Since we were talking about girlscout cookies on here, I thought Id ask another question. When your kids sell stuff, do you let them go door to door, or just ask people you know?
My son is in boyscouts and my daughter in brownies this year. I have never allowed my son to go door to door(Even with me present), we go to the neighbors we are friendly with, and then ask friends we know, and thats it.
Iam not a competitive person. My daughters troop leader would like the girls to sell 100 boxes each. Honestly, it seems like alot for people like me. First, we have no family here, 2nd I do not work. My husband works in a very small office. He has gotten a couple of orders but thats it. Iam not going to stress over not reaching the 100 boxes. I refuse to go door to door and ask strangers.
At the meeting the other night, all the girls were saying how many they have sold already etc.. how they went door to door etc...Sorry, its just not worth it to me.
I explain to my daughter I do not like asking strangers to buy things.
My daughter has a friend in the troop. Her friend and her father went door to door in their neighborhood and sold about 80 boxes this way. Well thats great for them, but not my cup of tea. The troop leader was telling the girls, dont be surprised if people are rude, or just dont answere their door etc.. She went on to say some people just dont like buying stuff etc..she said some may even slam the door but the girls shouldnt be upset by this.
Ok maye Im being over protective, but my daughter is 6 yrs old. Why would I want somebody to do this to her? This is my reasoning why we only ask people we know , because I know they will not be rude to her.
What are your thoughts on selling stuff?

By Debbie on Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 08:51 am:

We only have one selling fundraiser for school and it is a raffle. Each family is asked to sell 10 tickets. We just ask our friends and then we go door to door on our street(we know everyone). The raffle is really a great deal(you pay $10.00 and have 72 chances to win. The prizes range from $25.00 - $200), so they are easy to sell. This year, our neighbors even asked when we would be selling them, so it was very easy to get rid of our tickets.

I don't have any other experience with selling. I will say that I usually buy when little ones come to my door. We don't really get too many. Most of the dks we know, some we don't. I think it takes a lot of effort to go door to door, so I always try and buy. I would never let my ds go alone door to door. But, if he had to sell something and wanted to go door to door, then I would go with him.

By Insaneusmcwife on Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 09:59 am:

Ds has had a few fundraisers but we have never gone door to door. It seems like such a pain. I guess if he really wanted to I would take him. We are getting ready for a fundraiser for the Young Marines. I'm making 500 chocolate roses for them to sell outside Wal-Mart the weekend before Valentines Day. I'm hoping they will all be gone the first day so that we don't have to do it Saturday and Sunday.

By Colette on Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 10:32 am:

100 boxes per girl is ridiculous. I wouldn't let mine go door to door either. We sell to family and close friends who ask if we are selling and that's it.

By Kate on Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 12:24 pm:

I have a 'No Soliciting' sign on my front door....what does that tell you? :o)

Yes, I'm opposed to selling and would never let my kids go door to door, even to people they know. I ESPECIALLY don't want to impose on the people I know! If I was forced to sell, I would much rather ask a stranger who I know would be honest and say no if he wanted, than to make a friend feel pressured to buy. I think the selling of magazines, candy, cookies, sponsoring for running/walking, etc. is totally out of hand. If my own children are not involved in the particular activity, then obviously I have little interest in supporting it, even if it's a great activity! There are plenty of other true charities I would much rather support than send some neighbor kid off to band camp or Girl Scout camp, or a trip, or buying uniforms, etc. If my own child is involved then I will cover the cost for my own child. If I am unable to afford it, then my child won't join that activity. Rather cut and dry for me. It's simply not my relatives, friends, or neighbors responsibility to support my children in anything!

By Juli4 on Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 03:46 pm:

My dh's parents would call the school and ask how much profit they intended to make on each child and usually it was really low like $30. And then he would just pay that. I know that in public school they won't do that, but their profit margin is not a lot per kid for the amount of work it takes to sell stuff.

By Amecmom on Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 03:59 pm:

I agree, Julie. I hate fundraisers for the very reason that the profit margin is really low! I usually ask the school what percentage they make on each item, multipy that by how many items they want sold and give it as a donation.
Unfortunately, my kid doesn't get a prize when I do this, but it's a lot cheaper, less of a hassle and tax-deductable.
I think if more parents did this, there would be less selling.
Ame

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 06:01 pm:

We have just gone door-to-door in our neighborhood. One neighbor who always buys several boxes of cookies, just had a baby and I haven't seen the baby yet. Got to see her belly grow all summer and I still don't know what she had! After it got cold, we were never outside at the same time!

Sarah has sold 100 or so boxes of cookies, in our neighborhood, my 2 places of employment, Gary's office and church.

By Tink on Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 08:03 pm:

My dks have a fundraiser (usually gift wrap or cookie dough) and I don't let my kids sell door-to-door, either. My mom usually buys something, my sister might, and, after we make a purchase ourselves, that's it for my kids. My dh isn't allowed to bring in fundraising items into work and I don't work. I rarely buy from kids that I don't know unless it's just a dollar candy bar or something along those lines. I just don't like giving all our information to someone I don't even know.

I think 100 boxes is an unreasonable goal for six year olds. If you aren't willing to go door-to-door and don't have a large workplace, I don't know how you'd reach that. I also hate the attitude some people have towards kids that fundraise that way. I certainly don't want my kids exposed to that.

By Dawnk777 on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 01:08 am:

Instead of selling stuff to raise money for the Six Flags 8th grade field trip, they are having a roller-skating party, and people just donate money to that. No selling stuff. We'll probably just give some money from our family. I'm almost glad that's all it is. I have had enough frozen cookie dough to last me a lifetime. The first time I thought it was good. The second time I could tell they weren't homemade cookies, even though we baked them at home.