That is why I would not order through my friend. Doing for kids teaches them nothing.tanstaafl2 wrote:Do girls scouts still sell cookies? Mostly what I see is the parents selling them for them.
I don't buy any when I see that. So mostly I don't buy any.
Cookies are cheaper in these parts - $3.50 a box.PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:The girls selling the cookies usually get about 15% of the profits, so on a $4.00 box of cookies, our troop received $.60. The actual cost of the cookies was about $2.25, so the local and national councils got the rest.ne1410s wrote:psm:Hey, maybe you can answer this. I heard that the GSoA get 10% of the selling price of GS Cookies. Is there any truth to this? Thanks.When I was the cookie manager of the girls' troops,
The amount that the council gets compared to the troop really upset me. The girls put in a lot of work selling and it always bugged me when we had to send most of the money to council.
That is a great thing to teach her - not just as a selling tool either - as a way to be with customers.PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:Jeff sold some for the girls, but mostly my kids went door to door. Maddie was the only Girl Scout in the neighborhood for a while and really was able to sell a lot. She had a lot of repeat business because she wrote thank you notes to her customers and told them what the profits would be used for.tanstaafl2 wrote:Do girls scouts still sell cookies? Mostly what I see is the parents selling them for them.
I don't buy any when I see that. So mostly I don't buy any.
Good thing these moms did not talk to me.moonie wrote:Although we had already ordered 4 boxes from our neighbor up the street (actually, her mother called and asked us), I bought another box from another MOM, while her daughter was playing soccer.
At least when my girls sold, I took them house to house and waited at the curb while they went up the driveway to the door and rang it.
Another MOM sold many boxes last year by emailing all her friends and getting orders that way. The kid didnt do much of the selling.
I love that idea!SportsFan68 wrote:Mostly around here the girls sell to their parents' co-workers. SteelersFan is under strict orders to buy only the mints, and I don't buy any. My boss would probably choke before he ate a GS cookie, being a fitness nut, but he buys them anyway to help the girls. I suspect the cookies end up at the homeless shelter.tanstaafl2 wrote:Do girls scouts still sell cookies? Mostly what I see is the parents selling them for them.
I don't buy any when I see that. So mostly I don't buy any.
I too deplore how little stays to help the local girls. The daughter of one of my favorite former co-workers was selling cookie dough or something to raise funds for a 4-H trip, and I gave her $10 with the proviso that I didn't have to take the item. That way ALL the money went to the trip, none to the cookie dough maker and none to the 4-H hierarchy.
Pea is right, for the most part the girls are terrible at selling, unless they've got somebody like PSM to coach them.
So if I offered a $1 donation in lieu of buying the cookies, it would be win-win for myself and the local troop, right? [Amounts open to adjustment, pending the discussion on profit margins I see later in this thread.]PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote: The girls selling the cookies usually get about 15% of the profits, so on a $4.00 box of cookies, our troop received $.60. The actual cost of the cookies was about $2.25, so the local and national councils got the rest.
The amount that the council gets compared to the troop really upset me. The girls put in a lot of work selling and it always bugged me when we had to send most of the money to council.
I don't so much mind the 'rip-off', I mind that the girls are not getting trained in anything. When parents do the selling, I mind. A little girl or boy who comes to my door or calls me on the phone is learning something, is getting trained in something.MarleysGh0st wrote:So if I offered a $1 donation in lieu of buying the cookies, it would be win-win for myself and the local troop, right? [Amounts open to adjustment, pending the discussion on profit margins I see later in this thread.]PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote: The girls selling the cookies usually get about 15% of the profits, so on a $4.00 box of cookies, our troop received $.60. The actual cost of the cookies was about $2.25, so the local and national councils got the rest.
The amount that the council gets compared to the troop really upset me. The girls put in a lot of work selling and it always bugged me when we had to send most of the money to council.
A friend's daughter was fundraising for her dance class a couple weeks ago. She was selling from a catalog that had a lot of bric-a-brac in it, plus some overpriced candy. I ended up ordering some of those fruit slice candies. $16 for less than a pound!
Yes and if you write the troop a check you can deduct it on your taxes.MarleysGh0st wrote:So if I offered a $1 donation in lieu of buying the cookies, it would be win-win for myself and the local troop, right? [Amounts open to adjustment, pending the discussion on profit margins I see later in this thread.]PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote: The girls selling the cookies usually get about 15% of the profits, so on a $4.00 box of cookies, our troop received $.60. The actual cost of the cookies was about $2.25, so the local and national councils got the rest.
The amount that the council gets compared to the troop really upset me. The girls put in a lot of work selling and it always bugged me when we had to send most of the money to council.
A friend's daughter was fundraising for her dance class a couple weeks ago. She was selling from a catalog that had a lot of bric-a-brac in it, plus some overpriced candy. I ended up ordering some of those fruit slice candies. $16 for less than a pound!
The girls are supposed to get trained and they are supposed to do the selling. Since so much of the troop's funding comes from cookie sales, I think that parents sort of take over the sales, so that the girls can hit their sales goals. The more that the girl sells, the less that comes out of a parent's pocket when it comes time to pay for stuff.peacock2121 wrote:I don't so much mind the 'rip-off', I mind that the girls are not getting trained in anything. When parents do the selling, I mind. A little girl or boy who comes to my door or calls me on the phone is learning something, is getting trained in something.MarleysGh0st wrote:So if I offered a $1 donation in lieu of buying the cookies, it would be win-win for myself and the local troop, right? [Amounts open to adjustment, pending the discussion on profit margins I see later in this thread.]PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote: The girls selling the cookies usually get about 15% of the profits, so on a $4.00 box of cookies, our troop received $.60. The actual cost of the cookies was about $2.25, so the local and national councils got the rest.
The amount that the council gets compared to the troop really upset me. The girls put in a lot of work selling and it always bugged me when we had to send most of the money to council.
A friend's daughter was fundraising for her dance class a couple weeks ago. She was selling from a catalog that had a lot of bric-a-brac in it, plus some overpriced candy. I ended up ordering some of those fruit slice candies. $16 for less than a pound!
Isn't that what Girl (Boy) Scouts is for?
When my kids were in school they were supposed to sell stuff as fund-raisers. I told them that I would not be like the parents who take the catalog and order forms into the office and try to sell it to their co-workers. My kids never sold enough to win the top prizes, but they did learn that if they wanted to do something, they'd have to do it themselves.peacock2121 wrote:I don't so much mind the 'rip-off', I mind that the girls are not getting trained in anything. When parents do the selling, I mind. A little girl or boy who comes to my door or calls me on the phone is learning something, is getting trained in something.MarleysGh0st wrote:So if I offered a $1 donation in lieu of buying the cookies, it would be win-win for myself and the local troop, right? [Amounts open to adjustment, pending the discussion on profit margins I see later in this thread.]PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote: The girls selling the cookies usually get about 15% of the profits, so on a $4.00 box of cookies, our troop received $.60. The actual cost of the cookies was about $2.25, so the local and national councils got the rest.
The amount that the council gets compared to the troop really upset me. The girls put in a lot of work selling and it always bugged me when we had to send most of the money to council.
A friend's daughter was fundraising for her dance class a couple weeks ago. She was selling from a catalog that had a lot of bric-a-brac in it, plus some overpriced candy. I ended up ordering some of those fruit slice candies. $16 for less than a pound!
Isn't that what Girl (Boy) Scouts is for?
I am sorry, I should say that they get 15% of the selling price, which is $.60 a box.peacock2121 wrote:Cookies are cheaper in these parts - $3.50 a box.PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:The girls selling the cookies usually get about 15% of the profits, so on a $4.00 box of cookies, our troop received $.60. The actual cost of the cookies was about $2.25, so the local and national councils got the rest.ne1410s wrote:psm: Hey, maybe you can answer this. I heard that the GSoA get 10% of the selling price of GS Cookies. Is there any truth to this? Thanks.
The amount that the council gets compared to the troop really upset me. The girls put in a lot of work selling and it always bugged me when we had to send most of the money to council.
Also - your math doesn't make sense. The profit would be $1.75 per box - if the troop gets 15% of that, they only get $.26. If they got $.60, then they got 34% of the profit.
This could be taught to the kids - there could be future business women getting a start.
I am not sure what the rules may have been at that time, but I can tell you that it now is against ethics regulations to solicit at your workplace. Very few abide by it, it seems, but I certainly can not "pimp out" anything that my kids are selling for school or dance. (How would that look?)earendel wrote:When my kids were in school they were supposed to sell stuff as fund-raisers. I told them that I would not be like the parents who take the catalog and order forms into the office and try to sell it to their co-workers. My kids never sold enough to win the top prizes, but they did learn that if they wanted to do something, they'd have to do it themselves.peacock2121 wrote:I don't so much mind the 'rip-off', I mind that the girls are not getting trained in anything. When parents do the selling, I mind. A little girl or boy who comes to my door or calls me on the phone is learning something, is getting trained in something.MarleysGh0st wrote: So if I offered a $1 donation in lieu of buying the cookies, it would be win-win for myself and the local troop, right? [Amounts open to adjustment, pending the discussion on profit margins I see later in this thread.]
A friend's daughter was fundraising for her dance class a couple weeks ago. She was selling from a catalog that had a lot of bric-a-brac in it, plus some overpriced candy. I ended up ordering some of those fruit slice candies. $16 for less than a pound!
Isn't that what Girl (Boy) Scouts is for?
We get bombarded with requests at church, too, but at least in those instances it's the children who are doing the work, not the parents.
Boy Scouts sell me microwave popcorn, which is something the kids love, and Cracker-Jack-Style popcorn, which is one of my weaknesses. I used to buy tins and give them to the bus driver during the holidays, but then the scout who was my dealer started doing the same, so now I just buy it for myself.
They get anything approximating dark chocolate Moose Munch, and I will probably be paying the rent on their meeting space. You would need the mulch wranglers to deliver my order.
Enabler. I got a bag stashed in the back of my pantry, since my son needed the tin for something...tlynn78 wrote:Boy Scouts sell me microwave popcorn, which is something the kids love, and Cracker-Jack-Style popcorn, which is one of my weaknesses. I used to buy tins and give them to the bus driver during the holidays, but then the scout who was my dealer started doing the same, so now I just buy it for myself.
They get anything approximating dark chocolate Moose Munch, and I will probably be paying the rent on their meeting space. You would need the mulch wranglers to deliver my order.
Mini!
I made a great discovery this past holiday baking season. I came upon 2 cans of the Boy Scout carmel corn in my pantry; I spread it out on cookie sheets; I melted white, dark and milk chocolate and drizzled it alternately over the carmel corn and let it set. Instant 'homemade' Moose Munch. It was a HUGE hit!
t.
If you promise me that Baby Nicholas will be the one doing the selling, I will be happy to give you a sales lead in zip code 23233.wintergreen48 wrote:Girl Scouts have it so easy, especially since they have customers like me who buy cartons full of the Thin Mints (or whatever they call them this year). I've heard that some people put Thin Mints (or whatever they call them this year) in the freezer and enjoy them cold, but I've never kept them in the house long enough for them to get cold. I love those things.
Our Boy Scout Troop's fundraiser is a mulch sale: we sell bags of mulch in March, and do pretty well: our Troop has 50+ Scouts and we sell about 8,000 bags each year (used to sell over 12,000, but it was too much work, so we cut our distribution area: if any of you live in zip codes 23233 or 23238, have I got a deal for you...) Big selling point is that we actually deliver it, and will put it out in up to four areas of the buyer's yard, as designated by the buyer (we don't open the bags, just dump them where the buyer requests). This year we will sell more bags, but they will be smaller (we are cutting the price): we had been selling 3 cubic foot bags, which run about 40 pounds each, but will be selling 2 cubic foot bags, which run about 25 pounds each. The problem with the larger bags is that, while we manly men have no problem walking up someone's driveway with one bag under each arm (biggest problem is just that the bags are lumpy and awkward), the younger Scouts, who are not manly at all (they're the ones I have to make sure don't get eaten by bears when we go camping), can barely manage one bag, and they usually have to work with a partner to carry even that much; lots of runty little Scouts these days.
What's cool about the mulch sale is that we sell for about what it would cost you to buy the same thing at a garden store (so the buyer gets a great deal-- free delivery and all that), but the Troop gets to keep the entire profit-- we do not have to share any of it with the Council (we do make a contribution to the church that sponsors the Troop). We started doing this the year after I was on WWTBAM: that year, I used some of my winnings to buy a (used) truck for the Troop, which we use to go on camping trips, but since we started the mulch sales we have not had to rely on parental contributions of that sort at all for the Troop, instead, the boys' sales of mulch have completely funded the Troop's activities (including paying their annual dues). It's cool. But a lot of messy work.
On the other hand, in a lot of ways I would MUCH rather have Baby Nicholas selling cookies, just because, well, I wouldn't have to do much of the delivering, plus, it's a lot less work for me to use the Girl Scout product than for me to use the Boy Scout product (spreading 80 bags of mulch-- which will increase this year-- is Very Strenuous, good for scoring points on the Presidential Challenge Thingy, but still, a Lot Of Work).
Maddie used to have regular customers who bought mints by the case.wintergreen48 wrote:Girl Scouts have it so easy, especially since they have customers like me who buy cartons full of the Thin Mints (or whatever they call them this year). I've heard that some people put Thin Mints (or whatever they call them this year) in the freezer and enjoy them cold, but I've never kept them in the house long enough for them to get cold. I love those things.
minimetoo26 wrote:It is Nectar of the Gods. Harry and David deals it. You get these gift baskets of random crap and get bored and taste it, and you're hooked...littlebeast13 wrote:I don't even want to know what Moose Munch is.
Sounds like an insult I remember from Beavis & Butthead....
lb13
They're still Do-Si-Dos here. I got those, and Tagalongs, for the peanut butter junkies here, plus All-Arounds and Thin Mints. Lord knows what else I ordered. I really am a Cookie Ho...PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote: Emma just opened a container of what used to be called Savannahs, then Do-Si-Dos, now Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies for us to enjoy.
Chocolate chip or nothing for me.minimetoo26 wrote:They're still Do-Si-Dos here. I got those, and Tagalongs, for the peanut butter junkies here, plus All-Arounds and Thin Mints. Lord knows what else I ordered. I really am a Cookie Ho...PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote: Emma just opened a container of what used to be called Savannahs, then Do-Si-Dos, now Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies for us to enjoy.
