SYDNEY — Australians are being offered cash by individuals who have no time to queue and get their hands on the latest Apple smartphone the iPhone 7.
News Corp reported on Thursday that 16-year-old Marcus Barsoum who is currently first in line to receive the new iPhone 7 in Sydney has been bombarded with as much as 1,800 U.S. dollars to give his seat up.
The teenager who has been camping outside the city’s flagship store with four of his friends for more than 30 hours said the offer was made to one of his friend’s in which they had promptly refused.
“One of our friends said he was offered 2,500 Australian dollars (1, 800 U.S. dollars) for the seat, but there is no way we are going to sell,” Barsoum said.
“We arrived here at 1000 local time (AEST) on Wednesday morning and have been here ever since, with each of us taking turns to leave.”
“I have already left twice to do an exam at school, but then quickly made my way back here,” he said.
Barsoum is no stranger to lining up for the iPhone launch, having been among the first 10 people to score the iPhone 6S last year and the 13th person to secure the iPhone 6 the year before.
“I wanted to make 100 percent sure I was the first in line this year, so that’s why we got here so early,” he said.
The self-confessed Apple fan boy said he wasn’t overwhelmed when the tech giant unveiled the new iPhone last week, but this wasn’t going to stop him from being the first person to get his hands on the device.
Meanwhile, Business Insider Australia reports that international students have been offered as much as 150 U.S. dollars to queue in on behalf of others who were interested to get the device as soon as it hit the market.
Gergely Marton, a University of Technology Sydney business and engineering student, has lined up for the said sum.
“If I need a bathroom or meal break, the (person who commissioned the job) works in the city so will come and hold my place in the line,” Marton said.
A spokesperson for Airtasker, the company who commissioned the jobs to individuals like Marton, said that 150 U.S. dollars seemed to be the going rate to successfully get someone to line up for the iPhone 7.
This compares to the 100 U.S. dollar mark that was paid out for the same task during the iPhone 6 launch two years ago, Airtasker said.
In Australia, the iPhone 7 starts at 1,269 Australian dollars (950 U.S. dollars) and will be available from Friday onwards.
