Apple byte: Grey marketers queue up

When Apple Inc releases a product, the store lines are typically led by fanboys clamoring to be first to get the latest gadget. However, the gray market was the first to reach a downtown San Francisco store, for the iPad 2 debut.

Dennis Ng, 20, said he was being paid $10 an hour to arrive before 5 am on the day Apple began selling the device at its stores. He said he was in a group of about 35, mostly Chinese, immigrants at the front of the line, waiting to buy the iPad for somebody else. Resales of new electronics in countries where they’re not yet available feed the so-called gray market.

“I’m here waiting in line because I want to make some money,” said Ng, who lives in San Francisco and works at a clothing store. He wouldn’t identify who hired him. “Many of the Chinese immigrants you see here need work and money. So, they go through this associate group for side jobs and this is the one we found.”