Category: Making Money Mystery Shopping

EPMS has apartment mystery shopping opportunities available in all 50 states, but our team makes our home deep in the heart of Texas. The Lone Star state is welcoming newcomers every day, which means the apartment industry is a lively one! For anyone interested in mystery shopping for EPMS, there is no better place to do it than in our home state.

The area roughly between Austin and San Antonio, TX is known as the Texas Hill Country. It is home to many state parks and outdoor recreation areas. In the summer, many Texans escape the heat by tubing in the Guadalupe or San Marcos River. Springtime in the Hill Country brings a world class show of our beloved Texas Bluebonnets and other native wildflowers. No matter the season, Texans will jump at any reason for a drive through this area.

Daytripping? How about doing some shops along the route?

If you are a fellow Texan, or are visiting our neck of the woods, why not take on a few shops to defray your travel costs? Picking up a shop or two in an area you’d like to visit will pay for the gasoline you’ll need for the adventure. Besides San Antonio and Austin, some of the surrounding towns include Schertz, New Braunfels, San Marcos, and Buda. Those towns usually have plenty of EPMS apartment mystery shops available.

When you need to refuel!

Refilling the gas tank is probably among your least favorite things to do these days. Unfortunately, it is still a required task. Texans have found a place that makes filling up a little less painful. Right between the cities of Austin and San Antonio on Interstate 35 in the town of New Braunfels, lies Buc-ees! Buc-ees is much more than a gas station and convenience store. It is a Texas sized travel stop that almost makes the road trip worthwhile on its own! Not only do they have the cleanest restrooms (and plenty of them!), but they also have some of the best food and treats in the Lone Star State! Their beautiful gift department is where many Texans begin their holiday shopping. There are now 35 Buc-ees locations in Texas (and 8 more in other states), but most Texans believe it is not a road trip until you stop at Buc-ees!

Why not make money while you travel?

With lots of shopping opportunities, great scenery and plenty to see along the way, the Texas Hill Country is a great place to shop. If you live in the San Antonio/Austin area or would like an excuse to visit, check out all the Ellis apartment mystery shops along the way.

You don’t have to be a financial expert to look around and see that prices are rising on just about everything!  This may mean that the time is right to consider a Side Hustle to earn extra money. A bit of extra income can be a hedge against inflation, a help in paying off debt, or a way to fund a great vacation!  Not all side hustles are created equal!  What are some factors to consider?

• Do you enjoy it?  Side hustles are generally done on “personal time” outside of normal working hours.  If you are going to give up your precious time off, make sure it is something you will enjoy.  If you don’t enjoy an activity when you’re not being paid for it, you probably won’t enjoy it as a side hustle.
• What are the costs to set up your side hustle?  Does it require expensive equipment?  Advertising?  Registration fees?  How many jobs will it take you to recoup your start up fees?
• Will it stand the test of time?  Some side hustles may be tied to a specific season.  Holidays or the start of a school year may offer unique opportunities, but if you are looking for continuous income, you may want something you can do year-round.

For all these reasons, Apartment Mystery Shopping for EPMS an ideal side hustle!

• EPMS Apartment Mystery Shopping is enjoyable!  We all drive by apartment communities every day.  It is fun to peek inside at the amenities and see the floor plans and features of the apartments.  There may be a beautiful furnished model apartment offering ideas for your home décor.  Perhaps you’ll even find a community you shop to be a perfect fit for you.  Some of our shoppers have been paid to shop a community that becomes their new home.
  
• EPMS Apartment Shopping is free!  There are no registration costs to shop for EPMS.  You don’t have to make a purchase and await reimbursement.  You won’t be applying for an apartment, nor paying any fee onsite.  There is no out of pocket expense required to shop for EPMS.
  
• EPMS has been shopping apartment communities year-round for almost 40 years!  EPMS is a pioneer in the apartment mystery shopping industry.  We have been performing onsite shops for nearly 40 years.  We shop year-round!  If you find yourself with some extra free time, you may want to take on several shops.  As a shopper, you are free to accept shops that fit within your schedule.  Some shops must be done on specific dates or days of the week, but you will always know those requirements before you commit to the shop.  There is no pressure to accept a shop that won’t work for you!

Challenging economic times call for creative solutions!  Making a bit of extra money by developing a side hustle can be one of those solutions.  EPMS Apartment Mystery shopping is an enjoyable, affordable means of boosting your income in your free time. 

To apply as an EPMS shopper, please visit:

If you’re new to shopping (or even if you aren’t), we want to help you fine-tune your shopping game and maximize your income. We took some time to interview one of our veteran shoppers, Phillip, to get advice on how he makes the absolute most of the time he spends shopping to walk away with the biggest paycheck possible.

Phillip is a shopper who likes to travel and he makes sure to plan ahead. He’ll log in and look for shops that are available along his planned route and then pick up the ones he’s interested in. Once he’s decided on all of the shops he’s planning to complete on his trip, he checks to see which of them may be eligible for a route bonus. If you didn’t already know, EPMS will add an additional $5 bonus to shops when you’re choosing 3 or more and the following conditions are true:

1. All of the shops are at least 20 miles away from your home address.
2. There is not already an existing bonus of more than $15 on the shop.
3. You reach out to a scheduler to ask for the bonus before accepting the shop.

Next, Phillip says he decides what order the shops need to be completed in based on his travel plans. He begins making calls for target shops right away, even if he will need to plan the visit on another day so that he can plan the rest of the shops around those more difficult target shops. (Of course, you’ll want to check the specific instructions for your shops to make sure they do not require a visit on the same day as the call.)

Once the calls are made and the visits begin, Phillip told us he completes the onsite visit and when it’s finished, he leaves the community parking lot and pulls into a nearby parking lot (out of sight of the community, of course!) so that he can take out his laptop and type in some quick notes while the information is still fresh in his mind. He also take that time to upload his backup documentation so he can keep everything organized. At the end of the shopping day, Phillip will go back and, using the notes he made as well as any recordings that accompany the shop, complete the report and get it submitted ASAP.

Any shops completed and accepted by EPMS by the 7th of any month will be paid on that same month’s deposit on the 22nd (unless that date falls on a weekend or holiday – then it would be the next business day). Therefore, the more shops you can get completed by that date, the bigger your check will be for that month. Knowing this information will help you plan around your expected income and make the most of your time!

Nothing is more frustrating as a mystery shopper than working to complete a shop, only to find out you neglected to fulfill the terms of the contract and your shop will be cancelled without pay! In this blog, we’ll discuss 3 ways you can help ensure an acceptable shop completion to earn the maximum pay. Continue reading “Maximize Your Mystery Shopping Income”