen your report by the deadline, we'll try to contact you.

26. How and when will I be paid?

See question 10.

27. Do you have any work for non-North Americans?

Not often, but feel free to apply and we'll notify you if we've got something suitable for you.

28. Links - what are they?

When you can click your mouse on some words or a picture and you suddenly see something new on your screen, you've clicked on a "link". They are an important way of helping people "navigate" (find their way within a web site or from one site to another). Kind of like a table of contents or index in a book: they help you find what you are looking for without having to spend hours reading it from cover to cover.