Iconic, consistent, and reliably delicious, Girl Scout Cookies are a beloved snack that has been enjoyed for over 100 years. Everyone is familiar with the staples; chocolatey coconut-crusted Somoas and refreshingly sweet Thin Mints are two of the most popular. Whatever cookie master created these flavors knew what they were doing, as each year, we warmly welcome a knock on our door from a cheerful Girl Scout.
It seems our obsession has carried over to their latest flavor offering, Raspberry Rally. Announced last August, the newcomer was released on February 27, selling out in most states around the country in only a few hours. It’s a flip on the classic Thin Mints, and is basically the same cookie, except it features a raspberry-flavored filling. Since selling out, boxes have found their way to eBay, where they sold for six times the price.
Girl Scout cookies typically cost between $5 to $6, yet on eBay, sellers are charging $20 to $30 for the new Raspberry Rally. Unsurprisingly, as cookie sales generally go towards supporting local Girl Scout councils, the organization says the news is, “disappointing to see.” In a statement, their response was, “While we are happy that there’s such a strong demand for our cookies year-over-year, we’re saddened that the platforms and the sellers are disregarding the core mission of the cookie program and are looking to make a profit off of the name without supporting our mission and the largest girl-led entrepreneurship program in the world.”
An eBay spokesperson also responded to the situation, stating that while they support “the entrepreneurial spirit of hardworking local Girl Scout troops,” the listings do not violate its policies. The Raspberry Rally flavor was originally offered as an online-exclusive to help local chapters expand their “e-commerce sales and entrepreneurial skills.” It seems that the new cookie benefited from heavy promotion more than expected. People who visited the website in hopes of trying the new flavor found a “sold out” label instead.
In its statement, the Girl Scouts further underscored their disappointment, saying that, “troops are deprived of valuable experience and, more importantly, proceeds that fund critical programming throughout the year.”
At the time of reporting, the Girl Scouts hadn’t announced a re-stock of the flavor. Hopefully, people choose to support the organization directly rather than put money into the pockets of advantageous resellers.
