Cookie Scalping

A gas station in Parma, Ohio has taken to reselling girl scout cookies at a profit. The media, of course, is having a field day attacking the “evil” gas station owner who buys the cookies for $3.00 and resells them for $4.00. It goes without saying that I think this “cookie scalping” is smart business. . . even if the gas station owner is kind of creepy. (Although, in seeking to preserve their “not sold in stores” brand, the Girl Scouts would do well to limit his supplies.)

What I find interesting is that the Scouts themselves engage in the same sort of “profiteering.” Two big commercial bakers produce all the cookies and I assume that they’re shipped all over the place and have the same wholesale price. Here in metro D.C., they sell at “retail” for $3.50 a box. The scouts in Ohio charge $3.00. Normally, of course, things cost more in D.C. because wages and rents are also high. But, since the labor and “physical plant” (moms’ and dads’ car trunks) used to sell the cookies all get donated, I think it’s just more likely that Girl Scouts are practicing good old fashion capitalism. . .just like the gas station creep.