Meet the Kingpin of the Girl Scout Cookie Black Market

Cole Saladino/Thrillist
Cole Saladino/Thrillist

Between the months of January and April, you can't visit a big-box store or open a personal email from Rob in Accounting without being propositioned with a $4 box of Girl Scout Cookies. During the rest of the year, however, it's difficult to score some uncut Samoas. But not impossible. 

Several off-season cookie hustlers hide in the not-so-dark alley of the Internet (Amazon!), but one stands out as the largest and most ruthless supplier. Vin Mints, as we'll call him, agreed to answer our questions so long as we protected his identity.

Read on to learn the gritty details of his operation, from not getting high on his own supply to how he muscles other sellers out of the marketplace.

How did you come up with the idea of selling Girl Scout Cookies?

Vin Mints: "I was listening to a podcast by Jordan Malik that went over selling on Amazon and mentioned Girl Scout Cookies."
 

How long have you been doing this?

VM: "I just started this year."
 

You'd need a huge stock to last the whole year. How many boxes do you buy and where do you buy them from?

VM: "I buy about 1,000-2,000 from different troops up to April 1st and 1,000-2,000 from eBay troop sellers after April 1st. I buy most of them after the traditional season since this reduces the inventory available to other sellers and buyers." 
 

That's quite the windfall for a kid! Do you personally know the Girl Scouts you buy from?

VM: "I do not know any Girl Scouts or troops personally."
 

Have you ever gotten a weird reaction from the Girl Scout troops you buy from?

VM: "Some people have asked and I have not felt comfortable enough to say I resell them."
 

How many boxes do you typically sell in a month?

VM: "I believe the record month was about 200 boxes, but it varies depending on what people are looking for at the time." 
 

Do you mind sharing approximately how much money you're making from this a year?

VM: "I do not keep track of the cookies specifically, but I try to sell them for three times my cost of inventory." [Editor's Note: A typical box of Girl Scout Cookies is $4; Vin Mints resells them for about $9-$13. Let's say he buys 4K boxes in-season for $16,000 and resells them all. He could take home about $32,000 this year.]
 

Is this your only job? If not, what is your day job?

VM: "I work as an accountant for a small B2B business during the day and have my own accounting firm and work as an apprentice for a woodworker on the weekends."

Flickr/sea turtle

Do you have a gigantic freezer that you keep them all in?

VM: "I do not freeze them because I have found they do not taste as good after, but I do keep them in a cool and dry area. All my inventory is in my basement for now, but I am looking to move it all to a warehouse or storage space. The cost benefit is not there yet, but I hope to move it all in the next year."
 

Are there peak times of year that people buy them?

VM: "After the Girl Scouts stop selling in April, the online sales spike, but it really peaks and slumps depending on the day of the week."
 

What's your favorite type of Girl Scout Cookie?

VM: "I actually do not like sweets and do not eat any."
 

What are the best-selling cookies?

VM: "Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs."
 

What's the worst-selling?

VM: "Cranberry Crisps."
 

Do the gluten-free cookies sell very well?

VM: "They have not sold as quickly as I thought they would."

Flickr/Family O'Abe

Have the Girl Scouts of America ever contacted you about reselling?

VM: "Why would they? The Girl Scouts as members have an agreement to sell to willing buyers for the agreed upon price (most recently $4 per box) until April 1st. If the families have any extras after that date, they can sell them by their own means but they still follow the pricing restriction. There is no obligation beyond that agreement for the general public and the online marketplace is unrestricted in the matter of reselling Girl Scout Cookies."

Do you have to deal with much competition from other resellers?

VM: "Of course, but every seller eventually runs out of inventory."

Have you told your parents about this? What do they think?

VM: "They are not a part of this and I have no reason to tell them."

How far are you willing to go to protect your empire?

VM: "I am not sure what you mean. I want to grow a business and find a way to support my family with residual passive income."

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Dan Gentile is a staff writer at Thrillist. He purchased one box of Girl Scout Cookies in the research for this story and they were delicious. Follow him to more nefarious characters at @Dannosphere.