Are roadside "take what you want and pay what you owe" stands doomed?
For some time now, Cropthorne Farm on B.C.’s Lower Mainland has sold eggs on the honour system. They load up a cooler with about eight dozen eggs and put it at the end of their driveway with a sign reading “$5” and a jar filled with some change in to get things rolling.
Whether it's corn or apples, honour boxes like this remain a point of pride and practicality for a number of small farmers across the country who think their time is better spent tending crops than manning a roadside stand -- and who firmly believe that most people are honest.
And it would seem that many are. Despite the hundreds of vehicles that rush by, nobody has ever stolen a single egg, lifted the cash or even shortchanged owner, farm owner Lydia Ryall says.
Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the norm.
As a result, they've shuttered their roadside stands after proceeds in the payment box simply kept dwindling: "You start feeling like you’re working for nothing," one disgruntled vendor told the National Post.
Some have decided to fight back instead. One weary soul even went so far to set up a hidden wildlife camera at her farm stand and waited in hopes of catching whoever was emptying the box on her behalf -- which kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?
Nonethless, there are many examples around the world where such a system still works, maintains Jeffery Mcpherson, the author of Honor System Marketing.
Is the honour system alive and well in your area? Does it work or is it simply an easy target for thieves?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: Al-Man | Oct 15, 2021 10:44:40 AM
Sure, there are other parts of the world where an honor system payment for goods works, but those places are where you can get a hand cut off for stealing.
If you want to set up a stand to sell goods, sit there and sell, or take your produce to a farmers market. I do, and it works fine. If you don't have the time, then why are you setting up a stand in the first place?
You can firmy believe that most people are honest, and most are, but it only takes one to screw that up for everyone.