Hundreds turn out to buy Girl Scout cookies after order hoax
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PORTLAND, Ore. – Two Girl Scout troops who were victims of a cookie order hoax will likely get to attend summer camp after all, thanks to hundreds of people who bought their cookies on Saturday.
A Hillsboro company ordered 6,000 boxes of cookies, but the order turned out to be a $24,000 hoax.
A troop parent said a co-worker approached her to set up a large corporate order. The parent said she then exchanged many emails with someone claiming to be from the company, but when it was time to collect the money, she said she found out it was fake, and the co-worker confessed to the hoax.
That left the troops with 6,000 unsold boxes of cookies, and not enough cookie credits to go to camp this summer.
The line was out the door at the Girl Scout offices Saturday morning. Hundreds showed up to buy cookies and help the girls, who sold cookies at a rate of 1,000 boxes per hour.
“I expected a few people to come down,” said Girl Scout spokeswoman Sarah Miller. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this many.”
They sold 3,000 of the boxes they had from the fake order.
“I’ve been a Girl Scout for 23 years,” Miller said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Girl Scout cookies are not for sale after March 10, but the troops got together for Saturday’s sale to try to make up some of the loss.
“I think it’s great. People get to buy cookies and then we get to sell all these,” said 8-year-old Girl Scout Erin Donnelly.
“I was like ‘wow,’” said 11-year-old Terra. “People actually care about stuff like this.”
Betty Englert said she saw the story about the hoax on KATU, and wanted to help. She drove down from Vancouver to buy some cookies.
“I thought it was a dirty trick to play on them, and this way they get their money back,” said Englert. “I’m so glad to see this crowd.”
“They want to show children the world is a good place,” Miller said. “When they hear about things that aren’t so great, they want to show the opposite side of that.”
The troops will have another sale next Saturday at the Girl Scout offices at 9620 S.W. Barbur Blvd. between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
You can also send an email to cookies@girlscoutsosw.org for more information on helping the troops.
Miller said they don't plan to press charges against the person who placed the fake order because that person apologized and the Girl Scouts didn't lose any money.
This is waaaaaaay to controversial, we should ban girl scouts or at a minimum their mothers.
For you local people, I have a question about this line from the story: A troop parent said a co-worker approached her to set up a large corporate order.Â
So the prankster was a co-worker of the Girl Scout mom? As in they work for the same company? Wouldn't the Girl Scout mom know if that person was authorized to make such a purchase? The whole thing has been so confusing.
@Leigh Ann my understanding is that the Girl Scout mom had talked to her co-worker who had a "connection". From there, it went to emails I believe. The co-worker impersonated the large corporation. Who does this kind of thing you ask? I have no clue. Pretty messed up.
I bought 10 boxes Saturday. Love them.
Frankly the troops get very little money from these cookie sales. The companies are the ones you really helped. Isn't it less than 50 cents a box that goes to the troops? They cost $4 now so that is not very much at all, nor a very good deal for the girls.
@lindababy No all places cost 4.00 a box, some are still at 3.50. My 5 year old sold 526 boxes of cookies. She got $100 in visa cards and over $100 in "cookie dough" to spend on girl scout stuff. They do get off pretty well! Her troop made out nice too! Break down in IL is a little different than Amber said but pretty close!
@Cassandra Lowe @lindababy That is correct Cassandra. Some areas are still $3.50 per box. Here in Oregon where this incident happened, this is the breakdown with the $4. The older girls can opt out of prices and get $.90 per box.Â
@lindababy All fundraisers have overhead. All stores have overhead. Regardless of where you buy your stuff, only a portion goes to the person you are buying from. Here is the breakdown for cookies:
Each box of Girl Scout cookies costs $4.00 and proceeds (per box) are distributed as follows:
Just reading all the comments. It's a sad day when you're not sure anymore if something is true, or a scam....even with Girl Scouts. It does seem a bit far fetched that someone would take an order that large without verifying it. Well if it's a scam, this whole world's going to Hell in a handbasket if you can't even trust the good ole Girl Scouts lol I do love those Tagalongs though :p
This story isn't completely accurate. The troops were not stuck with the 6000 box cookie order. They didn't have the 6000 boxes. They had a smaller quantity. Those of us in her Service Unit (40+ troops in Portland Eastside to Corbett) helped take cookies off their hands and have been helping get rid of the cookies. The boxes being sold at council were NOT from that troop. They were from other service units. To my knowledge, not one of the 40+ troops that belong to the service unit that was "affected" by the hoax sold any of their "extra" cookies at council this weekend. We did it the old fashioned way, by making phone calls, going door to door, and talking to friends through email/facebook. I am proud to say that my daughter took 200 of those boxes and sold them herself in 4 days.
@Amber-Girl Scout Leader & Mom of 2 Girl ScoutsÂ
If this is true, what a horrible way for publicity to sale the councils extras. Our service unit runs like yours, if we have extra we all band together to get the boxes sold, that is supposed to be the Girl Scout way, "Be a sister to every Girl Scout." Council should take a lesson from all the Girl Scouts within their council!!! :-(
@GirlScoutParent @Amber-Girl Scout Leader & Mom of 2 Girl Scouts We did direct sales here with no advice from council on how much to order. So my daisy's troop over ordered quite a bit, but we are responsible for the cookies.
@Cassandra Lowe @GirlScoutParent @Amber-Girl Scout Leader & Mom of 2 Girl Scouts Your cookie manager for your Service Unit should help you with that type of advice. We have been a troop for 10 years, so we have a little bit of help with our experience over the years, however, we have over ordered at times and I am with you, we are responsible for those cookies. I give the parents & girls a pep talk, and we get busy :) Congratulations with the great sales! 6300 is impressive for such a young troop!
@GirlScoutParent @Amber-Girl Scout Leader & Mom of 2 Girl Scouts The mother had contacted the news originally because she was excited about the sale. When she realized she was being scammed, she contacted the news to let the know that it fell through. The news is the one that really blew this all up. I am very disappointed that they got so many facts wrong. I am proud of council for stepping in and helping out other troops that felt they couldn't get rid of their cookies. However, troops/parents/girls should learn a good lesson from this as well. Council truly demonstrated that they were being a sister to every Girl scout by helping with those cookies. :)
@Amber-Girl Scout Leader & Mom of 2 Girl Scouts @GirlScoutParent
If the news did make the story  get blown out of proportion, I don't think that council should have used it to their advantage to sell the rest of their extra cookies. Citizens are doing a noble act by stepping up to help these troops, when from your prior posts, it does not sound like there is anyone to help because your 40+ troops in the service until helped get rid of extra cookies.  I just think the whole situation was wrongly handled from the news and council and I just pray it does not have a lasting impact on the troops and girls that try very hard to sell cookies in the future.Â
This year we did direct sales. The leaders order cookies, give them to the girls and the girls go sell them. The customers pay for the cookies right there. The troops only get stuck with what was over ordered and we can still sell them after the cut off! My daughter's Junior girl scout troop sold 2000 and my daughter's Daisy troop sold 6300!!
It sounds like it's way overdue for the Girl Scouts to enter the modern world and start using Paypal. Â You pay first, then we get your cookies to you later.
@muleskinnerslide Thankfully, the troop didn't check out that many boxes of cookies. The Cookie Manager for our Service Unit was wise and followed up with checking that money was there before cookies were ordered. We are very blessed with a very intelligent/helpful/caring Cookie Manager who made sure that ALL troops in her Service Unit were taken care of so that none of us were stuck with extra cookies. She deserves a news article written about her! :)
When my daughter was in Girl Scouts about 10 years ago, the leader ran off with the girl scout cookie money! Â My daughter never got her badges or anything. The troop disbanded and nothing was done. Â Pretty bad experience with them. Â We have never supported or ordered cookies from that organization since. Â Glad to see the locals there are taking care of their troops though. Â
@Susan ReneSÂ This is truly unfortunate. Did you contact Council 10 years ago? Thankfully, this doesn't happen very often.
I want to but some!~But live on the coast!:*|
I can't say I like girl shout cookies.  They are dry and they don't taste very good, (this is only my opinion) so I don't buy them. I do have to say I think the person who hoaxed the girl scouts should have to buy them.  I mean, that is so wrong.Â
I am sickened to see so many people writing negative things! Like this Debbie above me. Shame on you all! The girl scours aren't doing this as a ploy to get some trophy! They don't get trophies! Girl Scouts is a 100 year old program geared at girl development and empowerment...not just in the us but all over the world! The facts were that it was a company. There were emails that were verified back and forth. And there is someone being prosecuted for this so called sick joke. I just wished people would abide by an old rule. If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say it at all.
The Girl Scouts make millions on the backs of minor children, giving back ony pennies on the dollar. I don't feel sorry for them at all.
@Rob Migliore My 5 year old made 100 dollars in visa cards and 150 dollars to spend on girl scout stuff. Her troop got $3,500. Not really all that bad for some cookies!
Finally, I note that many people are commenting they think this story is suspect, meaning the "we were victims of a hoax" story is false. I find that the public's first impressions about a story turns out to be accurate. We all see rat tails, I'm sure the beasts will be flushed out soon.
Never underestimate a story that becomes a gate. Kookie-Gate... run for your lives.
UPDATE: I hereby declare this event and all circumstances related to it as "Kookie-Gate" (double entendre intended). Federal authorities have been notified, local agents have clocked in for the day. Why call the cops? Aside from the fact that LEO like to eat GS cookies too, especially when the cookies are in the evidence locker, I too am a victim here. So I need some justice.
Instead of getting done what I need to do today I'm spending time on this story that's none of my business, really. So I need compensation, from someone. May I suggest starting the settlement negotiations at five boxes of GS cookies, my choice. In return I will retire my pitchfork on this issue, even though there's nothing finer than creating mischief on a Sunday.
Is something afoot here? Hâ¬ll yeah, I say. Me smells a rat here, and it ain't the guy or gal who played a joke on one of the mothers. What I always say is "follow the money or motive, eventually you will find out who did what and why."
Consider these facts:
- This is a sophisticated, big money operation. It is not simply a million little girls selling cookies on folding tables.Â
-The GS cookie program has been around nationally since the 1930s. Â
- It is estimated that annually the GS sell over 200 MILLION boxes of cookies during the fund raising drive. Assuming $3.50 a box, that works out to $700 MILLION at stake for all who wet their beaks in this endeavor. That's a strong incentive to, let's not sugar coat it, MAKE SOME MONEY.
- There's various regional bakeries who make the cookies, but most are subsidiaries or licensees of Kellogg's or Weston (the huge Canadian food processor). I mention this to evidence that this is no "mom & pop" operation.
Since this is a BIG operation with a LOT of money for everyone to make, I suspect there's all kinds of back room dealing going on between the GS of America, regional councils, licensed regional bakeries, Kellogg's, Weston, and even the trucking companies who deliver the product to the GS. In other words, there's a lot of ways to tap into that $700 million honey pot.
- Add to that the competition and contests the big money makers use to motivate these innocent little girls to sell cookies, well you can understand how a "band of moms" might game the system so they she can wet their beaks too.
@MortimerEsq There is no GS os A - there is a BS of A, however. How many girls does the money send to camp, and how much does camp cost?
To BUBBLE BURSTER: Than keep your girls out of grocery stores, pharmacies, dr. offices, dentist offices, and do NOT let them get jobs as there are lesbians everywhere and you never know when one will want to indoctrinate your kids, oh wait, that part you already have done. Moron
"Miller said they don't plan to press charges against the person who placed the fake order because that person apologized and the Girl Scouts didn't lose any money."
Expect it to happen again! Â If they are "not losing money", then why the panic and outreach to have someone,anyone buy these cookies? Â I wonder if this story is a hoaz!
@Bubble Burster appears to be
And EVERY PENNY goes to the MULTIMILLIONAIRE GIRL SCOUT EXECUTIVE'S salaries, benefits, pensions, and PERKS!
@August100 Not true at all. The girls get money for the cookies they sell, the troop gets money as well. Get your facts straight before you start shooting off you mouth about something you clearly don't know anything about.
@smlsa2004Â @August100100
Last I heard they only get like 50 cents off of a $4 box of cookies..can you tell me that is wrong?Â
@lindababy @smlsa2004 @August100 Thats wrong we get 1.00 per box we sell. At least thats what we get in arizona.
@August100Â
I have not let my daughters join the Girl Scouts because the organization has changed.  They are quite proud of allowing lesbian  Scout leaders and girls scouts be part of their organization.  It's not worth the risk to us.  I don't want my girls at a tender ages to be seduced or desensitized to a life style choice that it contrary to our beliefs and common sense.  We don't buy their cookies either.
@Bubble Burster
Try not to worry so much. They don't actively promote it either. I was in girl scouts not very long ago at all. Never heard anything about it, and no other girl tried to get in my pants either. Neither myself or any other girl I ever met in GS ever complained of getting hit on or getting molested. Also my scout leader was a good christian woman.
This entire story is a hoax!!!!!!!!!!
What a way to sell cookies. Fabricate a hoax and sell all your cookies. Way to go girls
Why didn't they press charges against that scumbag? Who would do that? They must be mentally imbalanced.
I feel sorry for the Girl Sccouts. Perhaps lesbians, birth control & abortion advocates, and NOW can chip in as they've all infiltrated the Girl Scouts ( as opposed to the far more conservative Boy Scouts ) promoting and teaching their progressive agendas.
@Steve Puckett I hope you don't have a daughter, if you do, I feel bad for her!
@Steve PuckettÂ
Yes as I mentioned earlier, our daughters are NOT part of the Girl Scouts. Â The LEFT has taken over. They indoctrinate the kids with LEFTIST ideology.
@Bubble Burster @Steve PuckettWow -- what kind of pervert is it that the first thought that crosses their mind when they read a story about Girl Scout cookies is sex (straight, gay, upside-down, swinging-from-the-chandelier -- doesn't matter)??  Oh, that would be you two.  What's wrong with you?  Ick.
@Bubble Yes, ideals like honor, cooperation, education, self-respect and community service are definitely NOT part of any right-wing ideology. I want to teach my daughters to be selfish, shallow, greedy and intolerant -- what organizations have you found that promote those "values" so I can send my kids too!
Just a thought: is the hoax a hoax?
More proof that you just can't beat the good hearts of Oregonians!
@catherine.henry .... more proof that you can't beat the gullibility of stoners
@Karla Katz @catherine.henryÂ
I forgot about all the stoners in oregon
I'm certainly glad I don't wake up with the toxic outlook on life you obviously do! How's that working for you, honey?
@catherine.henry it is working well for me too, didn't run down there when told that the "sky is falling" and pay out money for substandard products, that in my opinion should be sold at the dollar tree for a $1/box
@catherine.henry Just fine... clear headed, sugar pie