price gouging rant

[myntik1]

So last night I went to see the Celtics.  My buddy's boss tossed him some premium tickets so the crew had a get together.  Normally we opt for the cheap seats, but this year those are hard to come by. I think it was when one guy came back with a round of $7 hot dogs that we realized how out of control prices have become.  I know the powers that be will charge what the market will bear but come on now.  Fortunately or unfortunately my little guy is too young to sit through a game, but at some point he's probably going to want to see the Sox, Pats, Bruins or Celtics.  10 years from now I may have to take a second mortgage to do it.  The price of the ticket, having to paying a premium for a dirt draft beer, and the extortion level prices of the gift shop I can live with.  But charging through the nose for food is going too far.  On my way out of the garden I looked at the prices, generally we hit 1 of our favorite spots before or after the game so I never pay attention to any of the concession prices other than beer. I always knew they were high, but I really didn't have an idea on how high.  I now know I can get a $5 mini-tub of fries and a $4 soda to go with my hot dog for a mere 15.  I guess they want to make their money while they can.  With the way prices keep going up 10 years from now I can see myself asking my family do we want to go Disney for a week or would we like to see 1 meaningless regular season game from our home team.

[ChadTower]

Go to a Pawsox game instead.  Free parking, seats under $10, food just as inexpensive.  Near same quality baseball without the drunk a-hole behind you spilling beer on your kids while teaching them new words.  We go several times a year and it's always a fun night for $60 for four people.

[myntik1]

I was thinking about griping about the fact that girl scout cookies are only sold once a year and I was going to speculate on why dog ish only smells when you bother it.  Other than that my life is going well.

[Ginsu Victim]

^If Girl Scout cookies were made available year-round, the demand would be far less for them. They have a great racket going there. Whoever thought to make them so rare (and so good) is a genius.
What other cookie manufacturer has slaves who not only sell their cookies, but pay THEM for the chance to do it?

[Samstag]

I was thinking about griping about the fact that girl scout cookies are only sold once a year and I was going to speculate on why dog ish only smells when you bother it.  Other than that my life is going well.

Marry (or date) a woman who does volunteer work for the Girl Scouts.  After one sale you'll understand why it isn't done all year.  Bonus education if you get to be a "cookie cupboard" which is a euphemism for "residential warehouse" and get to lug thousands of cases of cookies in and out of the house at all hours.

I can't answer your "dog ish" question, as I don't know what that is.

[ClubNinja]

Since when did Girl Scout cookies start selling for $4 a box?  The last time I bought them, they were $3.  Last weekend, I see the table outside of Best Buy, know that I have $6 in cash on me, and decide to grab two boxes.  I almost slugged that little girl when she said they were $4 each.  I swear the boxes are getting smaller too.  Pigtail-wearing crooks.

[ChadTower]

What a rip!  I bet they were $3 each and she was gouging.   

[J_K_M_A_N]

I believe they are going for $3.50 here. What ticks me off is that they used to have a peanut butter sandwitch AND do-si-do which look like the same thing but taste way different. I don't like the do-si-do's and they no longer buy from the place that made the peanut butter sandwitches. 

I do like how they have the thin mints in two single serving sleeves per box though.  

J_K_M_A_N

[J_K_M_A_N]

Couple of weeks ago, some smart aleck boy scout was hustling popcorn on me for $10/box.  Right outside of a grocery store.... where the same thing was available inside for $4..... at least the girl scouts have something unique!   

You don't have cookies at your grocery store?

We order some of the boy scout popcorn because we like the taste of it better than the other stuff in the store. (And our son used to be in scouts)

J_K_M_A_N

[shmokes]

I think the girl scouts would definitely make more money if they used regular retail channels, but I can't be sure.  They ABSOLUTELY would sell more.  Demand for girl scout cookies is not driven solely by the fact that they are rare.  The demand comes primarily from the fact that they are so damned good.  I simply do not buy any other cookie.  Period.  Which means I buy cookies exactly one time per year.  Thin mints are the best cookie on the market.  But, beyond that, they have a bunch of other varieties that are better than anything else you can get on the store shelves.  If the Girl Scouts put their product, which has plenty of name recognition, in the grocery store they would go toe to toe with Nabisco any day of the week.  It's not just novelty.  They peddle the best product on the market.

With that said, they need to do more than just sell more at retail than they currently do in order to make it a good business move.  They need to sell enough more to make up for the fact that they currently don't have to pay for shelf space or otherwise give the retail store any sort of kickback.  And they have loads of volunteer workers that peddle and advertise the merchandise for free.

But in the end, I honestly buy the reasoning offered by the girl scouts.  It's not just about making money for the organization.  It's (also) about the experience, and feeling of accomplishment it offers the girls.

BTW, some interesting trivia: The Girl Scouts as an organization have absolutely nothing to do with the production or even the recipe of any of their cookies.  It's not like you have this grand-master girl scout who is a brilliant baker and developed all these wonderful recipes.  They just paid another company (a company that has developed lots of cookies that are sold at retail) to make the cookies for them.  The only thing the Girl Scouts do, or have ever done, is branding and selling.

[SithMaster]

Im surprised no one has mentioned the price of crude oil per barrel.

Also, the older and more bitter I get, the angrier I get that the only time I see some kind of 'community service' group is when they're hustling me for money.  Granted, I don't spend a lot of time in line at soup kitchens, but what exactly do the girl scouts do?

Couple of weeks ago, some smart aleck boy scout was hustling popcorn on me for $10/box.  Right outside of a grocery store.... where the same thing was available inside for $4..... at least the girl scouts have something unique!   

Girl scouts come out once a year to hawk their cookies.  Maybe they should start selling homemade cookies.  You know get some practice now for later.

Was the popcorn microwavable or was it already popped?

shmokes you posted just before i was going to which is good because i can comment now on something.  Since the girl scouts dont make the cookies (duh) then the company that does would just sell it to the stores without going through the kids.  I never bought the cookies they sell from them so im not sure who makes them but id imagine they are available in supermarkets under one name or another.

[Jdurg]

Damn.  That other company should go and sell the cookies as their own product via retail.  I'd buy the Samoan cookies by the case!  (Then be a guest on the Learning Channel's 'fat-ass can't move cuz he weighs 1000 pounds' show.    )

I'm actually quite fond of a non-girl-scout cookie.  Belgian almond wafers made from simply sugar, butter, and ground up almond paste.  When fresh, they are incredible!

[SithMaster]

Damn.  That other company should go and sell the cookies as their own product via retail.  I'd buy the Samoan cookies by the case!  (Then be a guest on the Learning Channel's 'fat-ass can't move cuz he weighs 1000 pounds' show.    )

I'm actually quite fond of a non-girl-scout cookie.  Belgian almond wafers made from simply sugar, butter, and ground up almond paste.  When fresh, they are incredible!

I would assume they already do sell them via retail.  Unless selling them once a year is too lucrative to pass up on.

[boykster]

2 years old, but funny (if you like Andy Rooney)

Deconstructing The Girl Scout Cookie

[SavannahLion]

From what I understand. The Girl Scout cookie recipes enjoy an exclusivity clause. No one else can sell the same cookie nor can the same company sell that same cookie under a different brand. Yeah, there are similar cookies available, but compare the ingredient lists, it's not the same cookie. The exclusivity clause kicked in this year when the Girl Scouts switched bakeries. I haven't had a chance to compare with last years stash to verify the ingredient list to see if all the cookies remained the same.

Did anyone notice the GS didn't have Samoas this year? Yeah, apparently someone screwed up somewhere and the GS lost the name when switching bakeries. Now Samoas are called Caramel Delights. The GS may not bake the cookies themselves, but they apparently (try to) keep control over their IP rights.

You can get GS cookies year around... sort of. Dreyers ice cream often sells GS cookie laced ice cream for several months before and after the GS do their yearly run. It would appear that Dreyers didn't get the Samoas memo since they still sold the Samoas ice cream this year.

By the way, $4 a box is price gouging. The boxes were sold for $3.50 this year. That GS troop probably did that because they get so little money per box as it is anyways.

[Samstag]

There are two different companies making GS cookies.  One is Little Brownie Bakeries, and the other I can't remember the name of.  They have some cookies in common but others will be unique or named differently.  In the past year there's been a big reorganization of GS council territories, and since each council chooses the company they order from, you may have seen a change in the available cookies.

[SavannahLion]

They have some cookies in common but others will be unique or named differently.  In the past year there's been a big reorganization of GS council territories, and since each council chooses the company they order from, you may have seen a change in the available cookies.

That would make sense. I got similar information from the er.. whatever a GS leader is called. I'm not allowed to any of their meetings and females only impart about 30% of whatever information they obtain.

[knave]

Did anyone notice the GS didn't have Samoas this year? Yeah, apparently someone screwed up somewhere and the GS lost the name when switching bakeries. Now Samoas are called Caramel Delights.

I have a box of Samoa's right here.  I also remember as a kid that they were called Carmel Delights.  So they must own both names...and change from time to time in different markets.

Samoa's (AKA, Carmel Delights) are way better than thin mints.
And FYI, I haven't seen any Hydrogenated oils in GS cookies for about two years.

[ChadTower]

I have a box of Samoa's right here. 

A peek inside that box:

[RayB]

I love Samoa cookies. They don't sell them here in Canada. 

The whole POINT of selling the damn cookies is to raise money. Your $4 is not for 4 dollars value in COOKIES, it's $4 dollars in value DONATED TO GIRL SCOUTS, with a gift of cookies given in return. That's how you're supposed to look at it.

(As for ballpark prices, well... that's gouging. You're a "captive consumer". Can't shop around for best price, so you are stuck with inflated "in-park" prices. Same with movie popcorn).

[shardian]

If you buy a box of GS cookies for $4, maybe 25 cents actually goes to the Girl Scouts.

And boyscout popcorn, that stuff SUCKS. I hated selling that crap. It was like 4x the cost of store bought. Almost every house I went to wouldn't buy, but would give the worn out "If only you were selling GS cookies".

[Samstag]

If you buy a box of GS cookies for $4, maybe 25 cents actually goes to the Girl Scouts.

The bakery only takes about 1/3 of that $4.  The rest all goes to the Girl Scouts after overhead.  At least 50 cents (it's 55 right now while they're clearing out the last of them) goes to the troop that made the sale.

[SavannahLion]

Did anyone notice the GS didn't have Samoas this year? Yeah, apparently someone screwed up somewhere and the GS lost the name when switching bakeries. Now Samoas are called Caramel Delights.

I have a box of Samoa's right here.  I also remember as a kid that they were called Carmel Delights.  So they must own both names...and change from time to time in different markets.

I spoke with the leader (or whatever she is), she's sticking by her explanation. Meh, airhead or misinformation, whatever. Your explanation makes more sense. Especially when you consider a nation wide market.

Samoa's (AKA, Carmel Delights) are way better than thin mints.

Damn right!

[danny_galaga]

2 years old, but funny (if you like Andy Rooney)

Deconstructing The Girl Scout Cookie

"girls are pretty good businessmen" 

[danny_galaga]

I have a box of Samoa's right here. 

A peek inside that box:

way too skinny to be samoans...

[hypernova]

My daughter's been in the GS two or three years now, and has sold the cookies twice.

Both times, they are all $3 per box.  Seeing that CBS story and your posts, I think we'll be hitting $3.50 here soon, too.

We didn't have the cafe whatever cookie here.

Peanut butter patty
peanut butter sandwich
thanks a lot (shortbread with a side covered in fudge)
thin mints
lemon-aids
shortbread
caramel delites
Cinna spins (100 calorie pack)

That should be it.  8 styles in our region.  There was a different 100 calorie pack last year, but I can't remember what it was.

[shmokes]

If you buy a box of GS cookies for $4, maybe 25 cents actually goes to the Girl Scouts.

Actually, you have to assume they're getting at least 50 cents per box, considering they're only supposed to be selling them for $3.50 a box.   

BTW, are you people crazy?  Samoas are better than Thin Mints?  Maybe . . . MAYBE they're better on the first bite.  But by the time you've finished a cookie you're done.  They're too damned rich.  I can sit down and eat a whole package of thin mints without even realizing I did it.  I'd throw up before I even made it through half as many Samoas.