Viral Apple store employee auctions ID card because of his ironic name

Sam Struan with his Apple employee gear.
(Image credit: Sam Struan)

You often hear both Apple and Samsung in the same sentence when you're comparing products, but you don't often hear about a Sam Sung who works for Apple.

Sam Sung — who has since changed his name to Sam Struan — was an Apple Specialist at the Apple Store in Vancouver, Canada. He went viral when a picture of his Apple ID badge with his ironic name hit the internet. Later (after he no longer worked for the company), he sold that ID badge for north of $2,500 and donated the proceeds to the Children's Wish Foundation of BC and Yukon. Well, Sam Struan is up to his old tricks again.

Before moving to Canada, Struan worked for an Apple Store in Glasgow, Scotland, and in an interview with STV News, Struan said that he thought his Scottish ID badge was lost. Struan said one of his family members found it recently and "given the unexpected success I had a few years ago, I thought I would try my luck one more time and bring some funds and awareness to another great cause."

That's right, he's auctioning off his Apple ID badge from his time working as an Apple Specialist at 147 Buchanan Street in Glasgow. It has his old surname, just like the Canadian one did, showing that Sam Sung really did work at the Apple Store.

Proceeds going to charity

There are still a few hours left to bid on the collector's item, which includes the ID badge, an Apple employee T-shirt, and a lanyard that Struan used while he worked at the store. Struan seemingly wanted to make it look good, saying, “I had it custom-framed alongside an Apple employee T-shirt and my last lanyard, which I had kept as a memento.”

The eBay listing for the auction is still going and, at the time of publishing, has close to $1,000. All auction proceeds will go to the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre in Vancouver. 

Luke Filipowicz
Staff Writer

Luke Filipowicz has been a writer at iMore, covering Apple for nearly a decade now. He writes a lot about Apple Watch and iPad but covers the iPhone and Mac as well. He often describes himself as an "Apple user on a budget" and firmly believes that great technology can be affordable if you know where to look. Luke also heads up the iMore Show — a weekly podcast focusing on Apple news, rumors, and products but likes to have some fun along the way. 

Luke knows he spends more time on Twitter than he probably should, so feel free to follow him or give him a shout on social media @LukeFilipowicz.