Waiting For Others Has Become A Lucrative Gig

Professional line standing — paying people to stand in line for you — has become a growing, lucrative industry, as seemingly every store, restaurant, show, etc., now has a line around the block for entry or to score tickets.

The Big Line: No one wants to be left out of the coolest happenings, but as the “cash-rich, time-poor” (as Insider’s Eve Upton-Clark so cleverly calls them) don’t have time to be everywhere at once, having an army of bodies at your disposal is a godsend. But that could radically re-organize the demographics of who can access the most in-demand events.

Between the Ropes: Would you pay to not have to physically wait in line? Because a lot of people already are.

• Line-standing services increased 18% on TaskRabbit last November and December (fueled by demand in major cities), with the average wage growing to $27/hour.
• Line standers are usually booked a few days in advance, though some last-minute, same-day requests do happen. Most jobs require arriving early in the morning to secure a prime spot or waiting outside in inclement weather.
• The demand for line standers has blown up so much that some have launched companies, like Skip The Line, with rosters of line-waiting professionals.
• Hilariously, that’s led to some lines being inundated with mercenary line standers, who’ve toyed with sabotage tactics and aggressive skipping to get further up the queue.

Last Minute: The rise of line-standing services raises some age-old questions: “What’s more valuable: time or money? And does having more money buy you more time?” Heady questions for something as simple as waiting for a new iPhone. But the demand to save time has launched a market of services, such as membership club LineLeap, online marketplace Appointment Trader, and rewards tied to Amex cards.

But there’s a flip side to the wait economy: to preserve the integrity of some events, a few places even actively bar any service that allows people to skip the line… leaving admission to those willing to endure boredom.

Fun Fact: For pro line standers, the richest gig is waiting to get into a Supreme Court hearing. Only 50 people are allowed in, so people sometimes line up for days to score entry. Now that’s a payday.