EasyShift is one of those apps that let you take pictures or check prices in a store for a few dollars.

I was pretty intrigued because the payouts seem to be higher than a lot of other microtask apps ($10-20 range).

I recently started training for a part time job in the mornings that leaves me with a 3 hour gap between when those shifts end and work starts at my regular job and both jobs are much further downtown than I live.

Three hours might seem like a lot, but taking the subway into account, there’s really no reason to go home. I’d only have about an hour at home. The first few times, I just went to Starbucks and worked on my blog, which is a fine use of time, but I started wondering if there were other ways I could be making some money during that time rather than spending some on a cup of coffee (even if that coffee is actually a good investment sometimes).

That brought me to EasyShift.

Pros:

• There are a lot of task options in NYC.
• The job prices are much better than other microtask apps I’ve seen.
• It’s very easy to get started.
• They have a clear policy for what to do if you’re asked to leave a store (some store managers freak out when they see you taking a bunch of pictures of their merchandise).
• Payment is every few days.
• Payment is through PayPal.

Cons:

• There is no information about what tasks you have to do when you select a job.
• There’s a 24 hour time limit to get the job done.
• If you answer any questions wrong or have to skip sections because the store doesn’t have an item (which isn’t your fault), the price of the task drops and you get paid less.
• You don’t get notified of the new, lower price. Your payout just changes when you receive it.

Here’s one thing I would’ve really liked to know before accepting my first shift: there are a lot of tasks you have to complete within each shift.

I applied for a $10-17 shift at a Duane Reade. The Duane Reade was on my way to work, so I left an hour early, to give myself some buffer time.

That shop had more than 400 tasks to complete. The tasks were locating an item, photographing it, photographing it’s price tag and photographing it’s spot on the shelf.

400 times. 

This was bad enough for the items I could find, but when I couldn’t find an item, I still had to search the entire store.

It took me about 2 hours to do. I had to leave and go back the next day to get to my regular job on time.

I was actually pretty pissed off.

Now, in a way, I don’t mind the ridiculous amount of time it took, but I do hate that you can’t estimate the amount of time you need to set aside for a shift since they don’t give you an idea of how many tasks you actually have to do until you’ve signed up for the shift.

I’m going to stick it out and try a few more shifts, especially in the downtime between both jobs, but if you give EasyShift a go, know that you may wind up spending several hours in a store to complete the tasks.

For $14.80.

Like mystery shopping, it can be a decent side hustle if you’re going to be doing these things anyway or walking right past them and you have time to kill.

Also like mystery shopping, it’s really not worth going out of your way to do.