I can’t speak to the legitimacy of that particular company, but it is my opinion that there are many legitimate mystery shopping companies. These are companies that compensate shoppers to report on their experience as a customer at contracted retail establishments. Sometimes the shopper is paid in cash or simply gets to keep the purchased products as compensation for reporting their experience.

Before spending any money to sign up for any opportunity I would want answers to the following types of questions:
- What exactly am I getting for the money and what is the refund policy?
- Are the startup costs usual for the industry in general (i.e. do most mystery shopping companies charge a fee to join and if so, is $30 more or less than the others charge)?
- How long will it take me to earn back my startup costs? (i.e. How much product will I have to sell to break even, or in the case of mystery shopping, how many shops will I have to complete to break even?)
- Is it likely that I can earn the type of income I’m looking for?

One of the major things to consider in mystery shopping is what type of shoppers the company is looking for. Most of their jobs ask for specific demographics (for example, women or men, parents, single or married, income levels, etc) and if you don’t fit the demographics of an assignment, you won’t be eligible.

There are many websites and forums dedicated to mystery shopping. Seek them out and see what active shoppers have to say about a company.

Good luck and let us know what you find out.

I am currently a student looking for some extra cash and got an e-mail from a website known as www.almo-research.com. It offers the promise of being a “mystery shopper” and being paid $10-40/hr. The only thing stopping me from joining is that there is a “One-Time Registration Fee of $30 USD.” I’m not sure if this site is legit and was wondering if you could help me figure that out? Thank you

-Brett