Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
No. The point is not for the girls to sell them, but to make MONEY.
You should see the popcorn they wanted us to sell for cub scouts. Ridiculous! $40 for popcorn. Of course, the scouts got 70%, but I'd rather just ask all my friends for $5 than sell that crap. And it even said on the paperwork to have your kid sell in his uniform because he'd be harder to refuse.
I didn't sell any popcorn and I think they were rather disappointed.....
Ha! Yeah I had one of my cub scout neighbors come by to sell. He said, "Excuse me sir. Would you like to buy some popcorn?" <----Now how can I turn that down. Without even looking at the product list and prices I said, "Well heck yeah!" He smiled and handed me the list.....I was shocked at the high end popcorn they're selling these days! Even the cheapest stuff was like $15/box for the plain old buttered popcorn. So that's what I got.
My daughter sold 648 boxes of cookies last year. ON HER OWN. I will drive her, I will set at cookie booths (like in front of stores) I will hawk cookies like no tomorrow...with her there. I do not sell them for myself. But I will say, she paid for her way to Girl Scout camp totally on her own. That is very satisfying for a 10 year old when her 14 year old sister had to WORK FOR ME...... to get the money to go, cause she didn't sell enough cookies.
That is the point, they are a fundraiser. As such, you would hope that the parents do understand the cookie program well enough to understand that it isn't just about prizes. It is about teaching them how to market themselves and their product. How to set and meet goals. How to budget your earnings so you will have enough to do what you want to do in the next year. Mainly it comes down to who gets the biggest prize with most people.
Ha! Yeah I had one of my cub scout neighbors come by to sell. He said, "Excuse me sir. Would you like to buy some popcorn?" <----Now how can I turn that down. Without even looking at the product list and prices I said, "Well heck yeah!" He smiled and handed me the list.....I was shocked at the high end popcorn they're selling these days! Even the cheapest stuff was like $15/box for the plain old buttered popcorn. So that's what I got.
Lol! You actually bought it! I know exactly the one you are talking about, but I think it was $17 for 15 microwave pkgs. Ridiculous!
I didn't even buy something from my own kid.
It's my own little silent protest against these asinine fundraisers.
The only one I'll participate in is the gift card fundraiser, Scrip.
There are hundreds of restaurants, stores, grocery stores, online retailers gift cards available, and next to it they state what percentage the PTO will get. I think L.L. Bean and Land's End are highest, with like 25%, but many are around 8 or 9%.
I just sent in an order with about $500 and the PTO will get $53. And I am getting $500 worth of merchandise, some of which will be gifts, some will be used in my regular household shopping. That is a fundraiser I can deal with.
Not one selling ice cube trays for $10 or popcorn for $40. It's bull$hit if you ask me.
There was a school district somewhere (my wife was telling me about it) where the parents had the option of their kids not participating in fundraisers if they made a one-time contribution to the school of $50. It's too bad my kids don't go to that school because I get so tired of them bringing home fundraising crap. We've already had like three different ones this year. gah....
Why is it never the Girl Scouts selling these, but instead it's always their parents trying to sell them at their places of employment? Mass emails, signs, parents walking into my office trying to make a sale...
Isn't the point of the whole thing that it is supposed to be the KIDS that sell these, and not the moms and dads? Not only that, they're not even that great a cookie...could get just as good at the grocery for half the price, and not have to wait.
You're out of your mind. I buy six boxes of Thin Mints and the Samoas every year. Whenever February rolls around I look for the stand with the Girl Scouts at the Wal-Mart and buy from them.
They actually sell them outside the grocery stores here. Kids and moms together. Whatever, I don't care who's selling, if they have Thin Mints, I'm buying!
Careful, Bean and CPG. Your addictions are showing.
I always buy from the girls' stands at the grocery store, too. They used to come by my house, but my dog has permanently scared them away. I'm sure that's for the best.
Competition on who can earn more badges and the most dollar tree store stuff! The parents are the ones competing as if they are competing against each other. We no longer sell the cookies door to door. I make my daughter work every cookie sale booth our troop puts on and that is how she earns her badges.
Last year, I had an actual girl scout knock on my door. She had a red wagon filled with boxes of cookies and her mom following behind her. I was shocked. She was so adorable-maybe 8 years old or so. I thought I would have to place my order (figured the wagon was just samples) and wait for them to come in, but again to my shock, I gave her my money and I got my cookies right there.
Hmmm... must've been a leader's kid whose mom had accidentally ordered too many cookies for a cookie booth. That just isn't done anymore!
As a leader, I will be hawking these myself this year. I can't afford to continue shelling out $$ like there's no tomorrow anymore, so the troop needs funds. I can't go to the parents, because then I get the "but I'm a single parent" refrain... like because I'm married I should personally support EVERY child that wants to do Scouts?! The last time I sent home an "invoice" for the $20 in patches that each girl earned I got major guilt trips. I didn't give in this time though... I let the parents know that the uniform is optional and that I can award their girls on paper if they couldn't afford the patches. Or they could fill out this paperwork and prove to the council that they can't afford it... They all ended up paying.
So, GS cookies to me mean craft money and funds to go places with the girls and buy them patches. After all, GS wouldn't be as much fun for my daughter if it were just her and I.
My ds is in Cub Scouts and the popcorn stuff cheeses me off too... $3.50 a box for cookies. I can do that. But we buy microwave popcorn for $15 a pop (no pun intended) from my son and we still have some left from last year. The prices are so ridiculous... I wish they would come up with something I could get behind!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So that's what I got.
