Girl Scouts Teaching The Wrong Lesson By Banning Online Sales
from the unfair-competition? dept
Way back in 2002 and 2003 we discussed how the Girl Scouts of America prohibit selling their infamous cookies online. It seemed strange back then, as the entire purpose of the program is (supposedly) to teach the girls entrepreneurship skills, including “personal responsibility and how to manage money.” I hadn’t heard much about it since then, but here we are in 2009, and once again, business-savvy Girl Scouts are running into trouble selling cookies online.
Some have argued that since it’s supposed to be about doing something in your community, selling online goes beyond that — though, I’d argue that an online community can be just as much of a community as a local one. Anyway, in the case described in this article, the sales were limited to local residents anyway — but the Girl Scouts are still upset about it. Mainly, the argument seems to be that it’s somehow “not fair” for the other girls, but if the goal is to teach kids entrepreneurship skills, telling them that some big organization is going to make sure to keep others out of your market isn’t exactly sending the right message.
Filed Under: cookies, girl scouts, online sales
