The old adage, “the best things in life are free,” could be proven right at Sample Lab, a trendy store in Tokyo’s Harajuku district, which has made a name for itself by being a place where money can’t buy a thing.

Sample Lab showcases a wide range of goods, from night cream to green tea and bath salts, and has seen, since it opened in June 2007, tens of thousands of shoppers looking for an experience rarely offered by Japan’s colossal, often pricey, department stores.

The difference is that customers don’t have to pay for anything. They simply grab products from shelves without paying a single yen. Products on offer include underwear, sake, honey, marshmallows and cigarettes.

Established by Japanese market research and leaflet distribution company Melposnet Co., Sample Lab sounds like a bizarre shopper’s paradise that doesn’t make economic sense. But with no cash tills or shop assistants, it looks more like a product design gallery than a shop, and that, along with a noticeable lack of price tags, provides clues as to what it’s about.

 The store stands on the third floor of Tokyo’s Iceberg building. It was set up to acquire feedback about products, and companies have also used this as a chance to advertise their brands. Customers simply need to fill in questionnaires about the products they take away and use.

“The rate of response to the questionnaires is high, and their content is good. It is effective for gathering information,” an official of Nissin Food Products Co., which advertises in the Sample Lab, told Kyodo Daily News.

But Sample Lab isn’t fully funded by the companies taking part. There’s an annual membership fee of 1,000 yen along with a 0-yen registration fee that gives consumers an access code to enter the building. One of the requirements is that members be 16 years of age, and Sample Lab gives shoppers a quota: seven daily grab sessions with five items per grab.

The novelty of grabbing products without paying for them naturally gives shoppers a unique customer experience by leaving them with a sense that they are actually being given a gift. This resonates with the Japanese custom of omake, or giving, which is an important part of business conduct.