Field Agent App Review | Paid 98 Times

Field Agent Mystery Shopping App

Field agent is a fun mystery shopping app that is a quick, easy, and lucrative way to make money online. Anyone can be a Field Agent but  at this time it is only available on iPhone. As a Field Agent you are paid primarily to perform audits at various local stores. The majority of the jobs are at Wal Mart but I have also done shops at Kohl’s, Costco, Shopko, Target, and Best Buy. I have seen jobs at the Apple Store but I have not personally done any of them. With Field Agent you are asked to do a variety of different task such as take pictures, count out of stocks, and even test displays. Most jobs pay between $2 and $8 but I have seen them as high as $13 and as low as $1. The more complex the job is the more you will usually get paid. There are occasional Jobs that are just surveys that you can do from anywhere. In 1 year, I have completed 147 jobs and made a total of $728 from Field agent.

Field Agent Is Recommended

Update August 2022 – Field agent is still going strong but I have not used the app in many years. I stopped using it when I was escorted from the store with a Walmart manager and her security. Some of the aspects of this review might be the same now but some things are probably different. It appears to still be legit but I have no recent experience with it.


Update April 17th, 2013
– I have been paid by Field Agent a total of 98 Times. My total lifetime earnings are $1,587.20. It appears that as of October the payments have gotten back to the regular schedule. My most recent cash out was paid within a couple of hours.

How Field Agent Works

When you log into the app you will generally see several jobs available in your area depending on how much of a distance away you set your filter. You can sort them by payout or by distance, from your current location or zip code. Jobs are on a first come first serve basis so make sure to check for them often. When you accept a job you are given only 2 hours to complete it, most jobs only take a few minutes once you arrive at the store. If you fail to complete a job in 2 hours or you supply inaccurate information it affects your agent score and you don’t get paid. Most of the time when jobs are not completed or are not accepted they are put back in queue for another Field Agent. After you complete a job for Field Agent it is usually put in for review, it generally only takes a few minutes to a few hours to have your work reviewed, after the Job has been reviewed and accepted you can request a payment at anytime you like. They pay you directly to your PayPal and they cover the fees. It can take up to 48 hours for them to process the payments.

How To Deal With Problems

Although the jobs are usually  straightforward there are times when

Field Agent Screenshot

Field Agent Screenshot

the instructions are a little vague. I try to always provide all of the relevant info I can in the space that is available, I had 1 job (out of 148 that I have done as of this writing) rejected and I wasn’t paid for it, even though I believe the job wasn’t completely clear. I also had an experience while I was doing an audit at  a local Wal Mart where an employee saw me taking pictures and reported it to the store director. The store director came out with security and asked me to leave. When I inquired with Field Agent support I was told that we have permission to mystery shop at the corporate level but if we ask for permission at the store level it will negatively impact the results. I was still paid $13 for that audit even though the job was incomplete because it was not my fault. It is important to remember that as a Field Agent you are mystery shopping so you never want to let anybody know what you are doing.

Is There A Referral Program?

At this time there is no referral program. They claimed to be working on one over a year ago but it appears that they have grown enough for it not to be necessary,  I believe that way they are able to pay more to existing agents. Here is the link to get Field Agent in the App Store:

Field Agent – Field Agent

Update July 19, 2012 – Delayed Cash Outs

Update October, 2012 – It appears that as of October the payments have gotten back to the regular schedule. My most 2 recent cash outs have been within 2 days.

From the time I started using Field Agent in 2010 until now, all money earned has almost always been paid out within 24-48hours like clockwork. Recently there has been a slight delay in receiving PayPal cash outs from Field Agent.  This delay has only been a few extra days in my case but some people have reported up to 2 weeks. Although delayed payments can sometimes mean cash flow problems or insolvency, with Field Agent I think it is more of a technical issue (probably with PayPal). I don’t think there is anything to be concerned about at this point and most mystery shopping companies take significantly longer than 2 weeks to pay. Waiting a few extra days is not a big deal. Rick West the CEO of Field Agent recently posted this letter about the delays:

Dear Agents,

 

Since the beginning, it’s been our mission to pay people real money through their smart phone for doing good work. So far we’ve cashed out over $1.8 Million in real money! As many of you have recognized, cash out deposits have been unusually slow lately. We’re deeply sorry; we know how important this cash can be.

 

We’ve considered many different solutions with the goal of creating a better system for everyone. Avoiding gift cards or redeemable points and other kinds of incentives that get in the way of you making money is really important to us. We believe real cash is the best compensation for work.

 

The online payment infrastructure is a broken system. As a result of the way we process payments, we’re actively looking for new ways to do this and get back on schedule. There’s a lot of really great innovation going on with companies like Dwolla and Stripe to rethink the way these kinds of transactions take place. We’re excited about the future.

 

For now, we’re doing our best to create solutions in a broken system. You may see your cash outs continue to take a little longer for the time being, but please know we do care and we’re working hard to fix it. We will always deposit payments as soon as possible. We know this can be really inconvenient and we appreciate your patience as we continue to work to sign clients and put jobs out there so you can put some extra money in your pocket.

 

As always, if you have any questions, we’d love to hear from you at support@fieldagent.net.

 

 

Rick West, CEO

Field Agent

 

Helpful Field Agent Tips

Before you submit a job it is always a good idea to go all the way through the app and double check (I usually triple check) everything for mistakes, even though there is a summary on the last page. I have found mistakes in some jobs in the past that I never would have seen without going all the way through the app.

There is a strict time limit of 2 hours to complete each job from the time you take it, make sure you have enough time to drive to and complete each job you accept.

•If you accept a job make sure you complete it properly or it can affect your agent score and credibility.

•Make sure you document all relevant information in the space provided, the more information they have the easier it is to approve your jobs.

•If you have any issues contact support or check the message board.

•If there is a problem on a job it usually takes much longer than 2 hrs to get a reply from support,  make sure you finish the job the best you can before contacting them in order to get paid.

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Comments

  1. Thank you for the review. I have been using Field Agent for a little while and saw some potential but I didn’t know It could make so much money.

  2. in 5 days I have made $100. My goal is an extra $400 a month. I feel like I am stealing as these taks are so easy and usually on my way home from my actual Job. I am hoping this pays for some awesome home renovations.

    • That is Awesome! Field Agent is really easy if you pay attention to the instructions. If you have not tried Viggle yet I recommend you do it right away. Also keep checking back because I am working on a lot more reviews and something that will definitely help you with your $400 a month goal.

  3. I have been making money with field agent but I also feel that some of the tasks are purposely vague so they get the info they want and do not have to pay you, I have completed 12 jobs and they have paid me for 10 the ones they did not pay me for were terribly vague one ask you to answer 2 questions before you enter the store, then they used those two questions to deny payment, even though they had nothing to do with the task itself

    • Hi Vanessa,

      I agree that sometimes Field Agent has vague questions. I did several of the jobs you are talking about with the 2 questions before you enter the store and they were all approved. When the questions are vague, I think that it is the client being vague, not Field Agent. I have only had 1 job out of 271 denied since I started working with Field Agent in 2010. I believe that particular instance was a situation where the client was being very vague and picky at the same time. I felt that Field Agent should have approved my work since I told them everything that they wanted to know, but they didn’t that time.

      I don’t think they like to deny work but sometimes it happens. Overall, I have never seen any app that pays as much or as often as Field Agent and although some things could be a little better, it’s still a great opportunity.

  4. how do you take pictures without anyone noticing when it asks you to take a picture of the front checkout area? Someone is going to see you and wonder what you are doing…I’m scared of getting caught

    • Hi Val,

      That is a good question. First of all don’t be scared because when you’re scared you will look like you are up to something. Really what is the worst thing that could possibly happen? They just take you in the back room and waterboard you until the police arrive, it’s no big deal.

      Just kidding. In all seriousness, there are security cameras all over, and you can bet the security staff knows what you are doing anyway. Security generally won’t bother you unless they think you are stealing something.

      I am sure I have been caught many times. Most of the time no one says anything and if they do you can usually change the subject or tell them you are trying to figure out what item you want. I have only been questioned a couple of times and I was asked to leave a Wal-Mart by a store director once, I was a little shaken up by the incident, but Field Agent still paid me.

      I was doing an audit at an in store pharmacy for GoSpotCheck one time and I told a lady she could go ahead of me in line. She asked very loudly if I was robbing the pharmacy as I was trying to take a picture. That made things very awkward for me, and the staff acted very nervous, but I still did the job.

      All of these companies and employees know about mystery shoppers and I believe most of the time you are working indirectly for the store you are in. If anyone treats you badly, or asks you to leave before you finish your mystery shop, it is very likely that they don’t want the info to get to their boss. When it comes to taking pictures you will pretty much always get away with the first one, problems arise when you need to take lots of pictures. If any specific job makes you really uncomfortable it is best to leave it for someone else.

    • If you can, take someone with you on tasks and just pretend you are taking their photo when taking the required photos. Private investigators use this technique quite successfully. If you don’t have anyone with you and are taking photos of a product and someone says something to you about it just say you are buying something for a spouse/boy or girlfriend or friend and need to send them a photo of the product to make sure you are getting the right product.

  5. Field Agent Ripoff says

    I have my fingers crossed I’ll ever see a dime from these dirtbags. Read the app store reviews – Google “Field Agent Ripoff” and stay away from them as they are denying jobs that were done 100%. I hope the media gets this out there and the company gets sued.

    • I did have a couple of jobs get denied on August 10th after having only 1 denied since 2010. I emailed support and they approved one of them but I have been cautious about taking jobs since then. They are still paying at this time and hopefully the submission and review process will be improved soon.

  6. Just wanted to let you know that I too have had a job denied (a $10 job no less) because they said that I did not check the box for alternate photo even though I am sure I did (and also spent another 20 minutes completing the job). I emailed support and am still waiting to hear back from them 1 1/2 weeks later. I went ahead and cashed out in case this is the beginning of the end of Field Agent. It took 8 days, but I did get my money in my Paypal account yesterday morning. My level of confidence with them has definitely went down over the last few weeks based on these dealings. If I do decide to do any more jobs for them I will be cashing out immediately.

    • Forgot to add: I’ve been doing jobs with them for probably over 2 years and have NEVER had a problem before.

      • Hi Marie,

        I’m sorry to hear about your experience but I appreciate you sharing it. I still think Field Agent is one of the better earning opportunities on iPhone but there are definitely times when it seems denials are based on technicalities. I have personally been accepting a much smaller amount of jobs while they sort these issues out. Would you mind telling us how many jobs you have done over the 2 year period?

        • 59 jobs for a total of $260.50. Overall, have had nothing but great experiences. Just the past 2 as described in the post above, which have coincidentally (or not) both occurred in the last 2 weeks.

  7. Can anyone please help me how yo cash out in field agent?? Theyve been sending me mails on how but when i open the site theres no such thing as cash out… 🙁
    But then i put funds too.. Now i dont know how to take the money out there.. And starting to think that this app is a total rip off 🙁 pleaseanyone help me.. Im just desprate in getting a extra job.. Thanks

    • Hi Mylca

      I’m sorry to hear you are having trouble cashing out with Field Agent. The app is not a total ripoff, I have been paid almost 100 times. It does take longer than they say still but they are paying.

      What you need to do is sign in to your Field Agent account in a browser as an agent. When you sign in there is a box in the upper right portion of the page right below Contact. In the box is your earnings and a cash out button. All you need to do is enter a Paypal email and they will send your earnings.

  8. Hi stan
    Thanks for you reply… Actually the site didnt looked like what you said before but they changed it this week.. Soo now i can cash out and now my only problem is .. Is how to bail out my funds as a client.. They dont have the bail out sign to in the american site and everytime i ask them they just send me a notice that theyre busy… And i cant even use that account with my funds in a swedish site 🙁 im getting devastated now.. I hope u cam help me.. Thank u soo much for your reply…

  9. denise arneson says

    I am new to Field Agent and have been very happy so far. I was denied 2 jobs one was clearly my fault and one was because the specifications were not uniform. I have gotten in the habit of noting anything significant in the comment box. In one job they weren’t going to pay me because I didn’t take an alternative photo of a specific department. That department didn’t exist in that store. I emailed support and they overturned their prior detection. If people notice me taking photos I always tell them, ‘School Project” and they accept that excuse readily. I’m not young either; I have honestly had to do some pretty strange assignments for sociology/psychology classes. Taking photos in stores for a school project doesn’t seem that much out of the ordinary.

    • Hi Denise,

      Thanks for the info. I would never have thought of “School Project.” That is an excellent way to handle the situation. In my experience Field Agent has been getting much more particular in the last several months about what they accept and what they reject. It is very important to document anything out of the ordinary in the comments and let them know if you think there was a mistake. Nobody is perfect but they seem to be trying to do the best they can.

  10. Hello,

    Please send me the instructions for how we get paid.

    Where do I enter my Paypal account info?

    Any help is greatly appreciated so I can quickly get to work!

    • Hi Jonathan,

      After having funds credited to your account, if you log into your account on a computer there is a box on the right side of the screen near the top that shows your current earnings. Immediately below the amount available for cash out is a field to enter your PayPal address that says Enter Valid Paypal Email to Cash Out. You must enter it each time you cash out.

  11. Is their a pic of the item available like in easy shift? I find it a lot easier when i see what i need to get. I read the retailer and section but the item description is abbreviated or confusing and i can’t be flipping everything over looking for the UPC#

    • Hi Tim,

      Field Agent is usually much easier that Easy Shift. They usually have a picture available but some jobs don’t. In general I have found that the jobs with Field agent pay more for less effort but there is a higher chance of having a job rejected. I will be posting a review of Easy Shift soon. I had to cancel my last Easy Shift job because I found out halfway through that it was going to take much longer than I had anticipated from the description and I could not finish it within the 2 days necessary. I have never had to cancel a Field Agent Job.

      If you are talking about the scavenger hunt jobs that pop up once in awhile. I have never found any items with the scavenger hunts. I think they are best avoided unless you really want to look at all the bar codes in a store. I have seen the scavenger hunt jobs in Gigwalk before as well.

  12. MARCOS H LOPEZ says

    I JUST LKE TO KNOW IF WE AREE GING TO RECIEVE A 1099 IF WE PASS 600 DOLLARS A YEAR.

    • Hi Marcos,

      I get one every year. They will not allow you to complete jobs if you don’t submit the required tax info within a certain amount of time once you are near $600 in earnings for the year.

  13. Marilyn Wilson says

    Just wondering if there is another way to get paid beside PayPal. I have issues with PayPal, so not sure if I can get paid that way. So if not, I may not be able to do the jobs…Thx

  14. This app is a joke. Many problems and FA always has a reason not to pay. Concept sounds good but Field Agent fails miserably to deliver.

    • Hi Julian,

      I have done very well with Field Agent in the past but I have been a little too busy to take as many jobs as I used to. They do pay but you have to be careful to read the jobs and make sure you give them exactly what they ask for.

  15. I am very new to Field Agent, and want to commend them on their exceptional customer service. I have had two jobs out of eight rejected, but both times they told me why (vague photo directions) and gave me tips on avoiding making the same mistakes again. One thing I cannot stress enough – be thorough, thorough, thorough in your comments! This is one of the greatest nuggets of wisdom I can offer. I had another potential rejection reversed after they heard a lengthier explanation, and on both of my rejections, I talked with CS and they allowed me to keep my points.

  16. I have made $33.00 in a week using Field agent. No problems. I even accidentally spelled my email address wrong when requesting money and they contacted me (a bit slow, about 4 days) but got the money put in my account within hours!

    The only thing Im not liking so far is this scavenger hunt think and it says like: find a notebook in your home or at walmart or something but the description is so vague it just says : 70 ct notebook and you have to look for the barcode number buts hard! Didn’t end up finding it.

  17. Popoye's Spinach says

    I personally feel Field Agent is a rip off.. They are not scam, I agrew; but real cons. They make u work ; showing you all those glittering $$$; get information all the information from you that they need. And reject you saying that you missed to notice there wasn’t a Question mark at the end of the last Question in the survey.
    Waste of time, waste of gas, waste of effort.
    There are definitely better Apps out there who are decent enough when it comes to dealing with their Employees!

  18. I feel they are getting the info they want without having to pay you by getting out on a technicality. I was doing fine but then all of a sudden they have been denying my jobs even though they got exactly what they needed. Not cool! I’m done with them.

  19. Follow directions says

    Hey chiming in,

    I was trying to Bing who has the highest Field Agent stat scores and found this article interesting. Some comments I do agree. Though the app pays you rather quickly, and approve jobs fast ON WEEKDAYS, they do Nickle and Dime you. Plus I hate that Two hour rule. If we’re racing against other agents, give us a day or 12 to complete the tasks.

    Overall very thankful for field agent, please pay more.

  20. I’ve been doing Field Agent for about four years now…just occasionally..I am at $2,855.00 total and have received a ton of great free products for doing a review. It’s legit and in the four years I have had maybe 10 rejected jobs out of hundreds.

  21. Also as of late Field Agent got rid of PayPal and is using only direct deposit and Owalla (or something like that)

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