Here’s How This Guy Made $14,000 In One Day Waiting In Line

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Getty Images | John Gress

Waiting in line is not fun. It’s boring, it makes your feet hurt, it makes your back hurt, it can be cold, it can be hot… you get it: Waiting in line stinks. And some people hate it so much, they’re willing to pay other people to stand in line for them. That’s how one guy made $14,000 in one day, just waiting for iPhones.

That guy is Robert Samuel, and he runs a company called SOLD—Same Ole Line Dudes. Samuel has waited in line for just about everything in New York City. From iPhones to brunch to Hamilton tickets to Cronuts to edible cookie dough, there are people who just don’t want to wait around to get what they want.

Samuel charges $25 for the first hour of waiting and $10 for each additional half-hour. There’s even special pricing for those aforementioned Cronuts ($60-$65 to have a pair delivered to you at home). They’ll even sit on a waitlist at a restaurant for you ($30-$50)—they just put your name and number down and text you when it’s time to eat. A minimum of two hours in wait time is required to book, and you can do that by simply texting a number.

“It’s all everyday people,” Samuel told The Penny Hoarder. “Sometimes I get a customer who can’t get out of work on time to wait for a movie premiere, or somebody on the Upper East Side who really wants a new Xbox but doesn’t want to stand in the cold for seven hours before it goes on sale. It’s a whole medley.”

The longest Samuel has ever waited in line? Roughly 19 hours for a new iPhone. In fact, those hours spent in line gave him the idea for SOLD in the first place. Samuel had recently lost his job at AT&T and needed to supplement his income—he used to sell iPhones and worked on commission. Living a few blocks away from the Apple store in downtown Manhattan gave him the idea.

“Let me wait in line for somebody else and make them happy,” he told the website Racked in an interview.

Now, Samuel has his own employees who he keeps on call to wait in line for people. The company has perfect five-star reviews on Yelp, and customers love the convenience they offer—especially when they’re visiting from out of town.

So, do you want to be a professional line-sitter? Well, first of all, you’ll have to live in a city where there are things worth lining up for. Big museums, store openings, food fads—these are all hallmarks of a long line. If you have a flexible schedule or work from home, you’re more likely to have success as a line sitter.

And be creative: You don’t have to live in a big city to wait in line for Black Friday deals.

You can advertise your services on Craigslist by finding something (an event, an opening, a food) that people are willing to wait in line for, then offer your service online to the highest bidder.

Or you can work for the company TaskRabbit. As an official “Tasker,” the company will not only vet you as being honest and trustworthy, but also market your services online. Having the TaskRabbit stamp of approval can help get you more gigs so people know you aren’t just trying to mess with them.

A new iPhone comes out every few years—you might want to start planning before it officially rolls out.

About the Author

Jessica Suss

An aspiring food and health writer, native Chicagoan, and nut butter enthusiast. Jessica is also the creator of BiteMeBlog, but don't call her a foodie More.

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