Is BARE International Legit or a Scam? (Full Review)

BARE International Rating


BARE International is a legit mystery shopping site. It has some sides, but it also has its drawbacks. The main drawback is that it simply takes too much time to earn a few bucks.

If you've been looking for ways to earn extra income, maybe you've encountered a site named BARE International.

It is mostly a mystery shopping site that promises to reward you for completing mystery shopping tasks in your local areas.

But is BARE International legit or a scam to stay away from?

This is an important question to ask and must be answered immediately. So, let me just say that yes, BARE International is a legit mystery shopping site that will pay you for becoming one of their mystery shoppers.

Is it worth your time though? This BARE International review will answer that question and more. After reading this review, you know exactly what to expect and can decide if you should register as a mystery shopper or not.

What is BARE International and what does it offer?

As suggested by its name, BARE International is a global company that specializes in market research.

They are able to provide valuable insight for their partners by employing mystery shoppers to do some research.

That's where you come in. If you want to earn from BARE International, you have to sign up and become a mystery shopper (I will talk about their registration process later).

To truly find out if this site is worth joining or not, we have to take a closer look at how you can earn from it. So, let's take a look at the earning opportunity that BARE International offers.

I have made a short video that will give you an inside look so you can see exactly how it works. You can also read all the details below the video:

Recommended: Check Out the Top Survey Sites in Your Country

The earning opportunity – BARE Jobs

Once you become an evaluator (the term they use for mystery shopper) for BARE International, you can access their member dashboard and look for BARE International mystery shopping jobs.

You will find all the available jobs on the Job Board section of their dashboard. All the shops listed will be relative to where you are.

You will then see a list of stores you can shop from, how far it is from where you are, and the payment you will get for shopping from that store.

bare international job board
You can see all the available jobs on the job board.

Take note that the Fee posted will be in Euros in most countries even if you do not use Euros as a currency in your country. But in some countries, it will be in USD, so just make sure to pay attention to this, so you know exactly what you will get paid.

You can decide how far from your home you want to see available jobs. However, in my opinion, it makes the most sense to keep it as close to your home as possible – if you have to spend too much time and money on transportation it will suddenly not be profitable anymore (more about how much you can earn later).

To figure out what you have to do with the job, you have to click the More button. Doing so will display the instructions you need to follow.

If you want to do the job, you then have to click Apply. Once that clears, you can then visit the shop according to the time it is available in the job offer.

When you do the job, it is important to follow all the instructions provided for the job because you will then have to create a report about it later. The report is also very important because this will be BARE International's basis on whether you will receive the reward or not.

Even though it is a mystery shopping job, not all jobs will involve you having to spend money. But sometimes you will either have to buy one of the products in the store or avail of the services they offer.

Other times, you just have to go there and ask a lot of questions and evaluate the service you get and how the overall experience in the shop is.

If you do one of the jobs where you have to spend money, make sure to get the receipt because you will need to photograph it to provide proof that you did the purchase. Once you complete the job, as mentioned, you will have to submit a report.

When making the report, you will have to provide proof of visit, a photo of the receipt or job order (if it is service-related), a selfie picture at the site, and a government-issued ID. You have to submit the report as soon as possible.

When you apply for the job, you have to indicate if you are able to submit the report within 24 hours. There is no right or wrong answer here. You just have to be honest about it.

Once you've submitted the report, BARE International will then review it and once it clears, you will receive the fee/reward, as well as a reimbursement of what you've spent on the site (I will talk about this next).

As you can see, the process is not that simple, in my opinion. It's quite a long process. So, if you are looking for a simple way to earn a few bucks, this is not the ideal site for you.

It can be a fun and different way to earn but you just have to also think about the time it takes to go to the shops before deciding if it will be worth your time or not.

Also, you have to make sure to follow the instructions carefully – if not, they will not approve your work and you will not get paid.

How do you get paid?

Every job you take will have a reward. And as mentioned the currency used for the reward will be in Euro in most countries. Bare International payment will be on a monthly basis.

They pay you every 16th of the month and it will cover the reimbursement of the money you spent on shopping in the stores they listed, plus the reward you will receive for successfully completing the job.

One thing about their site though is, that it won't notify you of the total fee you've accumulated every month. You will have to track it manually by going to their Shopper's Log tab on their dashboard.

This is quite inconvenient, in my opinion, but with such a complicated process of completing jobs, it's a bit expected.

So let's talk a bit more about the reimbursement process because this is very important.

Every job you take on BARE International has a reimbursement clause. They will only reimburse you with a set amount, depending on the job you take.

bare international reimbursement
You will see the maximum amount to be reimbursed when you apply for the job.

You will know right away how much they will be willing to reimburse you when you take the job because it will be included in the instructions. So make sure to not overspend when doing jobs.

As for the payment, if you live in Canada, they will pay you via check. If you live anywhere else, you have the choice to receive the payment via bank transfer or via PayPal.

All in all, they do offer a convenient payment method, unless of course if you live in Canada.

If you do and are looking for sites that offer a more convenient payment method, I suggest you check out the top survey sites that pay via PayPal instead.

Also, be aware that there are some Bare International scams by people pretending to be from the company but that are not actually from the company. If you, for example, get a cashier check, it is a clear sign of a scam according to Bare International itself.

Also, all emails from the company end with @bareinternational.com. If you receive an email from someone pretending to be from BARE International where the email does not end like this, you know it is a scam.

But overall, BARE International itself is legit and does pay. Some people are just trying to take advantage of it and misuse its name, and you just need to be aware of this so you can take your precautions.

How much money can you make?

Theoretically, there is no limit to how much money you can make on BARE International. But of course, this will all depend on whether you receive plenty of offers to shop where you live.

Also, BARE International doesn't limit your job activities to where you live. You can also take jobs in other parts of the world. This can be useful if you travel frequently.

But as for the earning potential of this site, in my opinion, it is quite low considering the time you have to invest in doing a single job.

You have to keep in mind that you have to travel to the store, spend some time getting everything you need to make a report, and then travel all the way back home.

That's a lot of time to invest, in my opinion. It can even take a whole day and all you get is a couple of Euros.

The money/time ratio simply isn't good enough unless you are already going to the particular shops anyway. There are plenty of other sites that will allow you to earn more with less hassle.

Also, unless you live in a big city, you should not expect to find jobs very often. So no matter what, it should just be seen as a fun way to make a bit extra but you should not plan on it to provide continuous income.

In addition to this, there is the risk that your job will not get approved if they do not think you have followed the instructions.

If that is the case, you will not get reimbursed and you will not get paid. So in that sense, you need to make sure you know what you are doing. If not, it can be a bit risky as you can end up losing time and money.

Can you use it on mobile?

bare international mobile site

Using your mobile device when completing jobs can be very helpful. Fortunately, you won't have a hard time doing so because you will be able to access their site on your mobile device with ease.

You will be able to log in to their website from your mobile device by using a mobile browser. You will be able to conveniently navigate through their site too because it is mobile-friendly.

That means you will be able to see all the content properly without having to zoom in or scroll left to right just to read all the content. This can be quite handy when you are double-checking the instructions for the job you are about to do.

Aside from that, you can also submit reports using your mobile device. This can also be useful because you can easily upload the photos you've taken for your report. You can also check if there are any jobs available near your current location.

So, if you travel frequently, having this option can be very useful, in my opinion.

Who can join BARE International?

As stated in the earlier part of this article, BARE International is a global company. That means it caters to people anywhere in the world.

This also means you can become an evaluator regardless of where you live so it is truly an international mystery shopping option and this way it lives up to its name.

bare international registration
Complete the registration process to become an evaluator.

To become an evaluator, you have to undergo the registration process (which is longer than most). You have to provide all the necessary information.

Then once you've finished the registration process, you then have to answer some form of survey.

This survey is intended to help them qualify you for more job offers, especially in your area. The survey won't take very long to complete so make sure you do that once you become an evaluator.

You also have to be at least 18 years of age in order to become an evaluator.

Can you get support?

One thing to note about their site is, that there isn't really a lot of information about how the site works and what you need to do to earn from it.

However, since I first tested BARE International, I must say that they have improved their help section, which is great and makes it easier to get started if you have questions.

bare international contact details
You can find their contact details on their contact us page.

If you should have further questions, you can ask their support team.

The problem is, that there is really no way for you to contact their support team once you are inside their member dashboard.

There is a help link, but that will just take you to their help section where there is no info about how to contact them.

You will have to log out of their dashboard to get to their contact page, which is found on their company website. You will then find all the contact details you will need (shown in the photo above).

Whoever designed the user interface of their member dashboard didn't really think things through, in my opinion. Getting support is basically a must if you have a site like this and making sure you are able to request support easily should be a priority.

All in all, although they do provide a way for you to contact their support team, the accessibility of the contact details isn't really done in a convenient manner.

Final Verdict

BARE International is a legit mystery shopping site that will pay you for becoming a mystery shopper. It has some good points to offer, but it does have its drawbacks.

So let's finish this review with a summary of its pros and cons so you can get a full overview of what you can expect from their site before deciding if you should join or not.

pros

Pros:

  • Available globally
  • Provides a convenient payment method
cons

Cons:

  • Limited earning opportunities
  • Will require a significant time investment just to do one job
  • The registration process is a bit complicated
  • Site is not that user-friendly

As you can see, there are plenty of concerns about this site. The main one is that it simply takes too much time to earn a few bucks. Plus, you won't get paid until the next month, which can be quite long for some.

There are simply better sites to earn more extra cash and with lesser time investment, in my opinion.

But if you are often going shopping and live in a big city with several BARE International jobs, then it can be a way to earn a bit while shopping anyway.

However, if you are looking for sites that will allow you to earn a decent amount without having to invest a lot of time and without going to certain locations, I recommend you check out the top survey sites in your country instead.

The survey sites on this list all have good earning potential. Plus, it won't eat up too much of your time as you can do it from home. You will also be able to find a survey site that will fit your needs regardless of where you live.

If you have any comments, questions, or have any experiences with BARE International yourself, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.

11 thoughts on “Is BARE International Legit or a Scam? (Full Review)”

  1. Dear Blogger,

    Thank you for taking the time to provide your opinions and insights on BARE. As the owner of BARE International I can validate that some comments above are inadequate.

    We’re always available to answer any questions, queries or concerns. I’ll even put a direct email address to me on this site. Resource-US@bareinternational.com

    -Jason Bare

    Reply
    • Thanks for stopping by Jason. I also just replied to the comment you left on my YouTube channel.

      Always great when owners of the platforms are willing to share their perspectives and answer questions.

      However, just saying some of the information is inadequate seems a bit strange without expanding on it. I am always happy to receive feedback but it needs to be a bit more constructive than this.

      So if you have any specific parts of the review you do not agree with or you think some info is missing, I will be happy to hear from you and look at it.

      Thanks

      Reply
    • Trying to see if an offer I got is legit from y’all. They want me to give my bank info and drivers license and also to do my first job I have to give them my email also so they can email me a check which I am to deposit in my checking account and then go by gifts cards and such. Is this what y’all would do

      Reply
      • No, do NOT deposit a check. This is a classic mystery shopping scam that will get you into trouble. It is important to be aware that this scam is NOT from Bare International or any of the legit companies even though you have likely received a letter with their logo. Scammers misuse the name and logo from some of the big and legit mystery shopping platforms but they would never ask you to go deposit a check and go buy gift cards.

        Reply
    • Why have I not been paid for my work? I completed shops for your company since last year. I completed shops for you this year, also. The last one I completed was in February, at Andretti’s. The shop was supposed to pay over $200. I completed the shop and was supposed to be paid before March 18th. It is now March 25th, I have not been paid. Why is that?

      Reply
  2. Question?? If this is a legit company why are they using a different return address?
    That is not associated with the company? Why are correspondence so lets say, secret.

    Reply
  3. I am just trying to do this and I do not know if the email I got is legit
    or not.please let me know.

    Thanks Robin

    Reply
    • I cannot really say without more info.

      But just be aware that I have just reviewed the platform and do not have access to your account info or anything like that so I cannot say anything specific about that. You need to contact their support about this.

      Reply
  4. Thank you for the information in this article. You are spot-on with what is typical in the mystery shopping profession in general. I was an evaluator several years ago for BARE, (2016) performed one phone shop where I only received $3.00 for 45 minutes to an hour of work. I started getting slammed with calls from telemarketers after the shop even though I was listed on the NO-CALL REGISTRY by car dealerships (the shop was a car purchase inquiry). I deleted the account and worked with other mystery shopping companies that paid more for phone shops and didn’t compromise my personal information.
    Earlier this year my husband lost his job and we got desperate, so I signed up to be an evaluator for BARE again back in June and learned that they now offer a more extensive list of phone and internet shops that can be done at home, with the pay listing a more reasonable amount for the time involved-or so it seemed. Doing shops at home is appealing to me as I have anxiety leaving the house. I signed up for a couple of the jobs, one was internet research and the other a phone call, but when I was accepted, the instructions were much more detailed than what was initially listed on the Job Board. The internet shop was so confusing that I just cancelled it. It was too much stress to even try to figure out what they expected from me. The phone shop entailed so many details that it would take at least an hour to prepare, make the call then do those annoying reports they require, just for $7.00. I canceled that one as well. I’ve done 100+ mystery shops over the years with several different companies listed through the MSPA (Mystery Shopper Providers Association) and have learned that the reports are the most crucial. The auditors pick through your grammar with a fine-toothed comb and nit-pick the slightest thing that causes the report to get kicked back and often times get rejected and you don’t get paid. Never mind the fact that their job listings are full of grammatical errors, but your grammar must be perfect in the reports. This is not sustainable income by any means, and I find it rather abusive that they will only pay a pittance for your time and expect college course quality reports. They need to pay more if they want dependable evaluators. Mystery shopping works if you want to dine out and get it paid for, or you need an oil change and get it paid for, or do some banking. Things you already do anyway. I found myself forgetting the details they wanted because there is SO MUCH they want, and if you forget, you don’t get paid. Just my two cents for your readers who are looking at this as a side hustle.

    Reply

Leave a Comment