The Truth About Black Market Girl Scout Cookies

Thin Mints, Caramel deLites, Trefoils...it's hard to pick a favorite. But what if you don't happen to personally know a Girl Scout to order cookies? What if none of your coworkers' kids are hawking the beloved treats this year? What if you didn't, in fact, get invited to the Oscars, and thus did not get the chance to secure said cookies from none other than host Chris Rock's daughter's Girl Scout troop, à la Leonardo DiCaprio? How are you supposed to get your hands on the heavenly treats? Since the Girl Scouts of America first began selling its beloved cookies to the public back in 1917, sales of the sweet treats have been almost exclusively conducted face-to-face. Then, in 2014, the organization launched Digital Cookie, an online marketing platform that allowed scouts to send out invitations to purchase the cookies directly from their unique seller pages. But in order to access this online repository or deliciousness, you still had to actually know a Girl Scout in order to receive an invitation and purchase the goods online. Until now, that is. Those without easy access to a cookie-shilling Girl Scout can now get their Do-si-dos fix anytime, anywhere, thanks to Amazon and its robust market of resellers. The site offers the cookies year-round, but be warned: We don't know exactly where the cookies are coming from and the convenience will cost you. Girl Scout cookies purchased in the traditional manner will run you about $5 a box, while a box of Thin Mints ordered from Amazon will run you $12, reports The Daily Dot. But perhaps even more importantly, there is no guarantee that you're buying these cookies from actual Girl Scouts. Meaning, sadly, we also don't know where the extra money is going, if not to the Girl Scouts of America. The only true way to buy a box of Girl Scout cookies and really know where your money is going is the old-fashioned way. It may be time to work a little harder to getting to know your local Girl Scout, you can start by visiting GirlScouts.org and searching for your local troop to get a direct connection to purchase.