Economics of Girl Scout Cookies?

Coach Rich

'Tis the season to be accosted at the grocery store door by lil' girls and their mom's hawkin' crack cookies. And I have fond memories of eating cases and cases of cookies in Kuwait in the spring of '98, hiding from 125f heat.

But I'm wondering how the money works? Where it goes, how much do the girls actually see, etc? Worthy cause or another attempt by the (wo)Man to separate a man from his money while expanding his waistline?

Dave Tallo

Key to enjoying a treat: don't overthink it.

DanJacquemin

Posted By Rich Strauss on 15 Mar 2011 08:18 PM

But I'm wondering how the money works? Where it goes, how much do the girls actually see, etc? Worthy cause or another attempt by the (wo)Man to separate a man from his money while expanding his waistline?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_Scout_cookie#Profits

But, as long as they are delicious and for sale as a reasonable price point, I have very few qualms about how the money gets distributed.

Steven Ford

He is just trying to justify buying 20 boxes

 

 

tuckerm

Posted By Steven Ford on 16 Mar 2011 09:05 AM

He is just trying to justify buying 20 boxes

 

 

Wait, so 20 isn't standard?

William Jenks

As someone told me recently, it's so convenient that the Thin Mints come in those single-serving packets.

michaelgasser17

I have intimate familiarity with this topic. I have 3 younger sisters, all of whom sold girl scout cookies, and were very successful in their endeavor. I'm also a graduate of what I like to think of as a decent school in NY as an economics major.

The benefits of selling these delicious morsels manifests itself on a few levels. The Girls Scouts of America organization sees about 70% of the profit from each sale.

The majority of the profits remain with each girl scout council. The councils are made of several troops and there are a few councils per state. The council level is where the girl scouts see the profits divided. Each council gets about $2 per box. If you add it up, that is a ton of money per council each year from cookies. This money funds everything. Camps are run at the council level. Costs associated with adult leader training and materials for large scale activities manifest themselves at the council level. This is why buying from one troop or the other makes no difference unless you know the little girl you are buying from. The main takeaway is that when you buy a box, half of that is going directly towards an even distribution of funds within that single council.

On the Troop level, there is an incentive to be one of the highest volume troops in a particular council. Notoriety is gained within the organization by selling the most in your region especially if it is a large margin per scout. This is, however, relatively informal and does not affect how much money the individual troop gets.

On the individual level, there are minor incentives to sell. Each girl can get a stuffed animal (or similar type of gift), T-shirt, or badge for the amount of cookies sold. The obvious goal is to earn the badge. The volume sold needed to earn the badge actually isn't that much. I can't say individual numbers, because I honestly don't know them. The real goal among the scouts is to learn all of the skills associated with selling a product. At later stages (high school age) the girls start to learn entrepreneurial skills and they are rewarded for innovation in their selling techniques.

The down and dirty is that the cute little girls that make you feel like an ass for turning down the cookies (purely theoretical as I haven't ever been able to turn them down) benefit significantly if all of the other girls in their general area (READ: several state counties) sell as fervently as they do.

My sisters sold, on average, 1000 boxes each per year. My middle sister who was so cute it would make you cry, when she was about 8, sold the most in the state of Georgia that particular year. My mom just gave general tips on where to sell and how and then supervised. The girls did the rest, and I'm talking door to door and long hours in high traffic areas, solely to be able to go to a cool camp that summer.

Also, at one point went I was in high school, I had 12,000 boxes of cookies in my house.

danap

If you want to support the Girl Scouts but not eat the cookies, may I suggest buying some for our troops??

As a wife of a deployed soldier, I can say how much they LOVE LOVE LOVE the cookies!!!  

I know I didn't even have to put my hands on the actual boxes......the troop I bought from took care of all the logistics!!!

 

 

 

 

Tom Glynn

@Michael, thanks for the details! Who knew. Also, 12,000 boxes, wow! Did you have a forklift in the garage

jwpicciotto

Here is my solution to the GS cookie problem. I ask how much a box costs, and then give them however much money for x number of boxes. They then try to give me the cookies and I tell them no. Then I inform the adults helping the children that it is the kids choice of what they do with the money. They can buy cookies and give it to the troops, the women's center or their favorite charity, they can take the money and deposit straight to the troop so they get more money than the tiny amount they get from sales. It is their choice to do what makes them the most comfortable and benefits the kids the most.

FYI I do this with all kid's sales requests. I am still waiting for the day the boy scout whose name I put on the raffle tickets actual wins the car being raffled.