Verified on Sep 7, 2026
You visit stores or restaurants and report on what you saw, acting like a normal customer. ACE pays $10 to $50 a shop, and Secret Shopper starts near $15 for basic shops. Some shops ask you to buy something first and wait to be paid back. You need a phone, computer, or tablet to send in your report.
A mystery shopper visits a real store or restaurant and rates the visit. You act like a normal customer. Then you write a report about what happened.
Companies call each visit a “shop.” A shop is one paid task. You take an assignment, follow its rules, and report back.
Some shops ask you to buy something. You buy it like a normal customer would. Then you send in a report with receipts, times, and staff details.
Four companies run these shops: ACE Mystery Shopping, Secret Shopper, Market Force, and BestMark. A fifth company, Coyle Hospitality, runs shops for hotels, resorts, and travel businesses.
Companies use your report to check how a business treats its customers.
Learn this first: a shop fee is money you keep. A reimbursement pays you back for something you bought. They are not the same thing.
ACE states its shop fee runs $10 to $50. Secret Shopper’s shops start at $15. It says bigger shops pay more, but gives no top number. Both figures are the fee only, not any reimbursement.
Companies handle reimbursement in different ways. ACE always pays a fee. Then it pays back any required purchase on top. Secret Shopper sometimes pays a purchase back separately. Other times, it builds the purchase cost into the shop payment instead. BestMark keeps the two apart too. A shop can bring a reimbursement, a cash payment, or both.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a government agency that protects consumers, describes the normal pattern. Shoppers “typically pay for the product or service themselves and then get reimbursed”. You spend your own money first. The company pays you back later.
We could not find a shop fee amount on Market Force’s site when we checked on 2026-09-07. We could not find one on BestMark’s site either. That is why this page’s pay range uses only ACE and Secret Shopper.
Coyle Hospitality runs shops for hotels, resorts, and travel companies. It pays a fee plus reimbursable expenses, meaning costs it pays you back for. We could not find a dollar figure for any Coyle assignment when we checked on 2026-09-07.
Pay does not land right after a shop. It moves in monthly batches. ACE processes pay by the 15th, for shops you did the month before. Secret Shopper mails checks on the 20th. Or it pays by ACH, a type of bank transfer. Market Force pays by the 20th business day of the next month. BestMark pays between the 15th and 20th.
Tax forms differ by company too. A 1099 is a tax form for pay that is not from an employer. ACE sends one once you earn over $599 in a year. Market Force sends one to US shoppers once they earn $2,000 or more. These two numbers do not match. Ask a tax preparer how this applies to you.
This fits you if you notice small details and remember them well. You will need exact times, names, and quotes for your report.
It fits you if you can spend your own money first and wait to get it back. That is how most shops work.
It fits you if you already own a smartphone, computer, or tablet. Secret Shopper requires one of these to send in a report.
It also fits people living outside the US. Secret Shopper says it has shoppers in 186 countries. It pays shoppers outside the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico through Wise, a money transfer service.
It fits you if you want occasional work, not a steady weekly schedule.
Skip this if fronting the money for a purchase would strain your budget. Many shops ask you to pay first and wait to be paid back.
Skip this if you need steady, predictable pay. Shops do not come on a fixed schedule.
Skip this if you are under 18. Secret Shopper sets 18 as its minimum age to register. BestMark sets the same minimum. We could not find a minimum age on ACE’s site when we checked on 2026-09-07.
Skip this if you dislike writing detailed reports. Companies want specific notes, not a quick summary.
Skip this if you need your money fast. Pay moves in monthly batches, not right after a shop.
Skip Market Force if you do not want to give your Social Security or Social Insurance number. These are tax ID numbers for the US and Canada. Your first shop there will not pay out until you submit one. Market Force calls this step Level 1.
Before you pay anyone: Some scammers pose as mystery shopping companies. They may ask for money up front, or send a fake check and ask you to wire part of it back. Real companies do neither.
Day 1. Sign up with ACE and Secret Shopper. Signing up with more than one company means more chances at a first shop.
Day 2. Check your dashboard for open shops in your area.
Day 3. If you also signed up with Market Force, submit your address and SSN or SIN. Market Force calls this step Level 1.
Day 4. Accept a shop. Read every instruction before you go.
Day 5. Do the shop. Buy what is asked, and keep your receipt.
Day 6. Write your report while the visit is still fresh in your mind.
Day 7. Submit your report before the deadline. Mark your calendar for payment day, since pay comes about once a month.
This job needs no special gear to buy. You need a mobile device, computer, or tablet to send in reports. Secret Shopper states this requirement directly. You also need enough spare cash to cover a purchase before you get paid back. Signing up costs nothing. Secret Shopper, BestMark, and Coyle all say they charge no fee to become a shopper.
Shop fees are small. ACE’s own range tops out at $50 a shop. Secret Shopper starts near $15. One shop will not replace a paycheck.
Work does not come on a set schedule. You take a shop when one opens near you. Some weeks there may be none at all.
Many shops ask you to spend your own money first. You buy the item or the meal, then wait to be paid back. If cash is tight, that wait is a real cost.
Reports take real work. The shopping is the quick part. You write down times, names, and what staff said and did. A rushed report can get your work rejected.
Market Force adds an extra hurdle. Your first shop there does not pay out until you clear its Level 1 step. Miss the 90-day window and you forfeit that shop’s fee and reimbursement.
Mystery shopping also draws scammers. The FTC warns plainly: “Honest companies pay you, not charge you, to work for them”. If a company asks you for money to start, that is a warning sign.
The FTC also warns about a fake check trick. A scammer sends you a check, then asks you to wire part of the money back. The FTC’s advice is direct: “Never deposit checks into your bank account and send money back”.
Market Force states plainly that it “does not pay shoppers in advance of a shop”. It also says “Legitimate mystery shopping firms never ask for money from a shopper”. Coyle Hospitality’s own page warns that “Scammers are sending fake emails, checks and other communications” while posing as Coyle staff.
If anyone asks you to pay first, or to wire money back after depositing a check, stop and walk away.
Do I get paid before I shop? No. Most shops work the other way. You buy what is asked, then get paid back later.
Is a shop fee the same as a reimbursement? No. A fee is money you keep. A reimbursement pays you back for a purchase. ACE and BestMark both keep the two separate.
Do I need to be 18? Secret Shopper and BestMark both say yes. We could not find an age rule on ACE’s site when we checked on 2026-09-07.
Will I get a 1099 tax form? Maybe. ACE sends one once you earn over $599 in a year. Market Force sends one to US shoppers who earn $2,000 or more. Ask a tax preparer how this applies to you.
Can a company ask me to pay to sign up? No. The FTC says “Honest companies pay you, not charge you, to work for them”. Secret Shopper, BestMark, and Coyle all say they charge no fee.
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