Girl Scouts Say No to Online Cookie Seller
Let’s face it, selling a product online is not a new-school idea. But for the Girl Scouts of America, it’s mind-blowingly illegal. I heard about this one on the way home from NEMOA on Friday, but am just getting around to researching it now.
The father of an 8-year-old girl in North Carolina was helping her sell Girl Scout Cookies. Innocent enough. But they say he went too far by using channels that are not face-to-face communication: YouTube, a page on Facebook and an online order form through his Web firm.
Nothing super fancy or complex here, but what Bryan Freeborn and his daughter, Wild, did is not permitted by Girl Scout Code. Creativity is apparently out, and face-to-face contact is mandated.
(Funny, because I’ve never bough Girl Scout Cookies through an actual Girl Scout. It’s always been a parent bringing the order form to the office… or my sister from Alabama sending me a request on her daughters’ behalf via e-mail).
Maybe the Girl Scouts could take a lesson from e-commerce. Or for that matter, from direct sellers who understand the times and rules of retail are changing. Heck, it’s a fund-raiser. Why limit sales to your community when you can sell outside your neighborhood and immediate family?
Freeborn brings up a great point in the video below. Maybe the attention brought to such a silly rule (my words, not his) will spark change, and kids (or their parents, really) will be able to take advantage of all the possible selling channels.
Now someone Tweet me when my order is ready.
March 26th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Tim, I couldn’t agree more. I have to girls in the Girl Scouts and when we began cookie season in January, I was more than excited being our first year but that quickly turned into deep disappointment when our leaders told us no online sales.
I live and work online. 90% of my life and social network is online. I don’t have family where I live and don’t know anybody locally. The only avenue left to us was going door-to-door. Not the most enthusiastic about it, I did it for my girls. In the end, while the girls did meet their personal goals - they set a low goal, our orders were still less compared to other members of the troop who had parents who worked outside the home.
In the end I suppose I could have done more and I’m not trying to make this an excuse. But for every day of my girls’ lives they have seen me make a living off the Internet. I have taught them some basics and continue to teach them my trade where appropriate, they know it is possible and are enthusiastic and just don’t understand why I cannot use my online methods to help them sell their cookies. They need a serious update.
As far as girl safety goes, I really don’t see that much of a difference vs door-to-door. In fact, I fear for their safety more going door-to-door. Besides, selling online will always be a parent-led activity - at least in my household.
March 26th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Thanks - and I apologize, I wrote this a few weeks back and never blasted it into the blogosphere. But it’s still relevant.