Today we’re trying to sell cookies online. Last week the Girl Scouts of America announced that in 2015 they will introduce the Digital Cookie program. The program will allow Girl Scouts to sell their cookies online. The only problem? Alaska won’t be participating.
“Everybody else is getting charged normal rates, except Alaska and Hawaii,” Sue Perles, CEO of Girl Scouts Alaska, said. “We’re getting charged a $20 fee per order.”
She’s referring to the $20 flat rat that would have been applied to all Alaska orders. That means if an Alaskan Girl Scout were to sell a box of cookies to a friend online, it would cost the usual shipping rate, plus a $20 fee. That single box of thin mints could end up costing more than $30. While Alaskans are no strangers to higher shipping costs, Perles says we have our limits.
“We’ve already had discussions with the appropriate people at the National Headquarters of Girl Scouts about signing a different kind of contract next year,” Perles said. “And they’ve assured us they will work hard to do that because they want all girls to have the opportunity to participate in Digital Cookie.”
Alaskans buy about 650,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies each year, and Perles is confident those sales will see a healthy increase once rural troops have the ability to sell online.
“We have troops selling in Unalaska, Dutch Harbor; we have troops in Bethel and Cake. We have troops in communities large and small,” she said.
Perles also points out that a large number of Girl Scouts come from military families.
“And they have friends and relatives all over the world, and Digital Cookie will be an enormous tool for those girls,” Perles said.
With more kids becoming tech-savy every year, Perles is sure that the program will eventually be a key addition to the Alaskan scouts.
“We want our girls to be ahead of the curve and to really learn how to apply their Digital knowledge to a business situation,” Perles said. “And they will at some point learn that through Digital Cookie.”
Although we’ll have to wait at least a year to order our cookies online, Perles says Alaskans will at least be able to sample the two new cookie flavors coming out in January; Rah-Rah Raisin, and the group’s first ever gluten-free cookie Toffe-tastic.
Dave Waldron began his radio career in 2000 as a volunteer DJ at UAA’s radio station KRUA 88.1, where he hosted a weekend music show. In 2004 he was hired as the station’s music director, and held the position until his graduation in 2007. He was hired by Alaska Public Media in 2008 and since then has worked as an audio engineer, editor, and producer. He currently runs his own small business AK Audio Pro, and is a host of Alaska Public Media’s Hometown, Alaska.
