The iPhone Duo went on sale on Friday, 23 October, and the queues outside Apple Stores formed well before sunrise. Not everyone in them was there for their own phone. With Apple calling demand “extraordinary” and walk-in stock tight, plenty of Aussies decided they’d rather pay someone else to do the waiting.
On Airtasker, Posters asked Taskers to get in the queue hours before opening. One wanted a Tasker in line at 1 am and holding their spot until 7:30 am, and offered $400 for it. Another set aside $150 to have someone save their place.
Sydney led the way. A Poster in the Eastern Suburbs offered $350 for someone to queue overnight at Apple Bondi Junction, while another in the CBD put up $250 to hold a spot in the George Street launch line.
“One person’s idea of a nightmare of standing in a queue for hours is someone else’s opportunity to make a few hundred dollars! That’s the beauty of Airtasker. People are constantly coming up with new ways to save time and make money,” said Tim Fung, CEO and Founder of Airtasker.
We’ve done this before
“Paying someone to queue is nothing new on Airtasker. In fact, one of our earliest tasks involved someone lining up for an Apple product launch,” added Mr Fung.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve seen people paying someone to queue for an Apple product. In 2012, we had a Tasker spend five days outside an Apple Store waiting for a new iPad for someone keen to get their hands on it.”
Later that year, when the iPhone 5 launched, Airtasker offered to hold your spot outside Apple Stores in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth for $50.
It isn’t only phones. In late 2023, a Sydney hairdresser who couldn’t leave her salon on a busy Saturday paid a Tasker $280 to queue at the Pistachio Papi pop-up in Botany. On a rainy day, the Tasker waited nearly two hours, then delivered the pastries straight to the salon in Enmore. Aussies have also paid Taskers to queue for a Cinnabon launch, Lune croissants and the virtual queue for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour tickets.
Holding someone’s place in a queue is still a classic Airtasker task. If you want to skip the next big queue, you can find a Tasker to hold your place. If you’ve got an early alarm and a camping chair, browse live queuing tasks and get paid for someone else’s wait.
About Airtasker
Airtasker is a trusted community marketplace that connects people who need work done with people who want to work, with its mission being to empower people to realise the full value of their skills. People and businesses can simply post a task and then choose from rated, verified and reviewed people ready to work straight away. Founded in 2012, Airtasker has grown to support more than 10 million people in the Airtasker community across Australia, UK and US, with nearly 40,000 monthly active Taskers.
Airtasker is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
