Secret Shopper Review – Is it Legit? (Yes, BUT…)

Secret Shopper Rating


Overall, I would say Secret Shopper is a decent mystery shopping site to join. You just need to make sure you join with the right expectations and whether it is worth it or not depends a lot on your location.

Secret Shopper, as the name suggests, is a mystery shopping site that promises to reward you for becoming a, well, secret shopper.

If this is your first time hearing this term, it is a person employed by a manufacturer or retailer to pose as a shopper in order to evaluate the quality of customer service.

So, if you love to shop, then you might be interested in this kind of opportunity. But before you go ahead and sign up, let’s discuss a few things first. It is important to figure out if Secret shopper is indeed a legit mystery shopping site, or if it is a scam you should stay away from.

This Secret Shopper review will check if this site is legit or a scam, and it will also explain exactly what the site has to offer so you can decide if it is indeed worth joining or not.

What is Secret Shopper and what does it offer?

As explained above, Secret Shopper is a mystery shopping site that will reward you for completing mystery shopping assignments.

It is indeed a legit site and has been around for quite a while. That does, however, not eman it will necessarily be worth your time.

To be able to get a clear understanding of how this site works and if it is the right option for you or not, we have to take a closer look at the earning opportunity it offers.

So, here’s how you can earn from Secret Shopper.

The earning opportunity – Mystery shopping assignments

The only way you will be able to earn from this site is by accepting mystery shopping assignments. Take note that becoming a secret shopper will require certain skills, so to speak.

You will be informed about the basics of being a secret shopper when you register (I will talk about their registration process later). But just to give you an idea, when doing mystery shopping assignments, you have to make sure the shop will not recognize you as a secret shopper. That’s your primary goal.

Finding Shops On Secret Shopper
To start earning, you have to find shops near your location that offer shopping opportunities.

Now, to take on a mystery shopping assignment, you can log in to their website and view all the available shops in your area. You can choose to use the map view or the list view (refer to the photo above). Personally, I prefer the list view since it will be easier for you to view all the shops you can go to.

As you can see in the photo above, each shop will indicate how much you will earn for completing the shopping assignment. You will also see a “Sign up Details” button. If you are interested in that shop, just click the “Sign up Details” button to see the instructions you will need to follow.

Shopping Details On Secret Shopper
The shop details will contain the instructions you need to follow as well as the schedule.

You can click the “View Shop Instructions” button to see what you need to do to complete it. If you’ve made up your mind and you want to do the assignment, click the “View Waiver” button and read the waiver.

Once you’ve read the waiver, you can then choose the time and date you want to shop. Make sure you choose the best time and date for you because once you’ve set it, you have to honor the commitment.

Of course, you can reschedule it if something more important comes up, but if you keep rescheduling your assignments, there’s a chance you will receive reduced payment, or worse, your account will be placed on probation.

If you will be on probation, you will not be able to self-assign shops. So, scheduling your assignment is a very important part and should not be taken lightly.

But what happens if there was already a member who took the assignment? If that’s the case, when you schedule your shopping, you will instead be placed on the waiting list.  

If for any reason, he or she was not able to complete the assignment, it will be passed on to the next person on the waiting list.

When it’s time to do the shopping, make sure you follow all the guidelines they have prepared and make sure to do all the things the assignment asked you to do. Once you are done with the actual shopping, you will have to create your report.

When making your report, you are required to submit all the necessary deliverables for the assignment. Failure to submit even one deliverable will cost you. You will either receive a reduced payment, or worse, the assignment will be cancelled.

Submission of the report must be done within 24 hours of the designated schedule to complete the assignment. Failure to do so can also lead to reduced payment or cancellation of assignment.

Once everything is order, you will receive the payment for assignment (I will talk about their payment process in the next section).

Now, as a new shopper, you can only take on three shopping assignments. Think of these assignments as an assessment of your commitment as an independent contractor. Once you are done with the first three assignments, you can then take on as many assignments as you want.

Just remember, you have to make sure you complete all the assignments you take.

Recommended: Check Out the Top Survey Sites in Your Country

How do you get paid?

Every mystery shopping assignment you complete will pay you a certain amount. It will then be credited to your Secret Shopper account balance. You will then be paid via PayPal every 20th day of the next month.

The payment will be processed automatically, so you won’t have to keep requesting for payment. For example, if you’ve earned $50 for the month of October, you will receive the payment for that month on the 20th of November.

Payment Terms Of Secret Shopper
Secret Shopper has four types of payment you need to be familiar with.

Essentially, Secret Shopper has four payment terms you need to know (refer to the photo above). The flat payment is what you will earn for completing an assignment. The reimbursement payment is the payment you will receive when an assignment has a required amount you need to spend to complete it.

Bonus payment is what you will receive if an assignment offers it and you meet the requirements to receive it. Lastly, a penalty payment is a reduced payment for the assignment, which is usually caused if you fail to follow instructions.

I like the fact that you don’t have to reach a threshold to request for payment. This ensures you always get paid, provided of course, you are able to complete a shopping assignment every month. I also like the fact that they pay via PayPal since it is one of the most convenient payment options available.

If you are interested in more sites that pay via PayPal, I recommend you also check out the top sites that pay via PayPal.

How much money can you make?

Most of the shopping assignments offered on Secret Shopper will pay a decent amount. You will usually earn around $10 to $30 for completing one. Plus, they will also reimburse you for what you spend in the shop.

That’s why I would say Secret Shopper has a decent earning potential. But you have to take into account that becoming a secret shopper is not an easy task. In order to ensure you get paid, you have to do everything right and you follow all the guidelines they provide.

So, earning from this site is not as easy as you might think. It can take a bit of effort and you have to be ready to spend your own money when completing assignments.

Also, if you are not sure you can live up to all the requirements, you can potentially end up wasting money and time instead. And you also have to think about the time and potential money you have to spend to get to the locations of the shops.

So it is not a good option for everyone – it, first of all, depends on your location and if you are close to a lot of shops where you can find assignments.

If that isn’t your cup of tea or if you are not in a location close to many shops, then you are better off earning from survey and Get-Paid-To (GPT) sites.

Can you use it on mobile?

The good thing about Secret Shopper is, it has a mobile app you can download so you can search for assignments from your mobile device.

So, if you are out and about and you have time to spare, you can simply open their app and find shops near you.

Secret Shopper App
You can download the Secret Shopper app either from Google Play or the iOS app store.

Their app is available for both Android and iOS devices. So, compatibility won’t be an issue. Their app is also user-friendly. You will easily get used to how it works.

It will help you become a more efficient earner since you can gain access to assignments even when you are not in front of a computer. And for a mystery shopping site, that feature can prove to be invaluable.

Who can join Secret Shopper?

Secret Shopper is available more or less worldwide. It is available in most countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania.

But becoming a secret shopper isn’t as simple as clicking on the sign-up button. You actually have to complete an evaluation test before you can become a secret shopper.  

When you sign up as a shopper, you will be asked to read their guidelines about the basics of being a secret shopper. Make sure to read and understand everything that’s stated in this part of the registration process because the test will ask you questions about it.

Secret Shopper Agreement
Before you can start doing shopping assignments, you have to read and understand their Shopper Agreements first.

If you manage to pass the test, you will then be asked to read their Shopper Agreements. You can actually just skip this part and scroll all the way down and agree to everything. But I highly suggest you read it thoroughly so you can get a good grip of what it means to be a secret shopper.

Once you are done reading the agreement, you will have to answer several profiling questions. As soon as you are done with the profile questions, you will be shown your Shopper ID. Make sure to take not of your ID because you will need it later on when signing in to the site or their app.

When you are done with the registration process, you can now log in to the site and start looking for shopping assignments. Take note though that even though Secret Shopper is available in a lot of countries, the opportunities to shop will still depend on your location.

Some cities will have more opportunities than others. So, even though you are able to register as a shopper, there’s no guarantee you will earn from it. It will still depend on whether your location has shops available.

Can you get support?

I would say Secret Shopper has a good support system in place for their shoppers. They have a FAQ page that discusses the basic information you need to know about their site. So, if you have any questions, I suggest you check out their FAQ page first.

If you can’t find the answers you are looking for, you can send your inquiry through their contact form. If you need immediate assistance, you can call them at (763) 525-1460 or toll free at (800) 582-4079 (press 1).

Final Verdict

Secret Shopper is a legit mystery shopping site that will pay you for completing mystery shopping assignments. It has a couple of good features but it also has some disadvantages you need to consider.

So, let me end this review with a summary of its pros and cons to give you an overview of what the site has to offer. That way, you can decide if it really worth joining or not.

pros

Pros:

  • Relatively high rewards
  • Offers payment via PayPal
  • Has a user-friendly mobile app
  • No payout threshold
  • Processes payments automatically
cons

Cons:

  • Limited earning opportunities offered
  • Takes a bit of time to receive payment
  • Availability of shopping opportunities will depend on your location

Overall, I would say Secret Shopper is a good mystery shopping site to join. If you are looking for a mystery shopping site, this can definitely be an option.

You just need to be aware that it isn’t the simplest way to earn extra cash. It will require a bit of effort and accuracy. So, be prepared to do that if you become a secret shopper. Also, the availability of shops will depend on your location. If you live in an area where there are a lot of shops available, then it can be very beneficial to become a secret shopper.

If you are just looking for a simpler way to earn cash though, I would suggest you check out the top survey and GPT sites in your country instead.

The sites on this list all have good earning potential and offer simpler ways to earn extra cash. Plus, you will find a site you can earn from regardless of where you live and you can earn from home.

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

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