Evaluators.

BARE Culture

As an evaluator for BARE International, you become a valuable part of providing game-changing insights to our clients. You can have an impact on how our clients provide customer service and make business decisions. The same ethical standards we uphold when designing, implementing, and analyzing research strategies for our clients also applies to you as one of our evaluators. We strive to create opportunities as worthwhile to you as your work is to us.

I have worked with many other mystery shopping companies, but BARE sets the gold standard in the industry. Thank you for providing  a company that I am proud to say I contract with.

Sheila Smylie
BARE Evaluator since 2003

6 Benefits of Being a BARE Evaluator

  • Extra Income

    Earn with our transparent evaluation system that helps you improve your work and ensures fair, democratic scheduling.

  • Fun Work

    Learning more about interesting products and brands is fun, and helping companies make a difference is truly rewarding.

  • Feel Valued

    With competition increasing daily, you’ll be a valuable asset to companies looking to improve customer experience.

  • Fair Pay

    BARE ensures reasonable compensation and maintains secure and accurate financial control systems.

  • Flexible Hours

    Enjoy full control over dates, deadlines, payments and workload.

  • Professional Reputation

    BARE has a solid industry reputation and is known for its credibility, stability, and variety of opportunities.

13Locations

around the world

Evaluator FAQ.

Please contact your scheduler as soon as possible if you need to cancel. We understand you may not be comfortable completing an on-site evaluation and will not be penalized if you cancel on-site evaluations and audits.

Many companies have open locations and/or offsite evaluations available. Please check the Job Board and Presto InstaShops for open opportunities.

If you continue with your assignment, check in advance to ensure the location is open and the hours of operation during the pandemic.  Local regulations may be in place that are not updated on client websites, therefore, calling in advance will assist with planning your visit.  Keep record of this information in the event you arrive and there is documentation that suggests otherwise, such as a “closed” sign on the door.  Take a picture to upload to your report, and email your project manager to inform them. In these instances, your compensation varies by opportunity and is generally 50% of the project fee.

Please be aware of possible email scams pretending to be BARE International. All evaluators for BARE International must be registered and would never receive prepayment for services. All payments are via PayPal, live check or direct deposit; cashier checks appearing to come from BARE are a sign of a scam. Further, all legitimate BARE International emails end with @bareinternational.com. We appreciate you alerting us to any possible scam so we can log all reports.

If you encounter a scammer impersonating a mystery shopping company, please help to stop them by reporting to the following agencies:

  • If you have received a check in the mail, report to the Post Office
  • For Internet & email scams, report to FBI
  • If you are contacted by Facebook, LinkedIn or other social media, report the scammer directly to the social media outlet so they will remove them.

These agencies have successfully caught and prosecuted scammers performing this scam before, so reporting them does help!

A mystery shopper, or mystery evaluator, is an independent contractor who gathers data to assist our clients with making important decisions to move their business. A typical project involves the evaluation of one of our client’s businesses through in-person visits, telephone calls, web-based inquiries, or other means by serving as a typical customer/guest. Typically, the evaluator provides his/her objective feedback about the service provided and overall customer experience. Information may be gathered around knowledge of products and services, the location’s overall cleanliness and condition and product availability. Each project is different because BARE International’s clients all have different needs, and BARE International designs unique programs to meet them. When given a specific project, the evaluator receives a briefing on that particular client’s goals and objectives, including any special requirements the client has communicated to us.

To become an evaluator, you must be 21 years of age or older in the United States, or 18 years of age or older outside of the United States. You must also have established yourself as independent contractor in order to be eligible to perform BARE International projects. To accomplish this, we first recommend that you obtain a tax ID number from the IRS. You may either create a business or simply use your own name. The process is simple, fast, and free. By establishing yourself as an independent contractor in this manner, you represent that you are working for yourself and therefore able to market your services to any other mystery shopping companies you desire.

Once you establish your independent business, register your services with BARE International’s website by signing up as an evaluator in order to receive notices about upcoming opportunities. To register with BARE, complete the online registration and agree to BARE’s working terms and conditions. You will be self-employed as an independent contractor thus, if you earn over $600 in one year, you will receive a 1099 at year end for filing of taxes.

No. There are no fees to register with BARE as an independent contractor.

In fact, if you see offers from other organizations stating that there is a fee to sign up before you are able to get mystery shopping assignments, BEWARE. You and your insights are valuable and you should be compensated for providing them, not the other way around. This is not an accepted or standard practice for legitimate companies like BARE. We encourage you to sign up for and to work with companies that are part of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA).

As soon as your registration is complete, you can log in to our online portal, APOLLO, to check the Job Board for any available projects. Be aware that projects usually have firm deadlines, so be sure to read all the details before applying or registering to do projects that interest you.

Be sure to keep your address, banking information (if receiving electronic payment) and contact information up-to-date in your shopper profile. Not doing so may cause delay in you receiving payment or prevent us from being able to contact you regarding shop report questions. DO NOT make updates to details such as birthdate and gender. This will deactivate your account.

Our clients represent a wide range of industries and locations with needs across the USA and globally. It is likely you will find opportunities near you. As an independent contractor, you control where and how often you complete assignments.

You can search the Job Board in APOLLO by zip code, state, and country to find the most up-to-date listing of opportunities all over the world. You may also elect to receive Project Offer Emails in your Evaluator Profile to receive email alerts about available projects in your area. Do consider white listing emails from @bareinternational.com as they are sometimes blocked as spam.

We process offers for projects on a daily basis. You should receive a confirmation via email within 48 hours or so if your bid was accepted. Check your email often! Additionally, check your MY APPS and Shopper Log to ensure you do not miss any interesting shops.

As an independent contractor, this is really up to you. We always communicate to you what our clients expect in terms of quality of reports and project timeliness. It is your responsibility to estimate workloads and assess the amount of work that is feasible for you to perform. Please remember that if your performance does not meet the client’s expectations for a particular project, they reserve the right to request another evaluator. This can affect your compensation, so only taking on projects with standards that you can reasonably perform is key.

Contact the Project Manager in charge of that project as soon as possible so that BARE can locate another evaluator to take your place.

How do I know who my project manager is?

The project manager’s name and contact details can be found on the email notification received when a shop has been assigned. The project manager is also located on the shopper briefings. Their contact details are important as you may need to reach out to them for clarification of expectations or to revise a shop date. These details are also found on the shop comments in the shop log and in the project briefing document attached to your assignment. Be aware that projects managers work Monday through Friday regular business hours eastern standard time.

What do I do to prepare for an evaluation?

You will receive an acceptance email once a shop has been assigned telling you the shop report is in your log. Log in to review the project briefing document and to take any client-requested quiz and to review the form. If required, enter a shop planning date. If you have any questions, or need further clarification, reach out right away to the project manager to get answers. Project managers will reply to you during regular business hours Monday through Friday, generally 8:00 am – 4:30 pm eastern standard time.

What do I do if I have a problem off hours, or on the weekend?

Read the Briefings in full and review the form itself as soon as you get an assignment, so you can contact the project manager with questions during business hours. If the unforeseen happens, however, during non-business hours, leave the project manager a voicemail or send an email to ensure they can address the situation right away. Do your best to make decisions that do not compromise your identity as a mystery shopper.

Who do I contact in off hours?

In the US, contact BARE’s corporate office at 1.800.296.6699.

Client projects are rated on a per project basis as it comes in, on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, against the expectations of the client. Items such as timeliness, completeness, accuracy of information, responsiveness, grammar, among other things determine which evaluators we can count on to deliver the best product based on the clients’ expectations. Evaluators who consistently produce high quality work are in the highest demand and may participate in projects more frequently than evaluators whose work receives average or below average ratings.

BARE pays out a wide range of fees for projects performed by evaluators. Fees vary per project depending on the scope, difficulty, and time commitment involved. Fees are communicated to the evaluator community via the job board before an evaluator offers to complete a project. Earnings are therefore under the control of the individual evaluator. Additionally, some projects allow for a purchase reimbursement. If this is the case, the maximum reimbursement amount allowable will be part of the job posting.

USA– Fees for services performed and reimbursement for previously approved/included expenses, will be processed by our payment process provider, Tipalti by the 18th of the month following the month in which projects were properly completed and received according to project requirements. Only once you have an assignment due for payment, you will receive a invitation with a link to register and select your payment method with Tipalti.

We would like to remind you that Tipalti offers an electronic payment option available for the US that is free of cost and avoids all possibility of paper checks being lost in the mail. To enrol in electronic payments, please choose local ACH as your payment option. Your account information is highly secure and is used for no other reason than to make payment. Please ensure that you have completed your registration with Tipalti and remember to keep it updated in the event that any of the information changes. Please note that there are fees for rejected payments due to providing wrong banking details, as well as for stop-payments on checks. For a complete list of fees, please review our FAQ.

CANADA – Fees for services performed and reimbursement for previously approved/included expenses will be processed by our payment process provider, Tipalti, by the 18th of the month following the month in which projects were properly completed and received according to project requirements. Only once you have an assignment due for payment, you will receive a invitation with a link to register and select your payment method with Tipalti.

We would like to remind you that Tipalti offers an electronic payment option available for international payments, knows as echeck that is free of cost and avoids all possibility of paper checks being lost in the mail. To enrol in electronic payments, please choose international ACH as your payment option. Your account information is highly secure and is used for no other reason than to make payment. Please ensure that you have completed your registration with Tipalti and remember to keep it updated in the event that any of the information changes. Please note that there are fees for rejected payments due to providing wrong banking details, as well as for stop-payments on checks. For a complete list of fees, please review our FAQ.

ALL OTHER COUNTRIES – Fees for services performed and reimbursement for previously approved/included expenses will be processed by our payment process provider, Tipalti, by the 18th of the month following the month in which projects were properly completed and received according to project requirements. Only once you have an assignment due for payment, you will receive a invitation with a link to register and select your payment method with Tipalti.

FOR ALL PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS – As a courtesy, a notification of payment is sent to the email address on record in the Evaluator Profile. This notification lists the specific projects(s) included in the payment and the amount of fees and/or reimbursements paid. This notification should be checked carefully and any discrepancies reported as soon as possible. If you have any questions about payment for the individual projects listed, please contact your Project Manager. If you have any questions about the payment transaction itself, please contact the appropriate individual mentioned in the email.

For all payments, the deadline is 90 days from the date of issue (or date of expected receipt) to report any discrepancies. We regret we are unable to investigate payment issues that are more than 90 days old.

TIPALTI FAQ.

We received feedback that you were looking for a self-serve platform that provided more information and accurate details about your shop payouts.

Tipalti is considered to be the world’s most powerful and professional payment platform and specifically designed to help us make your experience getting paid even better!

Here are just some of the benefits of why we chose Tipalti as our partner:

  • Enterprise-grade security, ensuring your payment information is maintained at the highest security level available.
  • Faster, more reliable and accurate payments
  • The ability to choose from a variety of payment methods and currencies with which to receive your earnings
  • A 24×7 comprehensive payment dashboard so you can view your complete payment history, keep track of all transactions and revenue, and update your payment preferences at any time
  • Automatic, proactive, and real-time notification of payment status

You need to complete the following information on the “Payment Details” tab:

  1. Enter contact information (name and address)
  2. Select a payment method
  3. Submit tax forms (if applicable)

For further registration details, click here.

Please note that you will ONLY get the invitation to register once you’ve accepted the Privacy Policy and have been assigned an opportunity with BARE International. Once both tasks are completed, an email invitation to join will be sent directly to you.

This link is time sensitive and will expire within 7 days, so registered immediately upon receiving the invitation is important to getting your payments on time!

Please note that you will ONLY get the invitation to register once you’ve both (1) accepted the new Privacy Policy, and (2) been assigned an opportunity with BARE International. The Privacy Policy acceptance will be prompted when you log into your evaluator profile. You need to accept it as it gives Tipalti permission to email you, including your invitation to register. Once completed, an email invitation to join will be sent directly to you.

This link is time sensitive and will expire within 7 days, so registered immediately upon receiving the invitation is important to getting your payments on time!

The W9 IRS form requests a SSN or EIN to be filled out. Only when tax forms are completed, can you be fully registered and considered “payable”.

Your SSN, or  your EIN, is collected as part of tax form W9 for residents of the US. If you make more than $600 as a mystery shopper, we have to report your income to the IRS and need this information. If you are not a US resident, you will have to choose the “non-resident” choice to bypass this request.

US W-9 tax forms

We can now offer a variety of payment methods! You can choose from:

  • Direct deposit/ local ACH
  • eCheck/  International ACH
  • Wire transfer
  • Paper Check
  • PayPal
  • Hold my payments

To change payment method, you will just need to log into your account at https://suppliers.tipalti.com/BARE/Account/Login and click on Payment Details on the side bar. Then click on “2” Payment Method and then select a different method from the drop down menu.  Then save those details and you should be all set!

Yes! We want to avoid lost checks as much as possible. Therefore, when you complete your contact address, payment method address (for “Check” payments only), and tax form address in the Dashboard, Tipalti validates the addresses to ensure accuracy.

Click here for more information on the address validation process.

Yes, as long as there are no restrictions on accounts.

* Please note: A change in any of the following information may erase banking information and/ or invalidate tax forms:

  • First name
  • Last name
  • Company name
  • Contact address country
  • Payment details country
  • Phone number

Please also note that frequent changes to bank information may trigger your account to be locked due to Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulations (“AML rules”).

Click here for further information about updating account details.

Absolutely! This is one of our favorite features! You can even download the information for your records.

When registering with Tipalti, if you would like to receive an eCheck as your method of payment, you will have the option to select if you want your payment to be sent in CAD or USD. You can select the option that works best for you. If you select USD, please be sure to check with your bank first if it can accept this currency.

By default, Tipalti will not allow you to enter details for a bank outside your home country. Please contact us directly if this is your situation.

Please note:  Selecting CAD as the payment method should allow you to receive an eCheck direct deposited to your Canadian bank account with no issues, but please do call your bank and confirm. The eCheck will be in Canadian currency and will be direct deposit / ACH.

If your address is outside the US, you will not be asked for a US SSN or to provide information for a W9. You will have to Electronically Sign a “Certificate of non-US residency.” This is simply a document stating that we do not need to report your income to the IRS. If you need to report income locally, that will be your responsibility.

How to Register.

Please note that you will only get the invitation to register once you’ve (1) accepted the new Privacy Policy – which is available when you log into your evaluator account, and (2) have been assigned an opportunity with BARE International. Once both of those tasks are completed, an email invitation to join will be sent directly to you.

How to Login.

Payment Fees.

Our new pay structure allows FREE electronic transfers!

Local Bank TransferAvailable only for evaluators with bank accounts held in the US in USD currency only. Free!
International ACH (also known as eCheck)Available for evaluators with bank accounts held outside the US. BARE International pays in USD, but local banks will be converting to account currency. Check your bank for local fees. Free!

The following are fees that may be associated based on the payment method selected and any additional situations, such as a lost check, that may occur:

Local Bank TransferAvailable only for evaluators with bank accounts held in the US in USD currency only. Free!
International ACH (also known as eCheck)Available for evaluators with bank accounts held outside the US. BARE International pays in USD, but local banks will be converting to account currency. Check your bank for local fees. Free!
Paper CheckCheck price includes printing, mailing and check clearing. Checks available in USD only. $3 per Transaction
PayPal feeThis fee applies in addition to the PayPal Transmission Fee. $3 per Transaction
PayPal Transmission Fee – US recipientSending a PayPal payment to a U.S. Payee.2% ($1 Max)
PayPal Transmission Fee – Non-U.S. RecipientSending a PayPal payment to a Non-U.S. Payee.2% ($20 Max)
Wire USD Domestic (Wire transfer USD to USD)Available for evaluators with a US bank account that prefer wire over ACH. $15 per Transaction
Non-USD Wire (Non-USD Wire transfer)$20 per Transaction
Wire Transfer (USD to USD International)Wire transfer USD to USD, International Payee Account, where local currency is not available. $26 per Transaction
Wire InvestigationsWire trace investigations when a wire does not arrive due to incorrect details provided.$25.00 Each
Check Stop Payments, Paper Check Stop Payments; Rejected, Or Expired (Not Cashed Within 180 Days) $35.00 Each
Check PhotocopiesObtain cashed check photocopy $20.00 Each
US ACH Return FeeRejected US ACH transactions when evaluator provided incorrect bank account details or fails to update for closed accounts$11.00 Each
eCheck Return FeeRejected international ACH transactions when evaluator provided incorrect bank account details or fails to update for closed accounts $25.00 Each
Wire Return FeeRejected Wire transfer transactions when evaluator provided incorrect bank accounts details or fails to update for closed accounts $25.00 Each

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250,000+Evaluations

completed worldwide each year

13Locations

around the world

165Countries

in the BARE network