We have these too in Switzerland, ranging from simple like in the article to full farm stores like this:
https://www.leimbihof.ch/bio-laden
Last time I was there they had a milk cow full fillet/tenderloin (among many other things) for around $280 (converted from chf). The store is completely unmanned and you pay electronically. If there are cameras they're not obvious.
This definitely isn't just a Scotland thing... I grew up in Alabama and this was common there, and honestly I've seen this all over rural America. It's very common for farm stands during the harvesting season.
Still, cool website, I enjoyed a few articles there even if this one was very short.
When I was a preteen kid many years ago in Massachusetts enjoying the rural summer life, we used to go around to the local farms and beg produce off the farmers. We'd then set up a card table and a cash box at the side of the road somewhere and then go off to play for the day. While we were gone, the kindly wives of the farmers we'd gotten the produce from would come and buy back the produce from us for whatever minimal price we'd set on it. So as the afternoon wore on, we'd head back and excitedly collect our change and then head to the local general store to buy penny candy.
We didn't know at the time that it was the wives buying the produced back. We just thought we were amazingly successful shop keepers.
Yes, I've seen this in rural America. Purchased some firewood at a random stand on the highway. Pick some up, leave $5 in the box. Really nice to see this sort of thing in action.
It’s more common than you think - because in many areas transporting firewood into parks, etc from more than 5/10/15 miles away is prohibited- to prevent the spread of tree pests.
Firewood is one of those things that should always be local.
I once stayed at an honesty box motel near Hell's Backbone (a road through rough country in rural Utah). There was a basket of keys on the porch and a sign that said, "We're out. Please take a key and leave $20." The place hadn't been cleaned in a while, but I was very happy to stay there as there was nowhere else nearby and I had fallen ill.
There was a dog with heterochromia and a llama nearby, watching us as we left the money and chose a key. It was quite the memorable place. For years afterwards my wife referred to it as "the hotel run by a dog and a llama".
We have chickens and I'd love to do an honesty box. Problem is we live in an English city and it's extremely low-trust like most English cities these days.
It's not even that I worry someone would steal the eggs that concerns me most, it's that a lot of people would probably think it's funny to throw them at cars or house/shop windows.
I'd love to live some where where this is possible... I heard that Lee Kuan Yew on visiting England in the 50s saw an honesty box and was inspired by how civilised the English were.
Not sure what's happened to us since then... You definitely couldn't do that now. We're like a completely different people. Although it's nice to see that this practise does still live on in some rural communities.
Also – the honesty "box" in that lead picture is absolutely beautiful...
Can I push you to give it a try - places with honesty boxes feel like places with honesty boxes if that makes sense.
Obviously you might get your car egged once - but you can get eggs anywhere.
If it's any help, my (admittedly very nice) corner of Bristol has a couple of honesty boxes for eggs and things about the place and I've never seen any trouble from it.
I'm considering placing a sign on the wall saying to knock for eggs next time we want to get rid of some. I think that's a fair compromise.
We get a lot of crime around here... The issue with an eggs honesty box is that it's likely to be a nuisance to the neighbourhood. If people are willing to smash windows, I doubt they'd think twice about throw some eggs around. In fact we got egged ourselves a couple of halloween's ago...
> Problem is we live in an English city and it's extremely low-trust like most English cities these days.
If you go hiking in the countryside, you encounter honesty boxes in small villages fairly often. I guess the fact that every knows everyone else tends to make smaller communities more trusting and trustworthy.
Lived in rural Australia with this as commonplace. Fwiw the neighbour did have someone take the whole box one day. He did run after it and get a numberplate since he was close to the box at the time.
That's one thing about these, it's not that no one would ever steal them as if there's some magic in these areas that leads to zero theft. After all anyone can drive out there. They exist because there's little choice but to accept some losses since you can't staff a store selling small amounts of produce.
For all the comments along the lines of "society has gone to shit, look how nice it once was" just remember that theft still happens and these honesty boxes were always done out of raw necessity.
Hiring onsite security forces doesn't seem to be the answer. Inventory loss at big box stores is reportedly quite high. If you stocked a drop box with 20-dozen eggs and somebody stole a dozen, you might still be doing better than Walmart.
That's exactly how it works. You accept the losses. Since the honesty box stores are very low volume and the box is emptied regularly you just accept that there will be losses but at least they'll be relatively small. The reason honesty boxes don't work in the city is that the equation leans to staffing being worthwhile to counter the losses.
I feel self-checkouts these days lean back towards the honesty box system but no one see's those as quaint at all :p
Also Australian and can confirm once you get on main-ish roads a certain distance from major population areas these were a thing (at least quite a few years ago, don't drive so haven't recent data on this stuff).
It's nice to think there is some trust/faith in humanity once you get a certain distance away from the frenetic pace of life in cities.
On a related note, have recently finished (with my wife) a bottle of Adnamurchan whisky - highly recommended, although I'm more of an Islay guy.
Also spent 2.5 years living in Scotland - those blue sky photos are the exception, not the norm.
You are ignoring that theft still has to be rare for the boxes to make sense for the owner. Much rare than it would be if you put something like this in a big city.
I know a guy who is from Brazil, he was utterly shocked that honesty boxes existed. I doubt they are universal. And they probably require a high trust society.
If you put one of these here in Buenos Aires, I expect it to dissapear in an hour.
But a long time ago I went with my wife for a few weeks to a small town in the mountais in the Cordoba(AR) province. We left the bikes unchained an unatended for hours. I expect a honesty box to be possible there. Except during weekends, when it get's full of turists.
I was in Cyprus many many years ago. Driving along we saw a sign for a bar and stopped. Under a canopy of vines were tables and chairs, a fridge full of beer, a price list, and a plastic tub with some money in it.
A friend and I took a trip from Sheffield to Glasgow just before an election, and on a grim and dark winter evening we went out into the barely-lit backstreets looking for a particular pub. A group of 6 or so well-built young men approached us, ..."Hey lads, are you proud to be Scottish?", "Er, I suppose we would be if we were Scottish, but we're from Yorkshire ...". This being not long after "Trainspotting" was released, I was half-expecting a knife to be pulled, but no "Oh sorry lads, we're just canvasing for the Scottish independence, ... you having a good night? ..."
Readit News
Last time I was there they had a milk cow full fillet/tenderloin (among many other things) for around $280 (converted from chf). The store is completely unmanned and you pay electronically. If there are cameras they're not obvious.
Still, cool website, I enjoyed a few articles there even if this one was very short.
We didn't know at the time that it was the wives buying the produced back. We just thought we were amazingly successful shop keepers.
Firewood is one of those things that should always be local.
And some firewood places like the ones the sibling commenter mentioned as well.
There was a dog with heterochromia and a llama nearby, watching us as we left the money and chose a key. It was quite the memorable place. For years afterwards my wife referred to it as "the hotel run by a dog and a llama".
It's not even that I worry someone would steal the eggs that concerns me most, it's that a lot of people would probably think it's funny to throw them at cars or house/shop windows.
I'd love to live some where where this is possible... I heard that Lee Kuan Yew on visiting England in the 50s saw an honesty box and was inspired by how civilised the English were.
Not sure what's happened to us since then... You definitely couldn't do that now. We're like a completely different people. Although it's nice to see that this practise does still live on in some rural communities.
Also – the honesty "box" in that lead picture is absolutely beautiful...
Obviously you might get your car egged once - but you can get eggs anywhere.
If it's any help, my (admittedly very nice) corner of Bristol has a couple of honesty boxes for eggs and things about the place and I've never seen any trouble from it.
We get a lot of crime around here... The issue with an eggs honesty box is that it's likely to be a nuisance to the neighbourhood. If people are willing to smash windows, I doubt they'd think twice about throw some eggs around. In fact we got egged ourselves a couple of halloween's ago...
It used to be quite common to see usable household goods left outside a house for others to take.
If you go hiking in the countryside, you encounter honesty boxes in small villages fairly often. I guess the fact that every knows everyone else tends to make smaller communities more trusting and trustworthy.
That's one thing about these, it's not that no one would ever steal them as if there's some magic in these areas that leads to zero theft. After all anyone can drive out there. They exist because there's little choice but to accept some losses since you can't staff a store selling small amounts of produce.
For all the comments along the lines of "society has gone to shit, look how nice it once was" just remember that theft still happens and these honesty boxes were always done out of raw necessity.
https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-california-stores-closed-...
I feel self-checkouts these days lean back towards the honesty box system but no one see's those as quaint at all :p
It's nice to think there is some trust/faith in humanity once you get a certain distance away from the frenetic pace of life in cities.
On a related note, have recently finished (with my wife) a bottle of Adnamurchan whisky - highly recommended, although I'm more of an Islay guy.
Also spent 2.5 years living in Scotland - those blue sky photos are the exception, not the norm.
If you put one of these here in Buenos Aires, I expect it to dissapear in an hour.
But a long time ago I went with my wife for a few weeks to a small town in the mountais in the Cordoba(AR) province. We left the bikes unchained an unatended for hours. I expect a honesty box to be possible there. Except during weekends, when it get's full of turists.
A delightful moment among many.
Nice place.
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