Shop&Scan
Since returning to studying full-time from home I’ve become almost obsessed by little ways I can save money or make a little money. I had read about schemes where you scan things you buy and get rewarded points, but it always sounded too complicated or too much like hard work for peanuts in return. Thanks to some useful comments about different sites, I decided to give one a go and opted for TNS’s Shop&Scan.
… Deciding to join …
When I was deciding which panel to sign up to, I knew I wanted one that was trustworthy and one that had been tried & tested, and at least rated as being kocher. I’d whittled it town to two; TNS or Nielsen. It seemed like Nielsen was a bit more long-winded with more work for less rewards, plus, I’d done a test product survey for TNS in the past and found them to be very efficient, so I signed up with TNS. You should join this panel if you agree with the ‘every little helps’ motto, because you wont be getting rewards in thick and fast. However, the site does offer the chance of winning £100 every week, so you may just get lucky! ;)
… Registering …
This panel isn’t one you can just register for by signing up on the website, you need to be invited. Whilst this is a little frustrating when you genuinely want to sign up and commit yourself to doing it, I can see that this is to stop too many people trying it out a bit willy-nilly. Therefore, you can sign up to another site (volunteer4panels), who will email you when there’s a space on the Shop&Scan panel.
After just a couple of weeks of being signed up with volunteer4panels, I received an invitation to Shop&Scan and I was delighted. Well, almost. I was a little sceptical at how it would work and whether it would be worth it, but when I’d visited their website it put my mind at ease. Obviously, you should never pay any site to provide your help, it should be the other way around. This site is therefore free to join, and you can leave at any time. You’re not watched or hounded, and there’s not too many rules to follow, it’s more common sense. You’re given materials, including a scanner, and they quite rightly want you to look after them. If you leave, you can send them back. Again, at no point will anything be costing you.
… What you get …
The registration process was quick and straightforward, and within a few days I received my welcome registration pack in the post. This came in a shiny silver envelope, and I got a letter, along with a wire-bound book, my scanning device and a USB cable. Overall, I was very impressed by the quickness of the sign-up process and the materials sent out. It was professional and efficient, so I was looking forward to getting started.
… The Concept …
The idea of the scheme is that you scan every item bought and scan/email your receipts. Okay, so that sounds fairly straightforward, and yet it also sounds very time consuming if you buy a lot of stuff! Firstly, you can do this each time you bring your shopping home from the supermarket and put it away in cupboards as you go, so you can integrate the scanning into your routine.
Secondly, Shop&Scan only require certain receipts to be sent into them, and these are detailed in the handbook that is sent in the package with the scanner.
… What To Do …
Scanning :
The handbook is a great source of information for when you first sign up as it details the process and answers most of the questions you may have. At the back is a CD-Rom, with video clips showing what you need to do. These can also be found on the website, along with contact information should you have any unanswered questions. It’s best to make sure your scanner is charged up first, which can be done by plugging it into your computer via the USB cable, and giving the handbook a good read.
Okay, so picture the scenario. You’ve been to Tesco and return with two bags of shopping. Put those down, and get your scanner and handbook at the ready. You’ll also need your receipt, or at least remember the total cost of your shopping.
First, turn to the page in the handbook with the list of family member names and barcodes. This is so you can select who did the shopping. Scan the appropriate barcode, and then turn to shops pages where you scan the store you purchased your shopping from. Next, go to the pricing page, where you scan the relevant total cost of your shopping. Next, onto the fun part. Scanning the shopping!
As you’ll notice in the handbook, there are several pages (after the price page) for different food items. These are the things that may not be sold with barcodes on, such as loose bananas. If you’ve got bananas in your bag, simply scan the appropriate barcode in the handbook. For the rest of the shopping with barcodes, just scan their barcodes. Easy. Each time you scan you’ll hear a high pitched beep, so you’ll know it’s gone through okay.
The slightly tricky part is the special offer procedure. Towards the front of the book is the offers page with a barcode. If you’ve bought something that was sold as part of a multi-buy promotion, such as buy one get one free, you scan the first item, then the special offers barcode in the book, then the second item.
Sending :
Each week you can submit your barcodes & receipts in one go. The deadline is midnight Sunday. What I do, is save up my barcodes and scan them all on Sunday afternoon when I know I wont be doing any more shopping until Monday, and send my barcodes at the same time. To send barcodes, you use the USB cable and just plug the scanner in and do it via their website (you also submit receipts via their website). This is all clearly in the handbook and on the website.
… My Experience …
When I first learned what I had to do, I thought it looked fairly straightforward but very time consuming and a bit fiddly. I was a little unsure as to what exactly I should be scanning other than supermarket products because the list of stores in the handbook included things like DIY stores, but not clothes stores. I opted to try to scan anything and everything I could, but was glad to see you only send in the receipts for those stores with a star next to them.
I loved using the little scanner, and still do. I thought it was very cute, and even comes on a little keyring, though I wouldn’t advise putting this on your set of keys in case it gets damaged. It works very well and I’ve not had any problems with it. I also haven’t needed to charge it during the week, so I just let it charge up a bit each Sunday when it’s plugged in to my computer as I’m sending through the barcodes.
I was a little sceptical at first. I can’t be entirely sure what all the data collected is used for, but I can say I feel confident that my data is protected. For example, there is a note in the handbook about sending in receipts. At first I thought I wouldn’t send them as I pay by card for most purchases and don’t want them seeing my card details, albeit just the last few digits and start/end dates. I was glad to read that you can feel free to scrub out all of your details.
The first few times I scanned my shopping it did take a little while. I was a bit disorganised and forgot which items I’d scanned and which I hadn’t. I fluffed up the multibuy scanning a couple of times and scanned the wrong things in the handbook by mistake. I even emailed them to say I’d make a few errors, and they were very understanding and said that’s fine because I’d only just started. Obviously, you shouldn’t be making continual errors, but it was good to know I wouldn’t get penalised for the small ones made early on.
A few months later, and I’m whizzing through my shopping. I found myself getting into a routine so I could scan everything in one place and ensure I scanned everything and only once. I knew which pages to go to in the handbook for what I needed, got my receipt at the ready before coming home rather than riffling through my purse, knew which items were on a multibuy offer etc… It now only takes me a minute to scan through everything, though obviously, it varies if you come home with enough to feed an army.
It doesn’t feel like a hassle to do; now I’ve know what I’m doing it’s very quick and easy, and I’ve not had any problems with any part of the process so I’m happy enough.
… Rewards …
As I’ve said, don’t expect rewards to come in thick and fast, it does take a while to accumulate enough to get a voucher. You get 1000 points for each set of barcodes sent, so that’s 1000 points p/week. If you scan receipts, which you don’t have to I should point out, you get an extra 500. You get bonus points as soon as you sign up so you can redeem a voucher straight away; doing this boosted my confidence in TNS and made me feel more confident about continuing with the scheme. You need 10,000 points to redeem a voucher, of which there are several to choose from on their website. You log into your own user area and rewards section, and can pick what you’d like, for example, I chose a £10 Argos voucher. They’re sent out very quickly too (unlike other sites, without naming names, cough*toluna*cough!) so I received it within 4 days. Very happy!
… Contact …
I did contact Shop&Scan within the first 2 weeks.
This is because someone in the households goes out for a morning walk to get the paper from one of the shops with a star (meaning receipts should be sent for that shop) but never gets a receipt. As I chose initially to send in receipts (which is optional) I wasn’t sure whether I’d be penalised and not receive the extra 500 points p/week if I didn’t scan in every single receipt. They replied the same day and told me that they understood the situation and that it was okay, just try to send through what I could. So that made my life a lot easier, and I was very pleased with the quick response.
… Overall …
I was very impressed with TNS Shop & Scan, especially their efficiency. Everything I’ve received in the post or by email has been quick, their helpdesk is useful and friendly and everything is well detailed in the handbook/website so I got the impression the company is very well-founded and effective.
If you want to earn yourself a few vouchers every now and again, and get the opportunity to join TNS Shop&Scan, then I would recommend it. Don’t be put off by the concept or the thought that it will be too complicated and time consuming, because it’s really not as bad as you may initially think. I’m really glad I signed up and have been pleasantly surprised by my scanning abilities to get through bags & bags of stuff in 1 minute. Maybe I should work in Tesco! Anyway, I’ve had no problems and there are no negatives I can really bring to mind so I’m a happy scanner.
I hope this helps someone, as I only decided to definitely join up after having read a few reviews on this site & Nielsen, and it’s good to know that many other people are also doing it and have positive experiences with the company.
Overall ... Very efficient - a good choice if you want to earn some extra rewards from home.
(Also posted by me, Cazkins, on DooYoo)
It Pays To Shop & Scan 
