TrendSource Review – Can You Earn Extra By Being A Mystery Shopper?

TrendSource Review

 

trendsource review

 

I have reviewed hundreds of online money-making products here on my small website, and unfortunately, a huge chunk of them turn out as SCAM. This is the sad reality of the online money-making industry today. A lot of programs are created ultimately to scam people of their hard-earned money. These programs ultimate rely on the gullibility of the average internet user, which to be honest, is somewhat on the high side.

 

Today, in a bit of a change of pace, I am not going to review another affiliate marketing or “get paid to do” website. Instead, I am going to review a mystery shopping program called TrendSource. You can consider this an online money-making scheme since you will need stable internet access to do the job. This company is also highly visible on social media and search engine results which makes it an online money-making program.

 

Below is my full review.

 

 What Exactly Is TrendSource?

 

TrendSource is a company that hires mystery shoppers inside the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Mystery shopping is a method used by market research companies to measure the quality of a product. A mystery shopper can be hired by a third-party watchdog, a marketing research group, or internally by the company, to make frequent checks to the quality of the product they’re selling or making. Mystery shoppers are usually hired by third-party companies to ensure that they stay anonymous. If a mystery shopper’s identity was disclosed before the visit, their experience would not be a good representation of the real quality of the of product they’re testing. For this reason, third-party companies are usually used for the job.

 

TrendSource is that third-party. They provide the mystery shoppers to companies all over the USA. They have a stringent hiring process which makes getting into the program difficult. They will only hire the best shoppers that they could find and would not settle for anything less, which is a good thing if you are a client. However, if you are an applicant, this could mean that it would be pretty hard for you to get into the program.

 

How To Become A Mystery Shopper

 

First things first, you need to be of legal age (18 years or older) to even be considered for the job. You also need to be a citizen of the country which you’ll do the shopping for. I will list all the other requirements down below.

 

  • Must have internet connection
  • Must have access to camera (a good smartphone camera is recommended so you don’t have to lunge around a big camera when doing your shopping/research)
  • You need to fill out their application form and answer honestly to the best of your knowledge (the application form is on their website)
  • After the initial application process, you will also need to do a skill screening test to identify which demographic you belong to
  • After all that, you need to pass their certification program and only after that you would have access to all the job listings available in your area

 

 

The reason why their application process is a bit more tedious compared to others is they want to make sure that their market research is accurate, which means that they need to screen you to put you in the right demographic. They want their research to be as accurate as possible to make sure their clients will use their services again.

 

Once they have identified your demographic and location, you will be given access to all the available jobs on that particular location.

 

What Does A Mystery Shopper Really Do?

 

As a mystery shopper, your first job is to evaluate the store or product you’re tasked with. You have to make sure that you stay anonymous as to only receive the treatment of an average consumer. This is to ensure that no bias or preferential treatment will ever happen. Think of it this way, you have to get an accurate representation of their product and you can only do that if they do not have an idea that you’re in there, checking their store or product.

 

Once inside the store, or you have identified the product, you need to test it. If you’re testing a restaurant, you need to order their food and give honest feedback. If you see any problem, you need to take a picture, but do so incognito as to not arouse suspicions. You can also write your reviews if you wish to. Whatever your methods are, just make sure that they are accurate and detailed. Here are some of the things you might do as a mystery shopper.

 

Act as an auditor

 

This task basically requires you to visit stores to make sure they are displaying their product correctly, and in the right order.

 

Do inspections

 

This is the usual job of a mystery shopper. Take pictures of any issues that you can find, no matter how small they are. Be as thorough as you can.

 

Do small surveys

 

This is a bit more extensive compared to the first two tasks above. When you are required to do a survey, you need to talk to the customers and ask them about the store or staff. More often than not, TrendSource will provide you with the questionnaires which are usually answerable by “yes” or “no.” So, basically, all you’re required to do is approach strangers inside the store you’re reviewing. As a reminder, you need to be sneaky when doing this as to not arouse any suspicion from the store manager or staff.

 

How Does TrendSource Pay Its Mystery Shopper?

 

Once accepted into the program, the mystery shopper will be paid twice a month. The pay depends on how many tasks you finish. If you live inside the US, the money can be deposited directly to your account, or you can have it mailed to your home address. If you live in Canada or UK however, your only option of getting the money is through PayPal.

 

How Much Does TrendSource Pay?

 

You need to understand that this isn’t actually a stable job, but a pay-per-job kind of gig. This means that your pay is directly proportional to the amount of work you have done. It’s possible to earn considerably better on your first few months then nothing after. The opposite can happen too.

 

As it stands, the usual range for earnings is about $30 to $500 which I agree is a huge range but this is a good representation of the average earnings. There are times where you would not earn much but other times where you would. But you also need to take note that being a mystery shopper isn’t that much hard work. To be perfectly honest, it’s an easy job albeit unstable. If you account for the time you would research a store versus the amount you’d earn by doing so, the average per-hour rate would come out at around $17. This isn’t bad at all for a couple of hours of extra work per month.

 

The Honest Verdict

 

TrendSource is a legit earning opportunity for those interested. It’s a legitimate US company that has very little history of misgivings if there are any. The only main requirements are you need to be a citizen of the country in which you will do your market research and be of legal age. Apart from that, anyone can basically apply for the job. The screening process is a tough one, sure. But once you manage to get through the application process, you would have a guarantee of extra money every month. The job isn’t even that hard so overall, it’s a good side gig.

 

If you are interested in reading other earning opportunities out there, make sure to check out my other reviews. I’ve reviewed hundreds of money-making products already, and I’m pretty sure that I have something that you would find intriguing. Out of the hundreds of reviews I have on this site, it’s almost a guarantee that there is a program in there that is perfectly suited to your needs. If you have time, check my reviews here.

 

Or – better yet, you can skill all that and jump to my #1 most recommended program. It’s a program that I’ve been using for the past several years so I know its potential. I’m not even sure if I’m realizing its potential but I’m trying. If you want to earn money online, I suggest you read my recommendation and start from there.

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