iQueue
by Ryan Knapp
The Apple iPhone is this summer's must-have gadget, and lines began forming across the country four days early for the chance to grab one of the first available. iPhones sell for about $500, and if you hope to get one early, you may have to queue up for days just for the privilege.
Paradoxically, the type of people who are willing and able to spend $500 on the iPhone are also likely to have high-paying jobs that make it difficult to take an entire week off to wait in line. Fortunately for gainfully employed iPhone seekers, summer has brought with it a surplus of young people looking to earn a bit of extra money.
Ads are popping up all over Craigslist for so-called "professional waiters" who, for a fee, will line up to buy you an iPhone. The going wait rate is currently around $250 in New York and $200 in San Francisco. Lines are now full of people donning "iWait" shirts to show off their newfound occupation.
While the iPhone scene is replete with interesting economics, perhaps the most interesting phenomenon is the group of people who choose to bear the cold nights themselves rather than pay an iWaiter. With an ample supply of "low-skilled" workers fit for the job, many still choose to do the waiting themselves. Why would someone prefer to spend his or her own valuable time waiting in line when they could pay someone else who, by virtue of their offer, almost certainly has a lower opportunity cost?
Discussion Questions
1. What factors determine a person’s opportunity cost of waiting in line to buy an iPhone?
2. What benefits might people reap from waiting in line? (Maybe they enjoy the camaraderie? Perhaps they are "purchasing" a good story to tell at parties?)
3. All transactions involve an element of risk. Contracts, social norms, property rights, insurance, and consumer protection laws can help to mitigate transaction risks and facilitate trade, but waiting in line to buy an iPhone is a fairly informal transaction. What risks do line waiters assume? What risks do the people paying line waiters assume? Search for some iPhone line waiting listings on the Craigslist site for the San Francisco area. In what ways do iWaiters attempt to mitigate transactions risks?
4. If people are willing to pay upwards of $700 ($500 cash, $200 for a waiter) for an iPhone, why doesn't Apple raise the price?
Financial Times economics reporter Tim Harford addressed a similar question about the Xbox 360 shortage of 2005 here and here.
Labels: Opportunity Cost
18 comments:
I had no idea that professional waiters actually existed. I think I should just become one of them and forget about school :) But to answer number 2...the personal benefits consumers of the iPhone recieve could be just a good story to tell one day, however, maybe they do not have the extra money to spend on a waiter and just saved up enough for the phone itself, or they truly do not mind waiting because good things come to those who wait!
Yeah me two, school is for fools! Im becoming a cell phone waiter! No but seriuosly, has our media spoon fed generation become that rediculous(probably spelled that wrong)? You are paying almost half of what the phone cost for someone to stand in line to buy the peice of junk for you. Are we in such a rush to by the new phone because our Razor has become obsolete? Really? How long do you think until Motorola, or Apple comes out with another phone with better gadgets and "bells and whistles"? At the current production rate, by the time most technologies hit the shelf, it has been already replaced by better software that was underdelopement while the original was being finished. Speak to someone who works for a software company, they'll tell you the truth. You know I would understand if this phone could like say, cure cancer, by all means, but the dang thing is just another peice of American vanity that we would all be better without. $500...$500, I dont know about ya'll, but $500 is an insane amount of money, and to spend it on a phone is beyond me. Whatever, what do I know?
I think it is stupid for people to wait in line for an Iphone on the first day. The reason for that is because whats point of waiting when it will always be there another day. Also whats the point of paying $500 for a phone when you can go to target and get it for $29.99. Also if I'm going to wait in line phone it better be able to do anything I wanted it to do. For example it better have a video phone feature so I can see who I'am talking to. But for real I would probably wait in line for the phone because I would get to miss school.
I think that being a professional waiter is pretty ingeniuos. People decide to make a small profit the simple task of waiting inline. They profiting off of others people's laziness. What is wrong with that? If people can make money off of babysitting or walking someone else's dog then why make fun waiting inline. Waiting in line for $200 is not a bad deal. I don't see anything wrong with it. We do live in a contry full drive thrus, fastfood and sparknotes. Might as well cash in on our country's growing laziness.
Well, the enterprising attitude of these "young people" is certainly admirable, but I must say the whole iPhone craze simple reflects the country's childish and materialistic priorities. One rarely hears a single word from the media when new medical technologies are developed (except when something goes wrong), even for treating high-profile diseases such as cancer. Which technology is more important, yet which receives the months of media buzz and advertisements? Not to mention the iPhone's exorbitant price that will probably start going down only when the technology becomes obsolete and replaced with something "better." Since there is such a high demand for the iPhone, Apple could probably raise the price and still sell, but they would probably themselves be ashamed (I hope) of any higher prices. After all, they must cater to consumer's "needs" and save face enough to keep their stranglehold on America's hearts and brains.
Professional waiters seem like a such a perfect job for the society we live in today. Many Americans are lazy and it is not much of a surprise that someone, willing and able to spend $500 dollars on a cell phone, would also pay $200 for someone to wait in line for them. To stand in line in order to have one of the first iPhones may be a thrill to many, but not everyone. These "waiters" give the wealthy, impatient people of our society an opportunity to have what they want, without the stress and time that is required to get the job done.
mmk so this is what the world has become. People paying others quite a large sum to wait in line for them, for a gadget that probaly has more kinks then a tangled piece of rope, since it is a first generation. Also those who take time out of there busy scuedle to stand in line for this phone is absolute craziness. There are many better things that could be done with you time than this.
Many people think that people paying the waiters to wait in line for them is just being lazy, and while that does play a part, it is also because of the fact that they have jobs, and not only can they not miss work to wait in line, but why would you want to wait if you could pay somebody? I know that if I had the money to pay somebody to wait in line for me, then I would definitely do it, but seeing as how I wouldn't buy an iPhone even if I had the money (mainly because of the fact i have a video iPod and i have little use for an iPhone), I don't have to worry about that. Like I said, the people who hire these waiters are smart, in my opinion.
There are so many reasons why it is benefical to wait in line for your own i phone. The most obvious is that you do not have to pay an extra $250 for your iphone. Has society really came down to the fact that time is mere added luxury to life (which is too pricey to pay.) I find it completely astonishing how free time in society is slowly but surely diminishing.
So i just wrote an entire commet and my compter froze, so this one isn't going to be as in depth. What i was saying was that along with some other people who commented, i'd be waiter..maybe. It really doesn't surprise me that people are actually paying off others to wait in line for them. When in less than a year it will fall apart or a new, improved and probably cheaper version of the phone will be on the market in which the wealthy will just hire another waiter. There is a risk involved, the buyer is entrusting their money, time and effort to this "iwaiter" to bring them a phone. While the waiter gives up their time to wait in line for someone else. On the other hand the waiter gets paid to stand around and talk to people... it doesn't seem too bad, just depends on what you think is more valuable, the abilty to give up some time and do your own stuff or pay someone to do it for you and risk it...i'd personally wait in like for someone else..then buy my own with the money i get.. :)
Oh, man! That reminds me of the day i waited in line for the Wii. There were three 'waiters' in front of me. They were horribly stinky (rancid cheeses/ sour). Behind me, there were almost 100 kids (like me) anticipating the second they acquire the majestic box that beholds the Wii. Anyway, the homeless people fell asleep on the blanket i brought, and they were doing things that have scared me for eternity. It's incredible that individuals (like that) get paid to sit around nice department stores, giving them negative images.
It's pretty hilarious that someone could be lazy enough to spend extra money just to have someone wait in a line for them. I agree with Titi in that at every turn our country seems to find more and more ways to become lazy. This also shows that people are simply throwing their money away on things that could simply be done by themselves if given a little more effort, such as mowing the lawn or something of that sort. But, at the same time, this is a postive thing in that it does provide good money for people that are willing to spend their time in a line or simply do not feel like being emplyed in a natural way.
Also, I agree with Kelly. I think that $500 is a crazy amount to spend on a phone, but it's still pretty cool regardless : ).
Ohhh and by the way just for a fun little story, my brother and his friend actually drove by one of the phone stores when the iPhone was being sold and threw water balloons at people waiting in line.. it was pretty funny until the cops showed up at our house later that day haha.. the end.
So. I think I might quit school, move to San Francisco, and offer my services as a professional Line Waiter. JUST KIDDING. Lame. I couldn't stand there for that long.
So, the people who are waiting in line are being paid upwards of $200 to buy a $500 dollar "phone." Why would anyone do that? I can't imagine ever meeting my best friend in a line to buy a gadget for someone else at 6 am (after spending the previous 12-24 hours waiting in said line). Also, I definitely would never tell people that I took money to buy some rich guy an iPhone. Not only would that make me look like the lamest person in the world, but it also says a lot about self-worth.
People are very lucky that Apple hasn't raised prices on this little sucker. If they were smart, they would because, of course, there will always be someone to buy the freakin' thing. You know those guys--the ones that must always be the first to get the latest in technology so they can show off their new toy to everyone. The tech market is pretty much guarenteed customers, and if the prices are high, it's alright that there aren't that many buyers. They'd probably generate the same amount of revenue if they raised or lowered prices.
I have to say that I have seen an actual iPhone, and it IS really cool. Lots of "bells and whistles" (Kelly!). But someone pointed something out to me. If you keep your phone numbers, e-mail, music, pictures, and the rest of your life on this little phone, what happens if you lose it? All of that is gone, baby, gone. Just thought I'd point that out.
mm this is akward. buut Maybe people who are professional waiters have good friends that are professional waiters and they can all go wait in line together so its fun for them.
Also I think the people that are usually buying iPhones did not just save up $500 to buy the phone, because if they did good luck paying the outrageous phone bill that comes every month! Most people buying the iPhone are wealthy and can afford to pay someone to wait in line for them so they can work or do whatever else they would like!
Well, young people seem to always be coming up with new ideas to make money and this is no different. I don't seem to understand why you would pay someone that kind of money to stand in line for you. it just shows how lazy our society has become and willing we are to spend money on ridiculous ideas. Why is it that we always have to be the first to have everything? Why can"t we wait two weeks and then buy it? I don't think I'd be willing to spend that kind of money for someone to wait in line for me, of course, I wouldn"t spend 500 dollars on a phone.
I for one would never pay this much for a cell phone, nor can I imagine anybody who would, but one thing I do see is that if people are splurging $500, why wouldn''t they be able and willing to pay a couple hundred more to have it just magically appear in their hands? Not only do they get to show off their new amazing phones, they get the bragging rights to the fact that they didn't even have to wait in line for it. Maybe I'm just looking at the glass as half full, but i don't see what's so bad about being a professional waiter. I mean, if all you have to do is wait in line for $200, you have a new story to tell and you're $200 richer than before. It seems to me that the people paying these waiters are the ones being had, when they could have waited themselves. They've lost $200, simply because they "didn't have time"; however, it is a little obvious that someone willing to pay around $700 on some phone with a youtube connection, is most likely a wee bit spoiled, so if they're willing to, why not just let them spoil themselves a little more? =)
1. People who make the kind of money to afford an iPhone generally have very time-consuming jobs, and taking time off those jobs to wait in like for an iPhone is probably the biggest opportunity cost for them.
2. Those that chose to wait in line themselves when the iPhones first went on the market most likely did so because there were no iWaiters at the time, and many would probably still wait in line for the experience and the stories that they could tell others on their new iPhone.
3. The biggest reason for why people choose to wait in line during what little free time they probably have is that iWaiting isn't an official business, and people are probably too cautious to give someone (who won't even get a stable job) $200-250 to buy them a $500 phone, when the waiter might just walk off with it. I doubt it hasn't happened before, and stories of iWaiters cheating people on their money would only raise suspicions of honest ones. Even if an iWaiter agrees to buy a phone before he or she is paid, the waiter first needs to have $500, which could be hard for someone without a stable job, and then they're still at risk of having a client that either changes their mind, or just has them spend $500 just to cause chaos in their lives. Because of the risk that both iWaiters and their clients expose themselves to, it's obvious why this isn't a very well-known occupation, and it probably never will be.
4. Apple won't raise the price because most people don't even want to spend $500 on an iPhone, much less $700. Nobody here has even heard of iWaiters, and I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of Americans are as clueless as us. The iPhone hype is dying down, and Apple will have to lower the price once they have more in stock and iPhones become more widely-used. If the original price had been $700, then I doubt it would have changed how fast they sold, and Apple is definitely aware of that, but it's too late to raise the price now.
Well I personally would not mind having an iphone at all b/c my phone sucks. But waiting in line for the thing is just stupid there will be other opportunities to get one, not just that day or the next. Ihave to agree with Amanda about how attatched people are to materialistic things; there is so much more going on that never gets much attention and here we are paying more attention to a stupid gadget than to more important technological advances. I would never get a $500 dollar phone. As for the proffesional waiters, go on ahead, make some money why not?
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