# Honesty Stands



## Nhaupt2 (May 31, 2016)

Anybody have any experience selling out of an honesty stand? I don't have the time to man a booth at the farmers market, but would still like to move some honey. I would love to see some pics or hear words of advice from you all. my backyard backs up to open space with a hiking trail running along it. I was thinking of using a little free library type enclosure with a cash box bolted to it. let me know what you think!


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## ApricotApiaries (Sep 21, 2014)

Location Location Location. 
We love ours. It has worked really well for us. Our local customers love it. They know they can always get honey when they run out. The tourist traffic loves it. 
We are in a really rural area. Very low crime-rates. Good neighbors. And a fair bit of summer tourist traffic. A couple of the bed and breakfasts and hotels regularly tell guests to check us out. We have good signage near the road and our stand is just a little ways off the road. 

Ours is a bit more than a little free library. I built a shed on top of a 4x8ft trailer. One side opens to visitors. There is a lot of shelf space to accommodate several size containers as well as candles, lip balm, and salve. There is also an observation hive built in. We also put a few back-issues of the bee journal in there for interested people as well as pictures of us and our bees, information, bio.... Lots of educational material. Recently I added an old bee log outside to look at and an old galvanized hand crank extractor. 
Ill try to upload some photos later. I am really proud of how it has worked out. 

Generally it is just an honor stand but If i am home and notice someone there I will often go talk to them, make change,...
Change IS something to think about. Either make your prices easy for exact change, or offer something like honeysticks that people can use to make the prices even out. 
We did daily inventories for the first season and found that people are almost always honest. Since then, we try to track a general sales figure but we don't worry about it too much.


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## Scott Gough (Dec 10, 2015)

AA, please do post pictures. I would be interested in seeing what you are describing. It sounds very well thought out.


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

My system is MUCH more basic.








I took some spare 2x4's and decking material and made a small roadside stand. I made a small wooden box with a slot in it for cash, laminated a few pieces of paper with clearly identified prices and stapled it to the sides. 

It has been up and running since February. Everyone told me I was going to have everything stolen. I had one occasion about a month ago where a single pint jar went missing. Two days ago the cash appeared in the box, with an additional penny, which I can only assume was "interest." No other incidents.

I don't provide change. I tell them exact change in the box, or checks. I price my items so you should be able to buy with exact change ($7 lb., $10 pint, $20 quart). My prices will probably need to go up soon, so that may change.

First day I put it up I figured no one would know what it was (I'm waiting for the wood to dry out fully before I paint it). Day two I sold out of everything on the stand (only about $100 worth of stuff, but still). Since then I have good days where three or four bottles will be sold, and stretches of a week where no one will get anything. It fluctuates, but usually I'll sell about $400-800 a month. For no work, that's good enough for me right now. That's in addition to web presence, of course.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I recently got a video doorbell and turned the electrical cabinet next to it into a self serve cabinet. I can communicate with the customers over my smartphone if they ring the doorbell when I am not at home. I quickly made a few sales out of it. I leave a few envelopes inside with instructions to drop payment into my mail slot which keeps the cash secure.


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## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

Speacialk.....
That is about what I have in mind. I am in a rural enough place that I won't get much drive by but people talk and I don't care. My wife says let them knock on the door but I like this better. Do you worry about too much sun on the hot days or anything like that?
I like it.
Cheers
gww


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## ApricotApiaries (Sep 21, 2014)

Specialkayme said:


> My system is MUCH more basic.
> View attachment 34927


I will be the first to acknowledge that our stand is WAY beyond what is necessary. But is also AWESOME and a lot of fun. 

I built ours with a few things in mind. First I wanted to be able to display lots of inventory. Second, we have always made education a part of our business, so I wanted to be able to include pictures, artwork and the like. Third, i really love observation hives and found that I was frequently bringing customers into the house to look at the one in our Kitchen, which was a habit I wanted to break. I also really want to make it clear to people that when they buy honey from us, they are buying direct from a real beekeeper, and also a growing family business. Lastly, our region has been trying to develop more agri-tourism opportunities. We fully intend to be part of this movement. The honeystand is a nice way of providing an Agri-tourism element in a quick stopover kind of way. In the future, we might host tasting events as well but for now its just the honey stand. 

So here is a link to a photo album of some of the features. And a little about why we did things the way we did. I might get carried away here. If the photo link doesnt work let me know. 

https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/pq33r5

The Bat-n-Board style siding was built using rough sawn pine from a local mill. There are a lot of old barns and sheds in the area and I wanted to go for that look. 
The main display side has two big swinging doors. The observation hive is on the left and most of the education related stuff. The right side has most of the honey inventory. And a Pay slot on the back wall. For some reason people have trouble finding it (we recently changed the signage and havent had an issue since then). But sometimes we find wads of bills under a jar of honey, or under a rock, or in the smoker.... When we have comb honey, we put it in a cooler. heat can be an issue. Chunk honey seems to be ok on the shelf though. We put candles and wax products in rubbermaid tubs and tupperware. You really dont want them getting dusty. Unfortunately it makes them less noticeable but it does keep things cleaner. I might eventually build a showcase display for those items with a sign saying look in the tubs. 
On the other side is another smaller door with access to the observation hive. Whenever I have to do work to the observation hive, I do it from this side. But there is a nice little step so kids can climb up and take a closer look. We used to put some inventory back here as well but it goes unnoticed a lot of the time. 
On the very Back is another door with a padlock on it. This is a really nice storage space for additional inventory. Its also where the money goes after its placed in the slot, which means if I am home I can open it up to make change for people. 

No doubt it is a pretty extravagant set-up. But this actually constitutes the bulk of our sales.


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## Scott Gough (Dec 10, 2015)

AA, I agree that is awesome. Thanks for sharing.


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

gww said:


> Do you worry about too much sun on the hot days or anything like that?


I put an ad on craigslist that told them to tell me what they want and I'll leave it on the rocking chair on my front porch. I think I sold one or two that way. So I put a small table on my front porch with instructions on it, told people to come whenever they want. A few did, but not many. So I moved it out to the honey stand and sales went off from there.

I don't worry about sun. They only stay out there a few days till they're sold. Only put out what you think you can sell in a busy day.


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## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

SpecialK.....
Thank you for answering my question and your expanded explination of the things you have done was also very helpfull in my mind.
Thanks
gww


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## CLSranch (May 15, 2017)

After up and running better I may take some of these ideas and run. Ideas of the less extravagant stand. I've thought about doing before with eggs and such. Both could at the same time win win.


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## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

Apricot, what did you do to get them to finally get them to see the money slot?
We have a large population of migrant workers that hit our stand and I was thinking maybe do it in Spanish?
we were having problems just getting the people to open the door of the stand. 
With photo bucket going pay I will see if I can get a new account.


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## ApricotApiaries (Sep 21, 2014)

Minz,
We originally had a simple "please place money in slot" sign above the slot. It was Red paper with white lettering. I thought it was pretty clear, but I seemed to encounter a lot of confused people. Now there is a sign with big bold lettering, some arrows, and a bold red outline around the slot. About as close to bright flashing lights as we could get without actually having bright flashing lights. And we added a sign on inside of the door (near one of the common places people like to leave money), telling people to look for the slot on the wall. 
We have a sign on the outside door that says "open, look inside" and looks pretty inviting. We also have flyer at a couple of the local stores. The gals at our corner store know us pretty well and are nice enough to tell customers what to do (open the door, put money in the slot, enjoy....)
If you have a lot of migrants where you are, spanish might not be a bad idea. Im sure it wouldn't hurt.


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## Greeny (Jun 27, 2016)

ApricotApiaries said:


> No doubt it is a pretty extravagant set-up. But this actually constitutes the bulk of our sales.


That is a terribly cool set up. If I was ever in the area, it would be worth a detour to see in person and buy some of your products!


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## BobsBees (Jul 21, 2011)

CL & Facebook Ads, some weeks good some slow. Motion Lights and two Cameras


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

Looks good BobsBees

One thing I'll mention, for whatever it's worth, when I started selling honey I got cheapo plastic bottles and cheap Mann Lake labels. Sales weren't so good. So I upgraded to the very nice, no drip lid plastic bottles, got a graphic design artist to create a logo and custom front/back label. A few people commented and said they really like the bottle/lid. But most friends that would ask for honey and I'd show up with the bottle gave me a perplexed look and said "Oh . . . I just expected some honey in a mason jar . . . I guess this'll do."

From then I noticed people would hesitate at the honey stand, picking up the plastic bottle and thinking. Some put it down and left, most bought one though. So I said screw it, bought some pint and quart mason jars, filled them up and put them in the honey stand. Customers greatly prefer them. I usually sell more mason jars to pound jars 3 to 1. 

Your mileage may vary, but I always equated honey in a mason jar to be of "unknown purity or cleanliness" but for some reason people in my area equate a mason jar of honey to be the symbol of authentic. Go figure.


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## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

Ok lets see if this new photo host website works Ok

I got a bathroom vanity at Habitat for humanity. Painted the outside with enamel paint, got a quart of 'opps paint' at the Rhoda paint store.
I think I am into it about $30
Update: after looking at the picture this must have been just as it was up. I put on a handle with a ribbon and used a piece of T-111 siding for a top.


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## Bee Arthur (Mar 21, 2015)

minz said:


> Ok lets see if this new photo host website works Ok
> 
> I got a bathroom vanity at Habitat for humanity. Painted the outside with enamel paint, got a quart of 'opps paint' at the Rhoda paint store.
> I think I am into it about $30
> Update: after looking at the picture this must have been just as it was up. I put on a handle with a ribbon and used a piece of T-111 siding for a top.


Great idea. Has your vanity been successful in selling your honey? Also, do you have a picture of the inside?


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

minz said:


> Ok lets see if this new photo host website works Ok


_Minz_ used Postimg.org to host that photo (as did _odfrank_ in post #5) and it works fine as you can see. 

If you are not familiar with images at Postimg.org, the photos above can be enlarged somewhat by clicking on it once, and then seen fullsize with a second click.

And for more info on using Postimg.org with Beesource, see my comments here:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...-Photo-uploading-and-misc-other-forum-tips-**


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## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

Bee Arthur said:


> Great idea. Has your vanity been successful in selling your honey? Also, do you have a picture of the inside?



I usually sell out in about a month. I have a sign on the highway and you can see the stand from where you turn onto the road.
I had a migrant worker ring the bell to day and ask about honey. that is the second set of people this year that when I told them to open the door they asked if I was serious. 
I need to post 'open door, select product' just above 'put money in slot'


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## Bee Arthur (Mar 21, 2015)

That's great. Looks like you put the money hole right into the side of your house...very committed.


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## ApricotApiaries (Sep 21, 2014)

For those who doubt honor stands...

Just picked up our mail yesterday and had a really nice letter from a total stranger in a totally different state, and a check for $15. 
The letter was awesome, basically along the lines that they were so super excited with our stand and they really wanted to buy all this stuff and didn't quite have enough cash so they left us what cash they had and decided they would mail the rest later. And thankyou so much of having such an awesome display yada yada yada. 

Beautiful experience and a total surprise. We used to keep a close enough inventory to know when something went missing (which was next to never), but we dont anymore, so we had no idea. Humans CAN be really wonderful sometimes.


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## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

Apricot........
I have never seen an honor stand for honey but did for many years buy straw from a lady with a coffee can for the money sitting on her front porch. I believe that most people are good. I also believe that some are not but most times honor stands like yours are not left alone with enough stuff to really set a guy back that much. I bet you have found extra money once or twice also when somebody miss counted or did not have proper change. This is comeing from a guy who has never taken the keys out of his car though.
Cheers
gww


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

http://2guysandahive.com/where-to-buy/ Scroll down the page to see what my honor stand looks like. It's the only place where I sell my honey and I've been doing it three years now. I loose about 2-3% to theft which is MUCH better than the 40% discount I give/loose when I used to sell via distribution.


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## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

Bee Arthur said:


> That's great. Looks like you put the money hole right into the side of your house...very committed.


not a big deal, it drops into an unfinished garage, I have a rubber maid container there. On the months the stand is not there I painted a house number sign with gold letters that covers the hole.


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## Nhaupt2 (May 31, 2016)

http://imgur.com/oa0jTz7


http://imgur.com/ISc3xuR

Ok I made mine last weekend, it's the Amish shed style little free library. it's in my back fence within view of a hiking trail, so it should get some traffic. I also included a photo of my label, which I'm pretty happy with. thanks for all the advice!


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## Scott Gough (Dec 10, 2015)

Nhaupt2 said:


> http://imgur.com/oa0jTz7
> 
> 
> http://imgur.com/ISc3xuR
> ...


That looks good. Do you print your own labels or did you order them from somewhere?


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## Nhaupt2 (May 31, 2016)

Thanks Scott. i designed it with the tools provided at Avery.com and then bought their stickers off of amazon and printed them myself. It was a little pricey, and im sure that once you account for the price of ink you might as well have them do it. i know there was a lady who used to advertise here who had good prices on labels, i wonder if she could print them off if i provide the pdf of the template. Anybody remember her name?


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

Avery.com does look a little pricey. I ran some very quick numbers based on one of their basic sizes/shapes. 50 labels would run $223.53 ($4.47 each). 500 would run $246.63 ($0.49 each). 5,000 would run $473.01 ($0.09 each). Those are based on their basic label material. Nothing special.

I had my labels (front and back) designed by a graphic design artist out of europe. He did a good job, and it wasn't that expensive. I had my labels run from StickerGiant.com. 500 labels set me back about $105 (or about $0.21 each). If I went with 5,000 it would be about $0.09 each. And those prices are for a custom shape, with waterproof, weather proof, and UV resistant labels. Not the cheapest you can find, but really good quality and a very good price.

I've used Stickeryou.com in the past too. Their prices are a little bit better than StickerGiant (and there is an add in ABJ for 10% off too, I believe). But StickerYou gives you a little bit of a hard time with labels on rolls. They prefer sheets. And the proof structure from StickerYou is a little bit not so user friendly (one set of labels I ordered looked crisp in the proof, but the print came back a little fuzzy).


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## sc-bee (May 10, 2005)

D Coates said:


> http://2guysandahive.com/where-to-buy/ Scroll down the page to see what my honor stand looks like. It's the only place where I sell my honey and I've been doing it three years now. I loose about 2-3% to theft which is MUCH better than the 40% discount I give/loose when I used to sell via distribution.



I thought of D when I saw this post... I spoke with him in PM about the issue a few years ago. I have a great lot at a 4-way intersection. I spoke to the local police about the idea and they were ROTFLAO... well I stopped there. Seems the locals walk right by the stand location on the way to the crack house  Reading this I may give mankind a chance.


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## suburbanrancher (Aug 5, 2011)

ApricotApiaries said:


> For those who doubt honor stands...
> 
> Just picked up our mail yesterday and had a really nice letter from a total stranger in a totally different state, and a check for $15.
> The letter was awesome, basically along the lines that they were so super excited with our stand and they really wanted to buy all this stuff and didn't quite have enough cash so they left us what cash they had and decided they would mail the rest later. And thankyou so much of having such an awesome display yada yada yada.
> ...


Love your stand and love this story. We were in New Hampshire and came across an honor booth for strawberry jam. It was super cute.
Your area looks very rural from the picture, I can imagine being a tourist and driving down this road with a beautiful view of the mountains and stumbling upon your lovely stand. It must be a real treat for folks.


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## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

We keep expanding what we put in it and last week my wife sent a quick text that said somebody had stolen everything. It turned out to be ‘one of everything’ but I figure the cost of a security camera system would be about what they could steal and it would work all year.


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

Very few people are willing to steal from a farmer. Most of those that do I assume wouldn't care much about getting caught on camera. If you catch them on camera, then what? Call the police over $35 of stolen honey (or even $100)? I doubt they'll do much to hunt down the culprit. If they do, the odds are they didn't have $35 to give you, so you're chasing an empty pocket. Assuming the cops don't catch them, what are your remedies? You can find them yourself (perhaps from their license plate?) and file a lawsuit against them. Filing fee in NC for a small claims action is $96, plus a $30 service fee. So you're out of pocket $126, even if you win, in attempting to collect $35. Again, that assumes they have the money to pay you anyway. The only time it becomes worthwhile (in my opinion) is when you lost $500+ of product. At that point, why are you keeping that much inventory at an honor stand?

In the end, in my opinion it isn't worth chasing someone down, or installing a camera (or even a dummy camera) for either evidence purposes or to "scare" potential theft away. Instead, the camera takes away from the authentic feel. Never keep more at your honor stand than you feel comfortable losing. If you show up and its gone, shrug your shoulders and move on. "Shrinkage" is a cost of doing business. Factor it into the price. If it happens too often, stop the honor stand.

And that's what I tell customers. My stand stays there as long as theft doesn't become an issue. Once it does, it's gone. Most of my customers respond with concern.


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## spencer (Dec 7, 2004)

I use my kids old Little Tikes wagon with the removable sides. I live in a subdivision that is a cut through between 2 main roads. I usually wheel the wagon down to the end of the driveway on the weekends and some weekday evenings. I put a coffee can out to hold the money. Most of the time I only sell a jar or 2. I had someone steal the money once, but that was because I didn't bring the wagon up to the house until after dark. I figured it was some neighborhood kid.


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## sc-bee (May 10, 2005)

Specialkayme said:


> Very few people are willing to steal from a farmer.


Maybe so in a rural setting. My area is rural but the stand would be right on the corner at a 4 way stop in town limits. A very prime location. The folks that perhaps would steal probably don't even know bees make honey (it comes of the store shelf) must less see it as a type of framing  I get your point about the camera and only stocking what you can lose...


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## Nhaupt2 (May 31, 2016)

I have had my stand up for a little over a month now, between porch pick up sales and the stand we have moved around 110 pounds of honey, which I'm pretty happy about. I have had two incidents of theft however, which is pretty discouraging, once where somebody took a 2lb bottle of honey and another time where the wooden box I screwed into the inside was broken into and 40 dollars was stolen. not the end of the world, but it does make me feel pretty disappointed in some people. I do worry that it will get robbed again by the same person since it happend in broad daylight. what are y'all using for cash enclosures?


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

Nhaupt2 said:


> what are y'all using for cash enclosures?


A homemade wooden box with a hinge lid, brash clasp, and combo padlock. A slot is cut into the top to slide the bills in. The paint on the stand was a little tacky when I put the wooden box down, so it sticks a little, but is not bolted down. I tell everyone it is though


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## jcase (Jul 30, 2016)

Water association gave me permission yesterday to put up a stand for next year.

Would love to see a variety of designs, I've got time to put real thought into this.


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## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

Nhaupt2 said:


> what are y'all using for cash enclosures?


Mine just drops into the garage.

And as for 'loosing the homey feel' by putting up a camera (real or fake) I don't think that is why most shop here. They want a local product, good quality, decent price.
My high end muth jars have been moving slower this year not that I have a one pound queen line (new distributor down the street). I am hoping that once the farmers markets wrap up for the year that the sales will pick up on these as well as the candles.


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## Farmer4 (Mar 2, 2017)

Customers appreciate our honesty and our trust towards others. We just use a small wooden box for money and take the extra cash out several times a day(if around). When our kids were growing up, they had an honor sweet corn stand for years, and thought we try honey. Positive response. We close and lock doors at night. IF severe weather, I do pull inside shop. 
A little about wagon..we used some logs sitting around for 5 yrsfrom our woods and decided to have some rough sawed (oak and English walnut) already had the old steel wheel running gear. Just "winged" the plans as we went. Turned out great!


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## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

Farmer
Your picture is still upside down. Hey that looks really great. I have my own home made saw mill. Why does my lumber never look that good when it is all put together, ha, ha.

I am going to have to learn how to wing it better.

Very nice.
gww


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Right side up:

[SUB](click to enlarge)[/SUB]

Very nice!


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## Branman (Aug 20, 2003)

Anyone had any luck in dense urban areas?


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## Farmer4 (Mar 2, 2017)

Rader; Thanks for "Right side up" photo!


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Branman said:


> Anyone had any luck in dense urban areas?
> 
> 
> "Police say that as of July 2017, there were 17,970 reported vehicle break-ins in San Francisco."
> ...


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## Nhaupt2 (May 31, 2016)

I grew up in Philly and i would expect all the honey, money, and probably the stand itself to be stolen if any body tried this. I think that the country and certain situations in the suburbs are the natural range of an honesty stand. being in a big city makes people too anonymous.


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## Farmer4 (Mar 2, 2017)

*Re: Honesty Stand and customers knocking on the house door*



adamant said:


> i need wording on a sign i need to place in my self serv stand! cant take the people knocking on the door!
> NO HOUSE CALLS? or something like that? what are your ideas?


My sign says "Thank you for Honoring my Honor System".


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