This is a sign of a deeply trust based society.
I don't think articles like these are good for the system's health :)
Many Swiss farmers use honor system to sell their products
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Re: Many Swiss farmers use honor system to sell their products
#12As a Swiss guy, I must say I only see this in rural areas. It wouldn't work in big cities like Geneva I think (too many people living in urban areas who don't respect our wonderful country and that's a shame).
This is actually fairly common in rural areas in America too. Maybe someone sets up a bunch of pumpkins, apples, etc at the end of their driveway (which in rural America can be measured in KM) and a box to put money in.
Re: Many Swiss farmers use honor system to sell their products
#13I’ve seen this in the US in rural parts of Georgia.
Yep...I agree it works well here and let's you farm while holding down another job. You can get "vine ripened" and the flavor it much better. It also is more efficient for spoilage. Hogs or chickens get it right after it is too ripe.
Re: Many Swiss farmers use honor system to sell their products
#14This is more common than you might think in rural areas in California
IIRC I saw this for strawberries when driving to SF for an internship. I've seen it for pumpkins in the midwest too.
Re: Many Swiss farmers use honor system to sell their products
#15Honesty boxes are common here in UK countryside too. Same as any country tho', it probably wouldn't work in the towns and cities.
I guess the number of people in a city make it more likely that there'd be enough 'cheaters' to ruin the whole enterprise and not make it worthwhile.
Re: Many Swiss farmers use honor system to sell their products
#16Even retail establishments with staff and security systems balance the extra costs of these “loss prevention” measures against customer convenience. The goal is never perfect security but sufficient security. Large retailers typically set targets on loss and try to minimize them, within reason. Farm stands that operate like this have simply found a reasonable cost/benefit trade off. (There’s an apple orchard near Boston that leaves their store unattended for the slow winter months... My wife pops in a few times to buy some more apples.)
Re: Many Swiss farmers use honor system to sell their products
#17As a Swiss guy, I must say I only see this in rural areas. It wouldn't work in big cities like Geneva I think (too many people living in urban areas who don't respect our wonderful country and that's a shame).
In Geneva thirty years ago there were newspapers for sale on the street using this system.
Re: Many Swiss farmers use honor system to sell their products
#18I've seen this with firewood in California. It probably costs the producer more to have someone there then it does losing a portion of stock to theft.
Re: Many Swiss farmers use honor system to sell their products
#19I've seen some in Germany (e.g. Pick flowers, put coins into the box), but I like the ones I found in Switzerland more - larger selection including fruit, vegetables and eggs. Maybe I just got lucky.
Re: Many Swiss farmers use honor system to sell their products
#20They have this in Ontario.