Frequently Asked Questions

New Shoppers (Applicants)

  Am I applying to work for your company?

You are not applying to be an employee of the company. There is no employee-employer relationship. You are an independent contractor with the option to accept or reject individual shopping assignment on a case by case basis.

  Why do you need my social security number?

We need your Social Security Number in order to pay you as an independent contractor. This is a requirement of the IRS. If in a calendar year, you receive $600 or more from us, we are required to give you and the IRS a 1099 statement of your earnings for income tax purposes.

  Do you need shoppers in the area where I live?

Demand for shoppers changes on a regular basis. After being accepted as a shopper, you will have access to view shops available in your area. If your area does not show any available shops, it may be because they were taken by other shoppers as soon as they became available, or it may because there are not many shops in your area at this time. Clients are added on a regular basis, so you will want to check the site frequently for new shops.

  How much do you pay? When do you pay?

Each shopping assignment has different arrangements. The normal range of payments is $12 - $25, although some are much higher. For some shops, such as a restaurant where you will derive a personal benefit, the payment may be to reimburse you for the cost of a meal for two. The payment in each situation is explained before you agree to do the shop.

Checks are mailed on the 20th of each month for shops done the previous month. For example, a shop done in June would be paid on July 20. Our experience with the mail indicates that all shoppers typically have received their checks by 7-10 days after mailing (of course, many arrive much sooner).

  How secure is my personal information?

We do not share your personal information with anyone, and you will not find yourself on any mailing lists. Your user ID and Password prevent other people from accessing your information. You may change your Password from time to time. It is important that you protect your information by not sharing your ID or Password with anyone else. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.

  Can I also shop or work for other companies?

Many of our shoppers do mystery shopping part-time while having other jobs (including working for other mystery shopping companies). You are an independent contractor and are not limited in how or where you spend your time. We do require that you do not accept a mystery shopping assignment for a company where you or a family member are currently working or have previously worked. Having worked there you may not be as objective as you need to be.

  I want a refund for the money I paid to sign up.

We occasionally receive requests for refunds for registration fees individuals have paid to become a shopper. We are not the company you are looking for. We do not and have never charged anyone to become a shopper. For information on shopping for us, please see our Application Introduction.

If you were charged some amount for registering as a shopper, please check the financial statement for whatever account was charged for the correct name of the company. There are many mystery shopping companies with very similar names.

Emails we have received from people in your situation have referenced company names such as "Secret Shopper Online" and "Shadow Shopper", among others. None of these are us; we are "Secret Shopper" or "Sights On Service, Inc.". You need to contact the other company directly.

Login Problems

  My password doesn't work

If you have a user name and password and it doesn't work, please check to be certain you are trying to enter the correct web site. Some shoppers work for more than one mystery shopping company and may be using the wrong log-in for this site. If your password begins with "gk" you are almost certainly at the wrong site, unless you remember specifically setting your secretshopper.com password to one that begins with "gk".

Please be certain that you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 5 or later). You can download a free copy for Windows or Macintosh from Microsoft. We do not support Internet Explorer 7.0 beta. Some other browsers may prevent you from logging in.

  I can't remember my user name or password

Submit a request to have your user name and password emailed to you.