They say good things come to those who
wait. But here’s the loophole: what if you
could pay someone to do the waiting for
you? Same Ol Line Dudes (SOLD Inc.) is a
new service in New York that helps people
get in line for the latest, hottest and
trendiest new products. At $25 for the
first hour and $10 for every half hour
after that, I think it’s pretty legit. If I
could avoid waiting in line and still get
to buy the new iPhone or enjoy a cronut,
I’d definitely be willing to pay for it.
The idea for the business came to Robert
Samuel after he made $325 selling two
spots in a line for the iPhone 5 launch
last year. That’s when he realized that
he could cash in on people’s fear of
missing out on new things. “It’s a
phenomenon,” he said. “I did an
interview with German Public Radio a
while ago and I explained FOMO: fear of
missing out. Especially in New York, you
have friends and you’re hanging out
and it’s like, ‘Did you see that new
exhibit at MoMA? Do you know what a
cronut is?’ People want these things like
it’s the end of the world. When I show
up to their offices with a sleeping bag in
one hand and the cronuts in another,
they know they’re getting their money’s
worth.”
There have been services like this in the
past, but they weren’t exactly ethical.
Like these guys who would buy cronuts in
bulk and sell them on Craigslist at a
higher price. But Robert makes sure he
plays by the rules. He has a few super-
rich clients. When one of them wants
cronuts for his out-of-town guests,
Robert gets to the bakery hours ahead of
time. He’s always properly equipped – a
portable charger, two iPhones, an iPad
mini and handwarmers are always at his
disposal. A lawn chair, the MetroCast
and HBO Go make sure that waiting in
line is never a boring experience.
Sometimes he has to wait longer, like at
the launch of Isabel Marant for H&M,
for a group of teenage girls who wanted
to be ahead of their friends. He’d taken
a sleeping bag and a tent with him then.
But his longest wait yet was the launch
of the iPhone 5 – 19 hours. He had just
lost his job at AT&T at the time, so he
had to think of innovative ways to
generate an income. Line sitting turned
out to be his best bet.
“I live a few blocks from the Apple Store
on 14 th Street, so I said, ‘Let me wait in
line for somebody else and make them
happy.’” A man gave him $100 for the
job, and later cancelled the request (but
Robert got to keep the money). So Robert
sold the same spot to another guy for $
100. He asked a few friends to come in
and take some spots and when they got
tired and left, he sold those spots too.
Then, he got out a few milk crates from
his house and sold them at $5 apiece to
people who had been standing for hours
and were desperate to sit down.
Robert hasn’t looked back since then.
His innovative idea has now become a
full-fledged business model. He has
seven people working for him as
professional ‘waiters’. 15 more have
expressed interest in the job. He doesn’t
guarantee that he will be the first
person in line each time. “I’ll get you a
prime spot, and I’ll let the customer
determine how much time they think is
necessary,” he said. “If you tell me to
get there at 5am and the doors open at
8am, you know it’s going to be big, and
if I’m there three hours ahead you know
for sure I’m going to be one of the first.
You’re getting three hours of sleep and
you just arrive and take your rightful
place: rain, snow, sleet, or whatever.”
When asked if the other people get mad
when the switch happens, he said:
“That’s been one of my biggest fears.
What I tell my waiters is that a spot in
line is a perfect opportunity for you to
tell people what you’re doing there. ‘I’m
a professional line waiter, here’s a
business card. I can wait for you for
your next sample sale or your next
sneaker release.’” Robert is also very
particular about the number of people
who will show up to take the spot. “If you
want to come with a girlfriend, that’s
fine, just tell me how many people are
coming. If it’s four, then we’ll reserve
four waiters.”
If you’re wondering what the line sitters
do when they need to go to the
bathroom, fear not, they don’t lose
their place. “There’s a loyalty between
people standing in line,” said Robert.
“In my experience of doing this, which is
a little over a year-and-a-half, it’s
never been a problem. No one’s going to
say, ‘You move your feet you lose your
space.’ I just say, ‘I’m going to the
bathroom,’ and find the nearest
Starbucks and offer to get them a coffee
or something.”
wait. But here’s the loophole: what if you
could pay someone to do the waiting for
you? Same Ol Line Dudes (SOLD Inc.) is a
new service in New York that helps people
get in line for the latest, hottest and
trendiest new products. At $25 for the
first hour and $10 for every half hour
after that, I think it’s pretty legit. If I
could avoid waiting in line and still get
to buy the new iPhone or enjoy a cronut,
I’d definitely be willing to pay for it.
The idea for the business came to Robert
Samuel after he made $325 selling two
spots in a line for the iPhone 5 launch
last year. That’s when he realized that
he could cash in on people’s fear of
missing out on new things. “It’s a
phenomenon,” he said. “I did an
interview with German Public Radio a
while ago and I explained FOMO: fear of
missing out. Especially in New York, you
have friends and you’re hanging out
and it’s like, ‘Did you see that new
exhibit at MoMA? Do you know what a
cronut is?’ People want these things like
it’s the end of the world. When I show
up to their offices with a sleeping bag in
one hand and the cronuts in another,
they know they’re getting their money’s
worth.”
There have been services like this in the
past, but they weren’t exactly ethical.
Like these guys who would buy cronuts in
bulk and sell them on Craigslist at a
higher price. But Robert makes sure he
plays by the rules. He has a few super-
rich clients. When one of them wants
cronuts for his out-of-town guests,
Robert gets to the bakery hours ahead of
time. He’s always properly equipped – a
portable charger, two iPhones, an iPad
mini and handwarmers are always at his
disposal. A lawn chair, the MetroCast
and HBO Go make sure that waiting in
line is never a boring experience.
Sometimes he has to wait longer, like at
the launch of Isabel Marant for H&M,
for a group of teenage girls who wanted
to be ahead of their friends. He’d taken
a sleeping bag and a tent with him then.
But his longest wait yet was the launch
of the iPhone 5 – 19 hours. He had just
lost his job at AT&T at the time, so he
had to think of innovative ways to
generate an income. Line sitting turned
out to be his best bet.
“I live a few blocks from the Apple Store
on 14 th Street, so I said, ‘Let me wait in
line for somebody else and make them
happy.’” A man gave him $100 for the
job, and later cancelled the request (but
Robert got to keep the money). So Robert
sold the same spot to another guy for $
100. He asked a few friends to come in
and take some spots and when they got
tired and left, he sold those spots too.
Then, he got out a few milk crates from
his house and sold them at $5 apiece to
people who had been standing for hours
and were desperate to sit down.
Robert hasn’t looked back since then.
His innovative idea has now become a
full-fledged business model. He has
seven people working for him as
professional ‘waiters’. 15 more have
expressed interest in the job. He doesn’t
guarantee that he will be the first
person in line each time. “I’ll get you a
prime spot, and I’ll let the customer
determine how much time they think is
necessary,” he said. “If you tell me to
get there at 5am and the doors open at
8am, you know it’s going to be big, and
if I’m there three hours ahead you know
for sure I’m going to be one of the first.
You’re getting three hours of sleep and
you just arrive and take your rightful
place: rain, snow, sleet, or whatever.”
When asked if the other people get mad
when the switch happens, he said:
“That’s been one of my biggest fears.
What I tell my waiters is that a spot in
line is a perfect opportunity for you to
tell people what you’re doing there. ‘I’m
a professional line waiter, here’s a
business card. I can wait for you for
your next sample sale or your next
sneaker release.’” Robert is also very
particular about the number of people
who will show up to take the spot. “If you
want to come with a girlfriend, that’s
fine, just tell me how many people are
coming. If it’s four, then we’ll reserve
four waiters.”
If you’re wondering what the line sitters
do when they need to go to the
bathroom, fear not, they don’t lose
their place. “There’s a loyalty between
people standing in line,” said Robert.
“In my experience of doing this, which is
a little over a year-and-a-half, it’s
never been a problem. No one’s going to
say, ‘You move your feet you lose your
space.’ I just say, ‘I’m going to the
bathroom,’ and find the nearest
Starbucks and offer to get them a coffee
or something.”
No comments:
Post a Comment