Why Are These Limited Edition Girl Scout Cookies Being Sold at a 500% Markup?
The new "Raspberry Rally" cookie from the Girl Scouts is already finding its way to eBay.
By Gabrielle Bienasz •
How much would you pay for an in-demand Girl Scout cookie?
That's the question being asked of consumers on secondary selling websites such as eBay, where a flavor of Girl Scout cookies called "Raspberry Rally," is seeing a host of listings, according to news reports.
After selling out on official websites, the raspberry-flavor-filled cookie has become a hot secondary market commodity.
A listing on eBay is currently asking $29.99 for one box, which is several times what the typical cookie box costs from the organization (typically about $5) — about a 500% markup. Another Etsy sale posting, which appeared to solicit orders ahead of Girl Scout cookie season for a presale, offered a box of raspberry cookies for $20.98. Insider found a box for $99.99.
(If you're buying cookies from an official Girl Scout site, in some cases, at least, you have to buy at least four boxes, according to Entrepreneur's attempt to buy cookies from Troop 4758, which is also sold out of Raspberry Rally.)
"Wow! Our Raspberry Rally was released online today, and boy did she sell out QUICKLY," the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay wrote in a Facebook post, as Insider noted.
Girl Scout announced the Raspberry Rally cookies in August 2022, along with the lineup of cookies for its 2023 season, which typically starts in January and runs until April, as CNN noted.
"The thin, crispy cookie is a 'sister' cookie to the beloved Thin Mints™, infused with raspberry flavor instead of mint and dipped in the same delicious chocolaty coating," Girl Scouts wrote in the August press release.
The organization decided to only offer the Raspberry cookie as an online product for local chapters to sell to, "enhancing girls' e-commerce sales and entrepreneurial skills," the organization wrote.
Enter: the raspberry ringer. Girl Scouts itself noted the popularity of the cookie. In one email to a troop in New York, it told them that the cookie had "Raspberry Rally cookie sold out in less than a day," per CNN, which said it reviewed the email.
Online, people are commenting about how difficult the cookies are to get:
guys I've been trying to get my hands on the new raspberry rally girl scout cookies for a week now they're only* available online & sold out & my local fb moms group is tagging people to help me & my mom friends are texting their mom friends & I emailed the girl scouts website
— more waffles please (@am1naaa) March 2, 2023
If anyone has an extra box of the raspberry rally or caramel chocolate chip please lmk ?? They are all sold out and I didn't get to try them pic.twitter.com/IScDd9BVtj
— Tenny Minassian (@itsme10e) March 2, 2023
Others celebrated getting a box:
Behold the unicorn Girl Scout cookie…the Raspberry Rally! pic.twitter.com/gstqKvapvX
— Dr. Melissa Aho (@melissaaho) February 28, 2023
In an email to CNN, the Girl Scouts expressed disappointment in the secondary-market frenzy.
"When cookies are purchased through a third-party seller, Girl Scout troops are deprived of proceeds that fund critical programming throughout the year," the company wrote.
"Girl Scouts of the USA, your local Girl Scout council, and our licensed cookie bakers cannot guarantee the freshness or integrity of cookies bought through unauthorized sites," it added.
Raspberry Rally. Courtesy company.
But, as CNN noted, eBay didn't say it planned to take down the cookies. "We strongly support the entrepreneurial spirit of hardworking local Girl Scout troops and encourage cookie-seekers to also support their local Girl Scouts… However the sale of Girl Scout cookies does not violate eBay policies," a rep from eBay told the outlet.
