Get click quick scheme: How 'flipping' Instagram handles is big business - with ... trends now
Instagram accounts are selling for up to $55,000 and come with millions of followers.
Those looking to get Insta-famous are placing bids on the handles, with hopes of taking over the name and revealing in the glory.
People also purchase and 'flip' accounts by growing the number of followers to increase the value before re-selling it for double the original purchase price.
A similar account exchange occurred when Katherine Asplundh, who recently married a billionaire, attempted to bully a woman, Kate, into selling her account but she pushed back, telling the newly wed that she could be banned from the platform.
Instagram accounts are selling for tens of thousands of dollars on marketplace websites (pictured)
Katherine Asplundh (pictured) attempted to bully a woman into selling her Instagram handle
Users can release their username to another person for free by changing their handle, but accepting payment of any kind is not allowed.
Despite Instagram's Terms and Conditions prohibiting the sale of accounts, users have continued to sell their handles for thousands of dollars.
Marketplace websites like Social Tradia that allows people to sell not just their username, but their full platform - followers included - make it easy to exchange accounts.
People who have started a business are looking for established Instagram accounts.
A Reddit user shared they have a business and are looking for an account with at least 1,000 followers to help them get off their feet.
But other individuals may be looking for handles to conduct cybercrimes, as another Redditor posted: 'I would like to buy 10-15 accounts that have normal amount of followers (in the range of 100-300).
'This won't be for marketing purposes, i just need the accounts to look like they belong to regular people.'
Social Tradia shows how many bids have been places for specific accounts, but it is unclear if that is simply a marketing tool.
Similar to a website listing houses, the site shows numerous business and marketing accounts that include a photo, the number of followers, the original listing price, and whether the price
