Time is literally money when you’re a professional line stander

If you’re wealthy enough, it turns out you don’t even have to wait in line. And we’re not talking about line-cutting services, but actually paying someone else to stand in line for you. 

At a recent sample sale at NYC’s The Row, some line-standers were paid up to $800 to camp out overnight to secure a spot for shoppers hoping to score deep discounts on luxury goods, per The Wall Street Journal. 

Robert Samuel, founder of Same Ole Line Dudes, told the WSJ that sample sales for high-end fashion brands, which typically take place in autumn, is the company’s Super Bowl, requiring him to double his 35-person staff.

At The Row’s sale, 61 of his employees made up the first 80 spots in the queue. Those clients paid $25/hour.

How it works

Well, it’s pretty simple. Clients fork over the cash and line-standers wait. They can be found working for line-standing companies or on gig platforms like Taskrabbit. 

If allowed, they bring tarps, tents, gaming consoles, portable TVs, and more to stay warm and keep busy, and many recognize each other from various gigs around town. 

Meanwhile, clients apparently see it as money well spent, seeing as how paying a few hundred dollars for a prime spot in line can net them a hard-to-secure reservation or ticket, or thousands in savings on deeply discounted luxury items.

Line standing isn’t new…

… but it hasn’t always been for luxury items and exclusive sneaker drops. 

“Stacz kolejkowy" (line stander) became a profession in Communist-era Poland due to shortages of consumer goods. There is even a Polish board game about waiting in lines. 

In the US, the practice has long been common in politics, with line standers attempting to secure seats for lobbyists and others who want to attend hearings or debates. 

• One DC-area company, Washington Express, claims 40+ years of experience and charges $60 per hour at a three-hour minimum.
• Skip the Line founder Jennifer Goff charges $30 to $40 per hour and told Business Insider that SCOTUS hearings are her best-paying gigs, with clients sometimes booking teams, who work in shifts, 24 to 36 hours in advance.

Now, however, with everything from reservations and tickets to sample sales and pop-ups requiring hours of waiting, it is a gig on the rise.

• Taskrabbit bookings for line standers rose 18% from the end of 2023 to the end of 2024, per BI, with average rates at $27/hour. 

And while it may sound like easy money, that’s not always the case.

One line-stander, who told BI that she charges $20/hour, got in line for a limited-engagement Broadway musical at 6am. It was in NYC and so cold, she couldn’t feel her face or hands despite wearing two coats, two hats, and two pairs of gloves.