Long gone are the days you could get a bag of popcorn, while supporting the Boy Scouts of America, for only $10. As a matter of fact, the last time the popcorn Boy Scouts sell was priced that low was in 2006. And a Lowe’s shopper found out the hard way how much these bags currently cost.
“I’m pretty sure I just got robbed at Lowe’s,” TikTok user Mistee Salters Brady (@mistee429) starts.
Boy Scouts, along with Girl Scouts, will often hang out outside of different retail stores, like Walmart and Trader Joe’s, in hopes of selling their treats to customers exiting and entering those stores. Girl Scouts infamously sell cookies, while Boy Scouts sell popcorn.
She agreed to support the Boy Scouts and purchase a bag of popcorn from them when they approached her outside of Lowe’s. But when it came time to pay, she was in for a shock. “They’re like, ‘That will be $25.’ $25 for this bag of popcorn,” she says, showing off the s’mores popcorn bag.
According to the Boy Scouts of America’s website, the 7-ounce bag contains chocolate, marshmallow, and graham crackers. It costs $30 online.
“I would have made a donation and felt better about it,” Brady adds.
Brady then reminds herself it’s “for charity,” which makes her feel better about the steep price tag. “That’s fine. It’s for charity,” she assures herself.
@mistee429 I cant be trusted to make good decisions. 😑
♬ original sound – Mistee Salters Brady
Brady’s video has been viewed over 106,000 times. Like Brady, viewers feel the snack is grossly overpriced.
“I thought Girl Scout cookies were insane til I saw boys out popcorn prices. Give me 20 boxes of cookies,” one shared.
“It is insanely expensive! I just give them a $5 cash donation,” another said.
Viewers also shared how they get out of the awkward encounters with the Boys and Girls Scouts.
“I skipped that exit door because I knew the cost lol nope,” one said.
“I always say, ‘no thank you, my nephew is a Boy Scout and I have to buy from him’…..I don’t have a nephew,” another shared.
Why is the Boy Scouts popcorn so expensive?
But, according to ScoutSmarts, there’s a “good” reason why the popcorn is so expensive.
“Around 70% of the proceeds of this extremely high-margin snack go toward Scouting, making the actual manufacturing cost of the product about 1/3 of its selling price. For instance, a 9-oz box of BSA White Cheddar Cheese Corn that sells for $20 has a donation rate of approximately $14 per box, which funds local Scouting!” it reports.
Update 7pm CT, Aug. 28: The Scouts of America told the Daily Dot via email that “Scout Councils sell various products to assist with funding individual unit programs. It is a fund raiser for which a bag of popcorn is a thank you for the donation. The price is not reflective of an equivalent retail price.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Brady via TikTok comment and direct message.
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