Do Honesty Boxes work? or do they attract freeloaders?

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DH saw some on his way to work and we were chatting about it. Anyone have any idea of they actually make money? Or does it all get stolen?

Yanbu - they work and make money

Yabu - THEY attract dishonest thieves

Also is that what they are even called?
Not manned, just a stall at the side of the road with a bunch of eggs or vegetables and a locked box for money. Pretty sure it's called an honesty box but who knows?

I’ve had one for selling eggs for a year now and haven’t had anyone stealing any yet.

Also would call it an honesty box

There is an entire chapter exploring the psychology of the honesty box, based on twenty years' worth of data from a bagel salesman, in Freakonomics.

Tl;Dr It depends.

I think placing that amount of trust in people actually deters thieving. I’ve seen a few with jars of jam, honey, pickle, eggs etc - they always make me smile

@OlivePenderghast really? I take it you're rural? Do you think they would work in a town?

I have seen little libraries in towns. I qinder if it would work outside of allotments?

I've seen "please take" signs on front walls in my town, from people who have had a glut of fruit/vegetables...but no little boxes for money.

There’s a lovely local village we sometimes have a walk around, and they have a little “honesty” stall selling eggs. They’re decent eggs so we always buy some in passing. There is money in the box so others are clearly paying too.
I’ve also stayed at a couple of b&bs with “honesty bars”.

We are rural and there are lots round us - as others have said, for eggs, jam, marmalade and honey mainly, but plants too, in season.
The jar / cash box will often have £20-30 in when you put your money in, so clearly some do work well.

However friends lived in Forest Hill, London back in the 1990s. They had a glut of apples so lut bags on their front wall with a sign inviting people to help themselves for free. No takers. Neighbours told them to charge 50p a bag - all were then stolen, which is what the neighbours said would happen!

We're rural. Lots of honesty boxes, as others have said, for home made jam/honey and for eggs, etc.

They work fine. People drop money into the slot of a locked box usually. And I suspect that if they haven't exact change they go over, rather than under.

We've even got a charity shop here called The Honesty Jar, you take what you need or would like, and put what you think it's worth or can afford in the jar.

It only takes a small minority to spoil it for everyone else. An acquaintance had one at the end of their drive in a rural area where they were selling eggs and flowers. All was fine for months, then scumbags stole the flowers and the money twice. They were too disheartened to carry on.

I pick up bags of logs from a particular roadside stall, and also veg and plants sometimes. (‘Hedge Veg’).

I always put the money in, so it works with me as customer.

Loads of places like that rurally here I live. In the summer you could live well from the honesty stalls. Honey, jam, bread, apple juice. Surplus veg.

Off the top of my head I can think of 3 sheds/horse boxes which run as honesty shops. Home grown or homemade produce.

We see it a lot when we’re travelling the islands and highlands. Best was the cheese place on Isle of Mull. We were there out of season so cafe wasn’t open and shop unmanned. There was a locked box for notes and basket for change along with a little book to write down what you had purchased and for how much. They also provided a calculator in case you needed it. Toilets were left open too which was very much appreciated.

Can’t wait for our trip to Skye this year to visit this wee place also operated as an honest by box instagram.com/donniestabletshed?utm_medium=copy_link

DDs school do an honesty box/donations box for 2nd hand uniform. They used to do £1 or £2 an item but make more money with the honesty box, apparently parents felt less worried about only putting a small amount in so were more likely to buy something/donate.

@LockedInMyOwnHead oh my goodness what a great Idea! I wonder if I could get my children's school in board with this Idea!

From a PTA perspective we always made lots more money from teas and coffees at events where we had an honesty box on the table than from charging a set price per cup.

I have an honesty box for the eggs we sell, I think in the four years we have been selling them we have lost maybe £2 (eggs are £1 a box). We are rural but I figure that if someone doesn't pay then maybe their need is greater than mine.

@PenStation

It only takes a small minority to spoil it for everyone else. An acquaintance had one at the end of their drive in a rural area where they were selling eggs and flowers. All was fine for months, then scumbags stole the flowers and the money twice. They were too disheartened to carry on.

Agreed. There is a walk we do quite often on a popular path that goes across the moors to a NT property. There is a house just before you enter NT land where they used to have a table with cold drinks and snacks and an honesty box. Unfortunately they eventually put up a sign that some people were taking advantage and not leaving money, or even taking the money, so they would have to stop. A few selfish, dishonest gits spoil it for everyone else

I run a plant and produce stall outside my gate to raise funds for the local Hospice. Fortunately I have at least a dozen friends who generously bring me stuff to sell, including books, jigsaws and flowers. Im on the edge of a small market town in East Anglia and the honesty box works well. Last year we raised £2500!

We have Grow Free carts where I live. People bring their excess produce, and the ethos is take what you need and give what you can, so no money changes hands. The one near me usually has lemons and limes, eggs, all kinds of herbs , seeds and cuttings and often chutneys and jams, bunches of flowers and kombucha starters, I've even seen pasta sauces and cakes! It has been there 24/7 for years so it mustn't be abused, which is pretty cool as I live in Aussie suburbia.

We stopped in a European hostel for a week high up in the mountains. They had a honesty beer fridge. You just made a mark next to your name on paper on the fridge every time you took a beer and settled up when you left. The owner of the hostel said they never had any problems.