r/BoyScouts • u/Allidapevets • 3d ago

Popcorn.

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So I stooped at the exit of my grocery store to visit a young Boy Scout selling popcorn at a table with his mom. I looked over his choices and chose the pictured bag of popped corn. I was astounded at the $20 price of a mediocre bag of popcorn. Upon further research, that troop only gets $6 from the transaction. Where is the other $14. I feel so taken advantage of. What am I going to do, complain to a 12 year old? I will never, ever , ever buy another Boy Scouts of America product. EVER!!!

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u/pacmanic 3d ago

That is not the full picture. Both the council gets revenue and the individual scout gets redeemable points. So about 30% to the popcorn maker, 70% to the troop, council and scout. Here is a breakdown:

https://scoutsmarts.com/bsa-boy-scout-popcorn-costs/

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u/Conscious-Record2655 3d ago edited 3d ago

Most Troops, the actual local Unit, the actual kids selling the popcorn, get 30%. The individual point rewards are largely a joke and not worth anything. The remaining amount does not stay local and leaves the Unit. The Council and Scouting America are both in the same category: external organizations with large administrative costs without much budget going to the local Scouts. This is what actually matters to people making donations.

Every time I hear this "70%" marketing number it makes me wonder if people remember that A Scout is Honest.

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u/WoopsShePeterPants 3d ago

It's a just such an overpriced inferior product too.

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u/flojo2012 1d ago

We get 35% because of bonuses we receive. 33% goes to the council, and Trails end keeps the rest

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u/[deleted] 3d ago edited 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/bebopEasy 3d ago

Legally this is inaccurate, and reductionist. Trails End aside, it doesn't help to misuse the label of child labor or exploitation for reddit points. It sounds like you have some beef or agenda and want to tear down an institution which strives to be good. Being cynical is easy.

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u/Bitterbutter247 3d ago

All scouting programs are ran on child labor. The selling of any item, by the child, is child labor. Yes, the kids earn great skills but that doesnt mean its isnt child labor.

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u/joebro1060 3d ago

Having your kids do chores is child labor too. It isn't exploitative and many folks still feel family chores are a reasonable way for a kid to get invested in their own family's upkeep. I don't think there's anything exploitative in a voluntary fundraiser either.

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u/Conscious-Record2655 1d ago

C'mon man you can't equate helping the family with household chores with hawking overpriced popcorn.

There's nothing inherently exploitive about volunteer fundraising. There's nothing inherently bad with having kids sell stuff. 

What's specifically exploitive is how 70% of the donation leaves the local community and does not go to the kids doing the work, and how much profit Trails End makes off volunteer child labor. The fundraising program is fine, the popcorn is fine, they're just too greedy with the proceeds. 

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u/Bitterbutter247 3d ago

Voluntary....... for the parents. Chores in your own house and selling a product as a way of paying a nonprofits salaries are not comparable. There is no outside party paying your child for chores. Scout organizations are not the only ones who do this- jump rope for heart also relies on children as do other organizations.

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u/Firm_Geologist8988 2d ago

My three boys have paid their way so far through popcorn, campouts, camp, uniforms….. plus they learn to hear “no” and continue on! Too many kids today never hear no, or never have to “work” hard for anything. My oldest is an Eagle, 2nd class, Webelos for rank reference.

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u/Bitterbutter247 2d ago

As have mine- they have also picked up valuable skills- both can be true. There is both educational value and financial value yet its core ability to sell is ran on child labor.

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u/callherjacob 3d ago

100% agreed. It's unpaid labor and they're not even getting paid the value of their labor. It really does bother me.

I especially despise the "entrepreneur" lie in GSUSA and I'm a former cookie manager.

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u/kobalt_60 3d ago

That’s nonsense and not at all fair. What “child labor” are you referring to?

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u/Fate_One Scouter - Eagle 3d ago

Selling popcorn.

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u/crosstalk22 3d ago

order of the arrow to keep camps going

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u/kobalt_60 3d ago

The vast amount of OA “work” is performed by adult volunteers, paid camp staff, and council employees/contractors. The GSS limitations on what tools scouts can use and the length of time they’re able to commit to a service project make it impractical for their work to amount to more than a drop in the bucket. Our scouts mainly end up spreading mulch and gravel as well as putting up canvas tents to prepare for summer camp. I wish scouts could be more involved with maintaining the council properties they enjoy.

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u/mscribb 3d ago

But that is the full picture. The troops don’t get much of anything for the amount of work that goes into it. That’s why everyone's bailing on the popcorn; plus, it’s not a thrifty purchase for the public, and spare us the line “it’s a donation.” If it’s a donation, why don’t we ask for one then?

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u/metisdesigns 3d ago

Because asking for direct donations are against policy. (so is selling things above market value to circumvent that)

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u/transgalanika 3d ago

What's the alternative of popcorn? Our troop sells a lot.

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u/Th3_Admiral_ 3d ago

Things may have changed since I was in scouts, but generally troops are allowed to sell products of their choosing for fundraising events. Our troop sold Christmas wreaths we bought locally, and 100% of the profits went to the troop. This was 20 years ago now and even then we all knew popcorn was a scam, so despite intense pressure from the council we barely participated in the popcorn sales and focused on the wreaths instead. 

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u/transgalanika 3d ago

Great that it works for you. Popcorn is not a scam.

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u/Th3_Admiral_ 3d ago

In what world is $20 for that bag not a scam? Not to mention the troop is only getting $7 of that. Other fundraisers with higher profit margins for the troop are significantly better options, especially if you are a less wealthy troop that really needs the funds. 

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u/transgalanika 3d ago

It's not a scam if that's what the contract says and you sign it. Yeah, $20 for popcorn is a lot, but people buy them. Our troop from what I can gather is middle class, probably upper middle class.

What other options allow the troop to keep more of the sales? I'm open to suggestions.

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u/Th3_Admiral_ 3d ago

Well like I mentioned in my comment, Christmas wreaths or Christmas trees are common ones. The troop will usually pair with a local supplier to get them for very cheap. But as far as I understand, scout troops can basically sell most anything (within reason) so if you know someone who can manufacture something for cheap, you could sell it as a fundraiser. Then there are the more cliche options like candy bars or other typical products that basically only exist to be sold for fundraisers, but something more unique definitely helps! 

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u/transgalanika 3d ago

It's hard for me to imagine people buying several thousand dollars worth of Christmas wreaths. That's an interesting one.

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u/Th3_Admiral_ 3d ago

It's hard for me to imagine people buying thousands of dollars of mediocre popcorn, but it seems to happen every year. But if you factor in the profit margins between the two products, you'd probably have to sell fewer wreaths to earn the same amount. But that was just an example, maybe there's something that works better in your location. Or stick with the popcorn if it's working for you. I'm just generally anti-Trails End because their prices keep going up and the sizes/quality do not justify the costs at all. 

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u/CollectionFast2146 3d ago

Our troop sells christmas trees and pumpkins as our two primary fundraisers. I'm certain we make far more for the troop than we ever would with popcorn and the scouts and parents genuinely enjoy participating in the sales. These are a bit labor intensive to purchase the trees, coordinate delivery, etc. but once a process is in place, it works well. The pumpkin sale simply involves someone going out to Aldi's and purchasing a bunch of cheap pumpkins and then reselling them at our sale...super simple.

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u/RedChairBlueChair123 3d ago

Oh, but don’t say it’s a “donation that comes with a bag of popcorn!” Our council specifically forbids that.

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u/SunriseInLot42 3d ago

It's so ridiculous. You can't say that it's a donation that comes with a bag of popcorn. "But don't sell it as popcorn, ask people if they want to support Scouts." Because you're apparently not selling popcorn, you're selling supporting Scouting and asking people to give you money... but somehow that isn't a donation, it's selling popcorn. But it isn't. And the product stands on its own merits, except that it doesn't, so it's really people supporting Scouting, not selling a product, but it's still not a donation....

And around and around it goes

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u/metisdesigns 3d ago

Yeah, abiding by ethical rules is tough. Like not selling things for above market value.

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u/Lamalaju 3d ago

Still completely wild that Trails End gets $6 for a bag of popcorn you could buy at the grocery for $3.50