Behind the Queues at Antam Boutiques, Jastiper Services Hunt for Gold for Up to Three Consecutive Days

Long queues at the official boutiques of PT Aneka Tambang Tbk, or Antam, are no longer a seasonal sight. In recent times, this phenomenon has given rise to a new profession among urban dwellers: jasa titip (jastip) services for gold. Behind the bustling purchases of precious metals, jastiper (jastip providers) are willing to arrive from early morning and return for up to three consecutive days to meet customer orders. This trend reflects a new dynamic in retail gold consumption, where limitations in time, access, and stock are shaping increasingly complex transaction patterns. Shila (27), a resident of East Jakarta, is one of the jastip gold providers who has experienced this dynamic firsthand at the Antam Gold Boutique on Simatupang in South Jakarta. She claims to have started the service in mid-2024, initially helping office friends. “It started with just helping friends. They said they were too lazy to queue, it’s tiring, and you might not even get any. Gradually, more people asked me to do it,” Shila said when contacted by Kompas.com via Instagram on Monday (20/4/2026). Demand, according to her, tends to increase when gold prices are falling or stable. In such conditions, buyers usually hunt for small-sized gold, from 1 gram to 5 grams, as gradual investments. However, limited stock makes the purchasing process not always smooth. “You can’t buy a lot at once. Sometimes we have to come for up to three consecutive days to fulfil the orders,” she said. This situation turns jastip activities into more than just “proxy buying”; it also relies on physical endurance and time. Jastiper must adjust strategies, from arriving earlier to monitoring stock distribution patterns at the boutique. To avoid unilateral cancellations, Shila requires a down payment (DP) as a transaction condition. The profits obtained are not as large as public perception. Shila emphasises that the main margin comes from queuing service fees, not gold price differences. “At most, I take Rp50,000 to Rp80,000 per piece. If it’s difficult, it can be Rp100,000,” she said. Overall, the net income earned ranges from Rp2 million to Rp3 million per month when demand is high. However, this figure can drop drastically when stock is limited. Kiki (25), who started jastip in early 2025, experiences something similar. She sees opportunities from the many people who want to buy gold but lack time to queue. “When it’s busy, you have to come very early. By afternoon, it’s usually sold out, especially the small grams,” Kiki said when contacted on Monday.