[Thorzdad]

So, a Webelo and his mom just came to the door, selling bags of popcorn to support the troop. Caramel corn, white cheddar, something else, etc. I though a bag of caramel corn sounded fun, so I nicely asked how much a bag was.

$25!!!!!

$25!?? For a fucking bag of caramel corn?!?!??? (I did not use that language)
The mom agreed it was a lot of money. The white cheddar was the bargain at a mere $20. I begged off, telling them they would have to come back and talk to my banker (aka my wife) There’s no way in hell I’m gonna tell her I spent $25 on fucking caramel corn.

[andi*pandi]

we were taught to say, you are supporting scouts, with some popcorn thrown in. at least bsa gets a bigger cut of that popcorn $$ than gs does from cookies.

The cheapest thing is the $10 dollar bag of popping corn… But the caramel popcorn is at least tasty.

The popcorn people frown at customers just giving money directly to the troop but the troop will accept it the kids just don't get any popcorn points toward prizes.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

at least bsa gets a bigger cut of that popcorn $$ than gs does from cookies.

Still, most people have no problem with dropping $25 and getting a few boxes of cookies. But $25 for a single bag of popcorn just doesn’t sell.

I was a webelo back in the day, and I was ready to support the kid. I’d have no problem dropping $10 on a bag of caramel corn. Maybe $12. Maybe. $25 is just too big an ask.

[Laminar]

Back when my neighbor was in Scouts maybe 5 years ago they'd have branded boxes of caramel corn with either of the competing local college sports teams and they were....$9? Still highway robbery for a bag of caramel corn but at least it was only a 300% markup and not 800%.

[Spheric Harlot]

I really don't get the argument.

The concept of actually making a donation for the donation's sake and receiving something worth a fraction of the donation as a token "purchase" really isn't new.

I mean…bake sales really aren't about the business proposition of selling home-made cake for $2 a slice.

Make the donation, enjoy the popcorn, end of story.

Or…don't.

[Thorzdad]

People are more likely to “donate” if the required donation was more reasonable. The scouts would probably pocket more donation money overall if the cost were lower. At $25, they’re leaving a lot of money on the table.

Left on their own, most people wouldn’t ever make a donation to scouting. I know I wouldn’t (Don’t get me started on my horrible time in scouting.) The popcorn is the bait that could push people to make a donation. But, since it’s a transaction, you shouldn’t have a price such that people have to think twice about. $25 is such a barrier. Doubly-so given that everyone knows how damned cheap popcorn is.

Price that shit at even $15/bag and I bet they’d end up with more money in the bank.

[Spheric Harlot]

Yeah, but your wording was, "$25!?? For a fucking bag of caramel corn?!?!???" and, "There’s no way in hell I’m gonna tell her I spent $25 on fucking caramel corn."

I get that there should be options for smaller donations, but your post hinges on the idea of value, and much of the subsequent discussion has been about "margins" and "markups" — as if that were the point.

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

People are more likely to “donate” if the required donation was more reasonable.

THIS I can absolutely agree with.

[andi*pandi]

Again, the trailsend company does not want scouts to take direct donations… but we did have a donation cookie jar on the sale table anyway that many people stuffed money into.

sounds like prices have gone up.
The $10 dollar option popping corn...
caramel was $20 unless w nuts then $25
Cheese popcorn was $15 however if it's pretty obvious the difference if you're selling outside of a grocery store someone could take their $15 into the grocery store and buy three large bags of cheese popcorn for the same price.

[subego]

Chester’s Puffcorn is by far the best Cheeto product, yet it has a chee quotient of zero.

[reader50]

So you're 10 years old (your sister is 11) and you've been misbehaving. Mom takes away your electronics for awhile.

How do you respond to this injustice? note - you live in Florida. So exercise your freedom.

You and your sis swipe Mom's car and go for a joyride after midnight. Hours later (and 200 miles away) the cops pull over the stolen car. Only to find two kids, also reported missing.

When the vehicle was stopped, deputies saw a 10-year-old boy hop out of the driver’s seat and his 11-year-old sister exit the car, the sheriff’s office said in the post. Authorities then learned the siblings were also reported missing in North Port and the stolen vehicle belonged to their mother, the post said.
...
After speaking with the children, deputies determined they were not mistreated by anyone in their home. Their mother, who drove three hours to pick up the children, did not want to pursue criminal charges, authorities said.

I seem to have missed out on essential childhood adventures. Never stole the parents' car as a preteen - that would have resulted in lots of pain sitting down for the next few days. Actually, I don't recall ever stealing the parents' car.

Even growing up is free-er in Florida. I bet both kids plan to vote for DeSantis when they come of age.

[Thorzdad]

Yesterday, we were out with two other couples at an arts festival over in the more affluent northern suburbs of Indy. They block off the downtown mainstreet, and line each side of the street with tents for the artists to show/sell their works. Basically a big tent sale for art, which is pretty much the primary way artists get seen and sell their art in my neck of the woods. It was a fun time, looking at a lot of middle-brow art, finding the occasional artist doing something genuinely interesting, and, of course, people watching. To wit...

Toward evening, we started noticing packs of young people (i.e. teens) migrating into the area, and they were more-or-less dressed formally. We quickly realized it was homecoming weekend for the local highschool, and last night was the homecoming dance.

Being an old, I am decidedly out-of-touch with the styles the youngsters wear these days (at least here in Indiana) and I was a bit startled. The boys were dressed like they always have...nice pants, shirt, tie, a few had jackets. Nothing new. They could have been transported from anywhere in the past 30 years.

The girls though...
I’ll say right up front this is not going to be some old dude raging about girls dressing like hoes rant. It’s more like an old dude dealing with trying really hard not to openly gawk and perv over the girls. To say the girls’ dresses were skimpy would be the understatement of the year. The dresses were basically just really expensive elastic tubes. Absolutely skin tight, and barely high enough to cover nipples, and barely low enough to cover butt cheeks. They were really nice dresses, but...damn...it was super difficult not to just sit and stare, and feel really creepy and embarrassed/ashamed, because, y’know, old dude.

A really interesting part of the girls’ ensembles was the footware. No heels. Nice sneakers and bunched-up socks. One of my friends opined that, with the sneakers, the look was kind of a high-end catholic schoolgirl uniform.

Kids these days, amirite?

[reader50]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

A really interesting part of the girls’ ensembles was the footware. No heels. Nice sneakers and bunched-up socks.

Does this mean the girls-in-boots fashion is over?

I didn't get that one. Boots are heavy - I only wear them when a job requires it. Sneakers are far more comfortable for everyday wear.

[subego]

By boots, do you mean like Uggs?

[reader50]

More like black police boots. Seems to have been the thing with teen girls for quite some time.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by reader50 

More like black police boots. Seems to have been the thing with teen girls for quite some time.

Oh, you mean Doc Martens.

They've "been a thing" for five or six decades.

https://www.drmartens.com/uk/en_gb/history

[subego]

I’ve heard their product has gone to shit.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by subego 

I’ve heard their product has gone to shit.

The “Made in England” line is apparently still the original product.

They moved 99% of manufacturing to China twenty years ago, but that apparently only became problematic after the private equity takeover by the current owner, ten years ago.

[andi*pandi]

Yes docs are still popular. Kid2 lives in hers.

We shopped very hard to find a version that was better - leather, workmanship, etc. Choosing a model w different hardware helped - don't recall if hers are Made in England.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

The “Made in England” line is apparently still the original product.

They moved 99% of manufacturing to China twenty years ago, but that apparently only became problematic after the private equity takeover by the current owner, ten years ago.

From what I’ve heard, when they moved to China one of the British factories kept making them under the Solovair brand.

[Spheric Harlot]

That too. They used to manufacture under license. But Docs themselves are also still made there — the “Made in England” models.

[Laminar]

Haven't been on Marketplace for a while. Facebook wants to make sure I'm hooked back in.