How dare they? Some Girl Scout troops are raising their cookie prices this year — by a whole dollar. Gasp!
The news that a box of Thin Mints could cost $5 this year has some people up in arms. One Twitter user called the hike a “serious problem that needs to be addressed” and another wrote “first housing, now this?”
But before CNNMoney got all riled up, we took a look at the numbers.
First of all, cookie prices vary from region to region. Second, not all troops are raising prices. The Girls Scout troops of Greater New York and Central Illinois, for example, are keeping cookie prices at $4 a box. The Girl Scouts Heart of the South troops, which cover some of Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas, are raising their $3.50 a box price by 50 cents.
California is where cookie fans will have to shell out $5 for one box. The troops of Greater Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego are increasing the price to $5 from $4.
While that’s a hefty 25% increase, it’s the first time those troops have raised the price in a decade. Inflation has gone up by more during the same time period. Plus, what the LA troop pays the baking company for the cookies has gone up 19% since 2004, according to the troop’s website. In nearby Orange County it’s gone up by 14%.
They’re not the first to sell boxes for $5 either. Girl Scouts of Northern California did so last year.
And despite all the hooting and hollering, the Girls Scouts don’t expect the price hike to make it harder to sell cookies. They say research shows that many customers don’t know what they paid per box last year anyway.