Okay, it’s not really a scandal (at least not yet), but I wanted something catchy.
Ever the helpful neighbors, we bought a box of Girl Scout Cookies the other day. Actually, we bought ’em a few weeks ago, but they were delivered the other day. Cost? $3.50. Pretty pricey for a box of cookies, thought I. Then I opened them.
There were 15 – fifteen! – cookies in the box. The entire box. That works out to more than $0.23 per cookie. Now it’s not an issue of donating to the group. Had they simply asked for a donation, we’d probably give them one. But what a rip-off. Fifteen reasonable-quality cookies, for $0.23 each?
Comments
61 responses to “Girl Scout Cookie Scandal”
Don’t know about you all, but the amount of money raised when I buy cookies is far, far more than what I would have given them if they just came up and asked for a donation.
Also, having been both a Brownie and a Cadet Scout, I can tell you that participating in this program, whether it is going out and selling or working behind the scenes in collections and marketing, the girls learn valuable lessons which they can/do apply in real life. GO SCOUTS — BRING ON THE COOKIES!!!
GIRL SCOUT COOKIES ARE A RIPOFF.
They now charge $4.00 per box, and guess what? The actual Girl Scout troop only gets to keep 25 cents out of that $4.00.
THAT’S RIGHT – ONLY $0.25 !!!!
These little girls (mine included) are pressured to sell cookies to support the fat cats at GSA. I’ve been offering the girls that come to my house $5.00 cash (20 BOXES WORTH OF PROFIT), but according to the mom, THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ACCEPT DONATIONS TO THE TROOP BECAUSE IT BYPASSES THE GSA.
It’s a load of crap. Child labor laws or something should come into play here. It’s ridiculous.
My girlscout cookies cost $4.00 per box. They were peanut butter ones. They were burned. I threw them in the trash.
For your information 5 varieties of the Girl Scout cookies are in the top 16 selling cookies in the country and that’s without selling year round. They must be doing something right. In our council we are very straight forward about where the money goes – it’s printed on the back of the receipts our girls give out upon order. It’s simple – if you don’t feel you’re getting a good deal, don’t buy the cookies. By the way, all troops will gladly accept donations if you’re so inclined. In fact, some troops even turn around and donate to other causes with their troop earnings. For those of you who say you would rather donate to the troop directly put your money where your mouth is. As for me, I’m going to sign off and go open up my box of thin mints!
A very good point is being shouted down by rabid Girl Scout leaders. Where is the money going? According to an article I read earlier quoting last year’s figures, at $3.00 per box the troop gets 50 cents, the bakery gets 81 cents, and $1.69 goes back to the Council. Yes, that’s right: the troops get only about 16% of total sales and only about 26% of the pure profits. The rest goes to the Council for meetings, admin costs, etc – understandable needs BUT why do they need so much more money than, say, the Boy Scouts? I’m sure they charge membership fees just like the BSA, and charge for patches/uniforms, events, etc. just like the BSA yet the BSA doesn’t do this massive fundraiser and still has enough money to do what they have to. So why is the Council taking such a big cut? And am I wrong about the BSA? Do they get extra funding the GSA doesn’t? I’m genuinely curious, not trying to start a flamewar. I think people should be able to ask these questions without getting the knee-jerk “YOU HATE THE GIRL SCOUTS HOW DARE YOU CRITICIZE US” reaction. Plus I think the girls deserve to know why their troop’s cut is so small.
just wanted to let you all know that each troop only gets $0.60 to $0.70 a box profit…
Actually the Girl Scouts make little to no money off those cookies. Neither do the boy scouts. The money goes to the main groups to pay salaries and the like. I never let my scouts sell those items. We only do fund raisers that give a good amount back to the troops.
donate and write off if it’s a really big issue. I personally think it’s no harm no foul. It’s all in the spirit of giving. Just like with anything…don’t do anything or give anything if it’s not out of the kindness of your heart. ” God loves a cheerful giver.”
I have to wonder how much the little first graders are actually learning with the cookie sales. My step-daughter sold a lot of cookies…or rather, she had her family sell the cookies. She can’t even add the cost of two boxes, much less collect the money and give change. What we are teaching the little ones is to “manage” the parents to generate sales, so the Brownie (and her troop) gets a little money to spend on….toys and pizza. Now, a Junior may very well learn about marketing and the like. Brownies, though, no way.
The Girl Scouts sell cookies as a way to raise funds for the community, the troop and the council. Service Unit 14 supports 5 Girl Scout Camps on cookie money alone! Also , the $.60 per box that goes to the troops is used for trips, patches and quite a few other activities. The cookies are delicious, you can only get them once a year and its for a great cause, how can you go wrong?