Honesty box

{{Short description|Unguarded cash container}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}

File:Kőszegi becsületkassza 2021 01.jpg

An honesty box, also known as an honour box,{{cite journal|last1=Bateson|first1=Melissa|last2=Nettle|first2=Daniel|date=27 June 2006|title=Cues of being watched enhance cooperation in a real-world setting|journal=Biology Letters|volume=2|issue=3|pages=412–414|doi=10.1098/rsbl.2006.0509|pmc=1686213|pmid=17148417}} is a method of charging for a service such as admission or car parking, or for a product such as home-grown produce and flowers, which relies upon each visitor paying at a box using the honor system.{{cite news |last1=Lockhart |first1=Jessica Wynne |title=New Zealand road trips: An ode to the Kiwi culture of honesty boxes |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/new-zealand-road-trips-an-ode-to-the-kiwi-culture-of-honesty-boxes/FQBGFSMXPV5XANYCFOSM6P4HBI/ |newspaper=The New Zealand Herald |date=21 February 2021 }} Tickets are not issued and such sites are usually unattended. When used in camping sites and other park settings, they are sometimes referred to as an iron ranger as there is often an iron cash box instead of an actual park ranger.{{cite news |url = http://www.homernews.com/stories/101508/arts_14_001.shtml |title = Don Henry's prolific metal sculpture abounds in Homer 'Divas and Dolls' |first = Michael |last = Armstrong |work = Homer News |date = 15 October 2008 }} Some stores also use them for selling newspapers to avoid lines at a cash register.{{cite news |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7041447.stm |title = Honesty box culture |date = 1 October 2007 |newspaper = Times Online |location = London |access-date = 26 March 2009 |first = Jonathan |last = Richards }}

Such boxes are typically used in rural areas where the low number of customers and other visitors, along with the low quantity or value of the products on offer, means that an attendant would not bring a positive return on investment. Many are also domestically run operations where attendance is not feasible.

The Cake Fridge, an honesty box cake fridge in Bixter, Shetland, Scotland,{{Cite web|date=2019-08-13|title=Honesty boxes in Shetland|url=https://www.shetland.org/blog/honesty-boxes-in-shetland|access-date=2021-12-28|website=Shetland.org|language=en-gb}} features in the TV adaptation of Anne Cleeves novels.{{Cite web|author1=Martin Shore|date=2021-11-04|title='Shetland' fans are all going crazy for this one thing|url=https://www.whattowatch.com/news/shetland-fans-are-all-going-crazy-for-this-one-thing|access-date=2021-12-28|website=whattowatch.com|language=en}}

The use of honesty boxes saw a resurgence during the COVID-19 pandemic, because purchases can be made without contact.{{cite web |title = Honesty boxes see a resurgence during Jersey's lockdown |url = https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2020-06-09/honesty-boxes-see-a-resurgence-during-island-lockdown |website = ITV News |language = en |date = 8 June 2020 }}{{cite web |title = #FeedTheNation: Honesty box helps ice-cream business beat Covid |url = https://www.fwi.co.uk/farm-life/feedthenation-honesty-box-helps-ice-cream-business-beat-covid |website = Farmers Weekly |date = 12 September 2020 }}{{cite web |title = A Dublin cafe is using an 'Honesty Box' to keep business running |url = https://www.fm104.ie/news/buzz/a-dublin-cafe-is-using-an-honesty-box-to-keep-business-running/ |website = FM104 |date = 16 March 2020 |language = en }}