The most common question from first-time customers is some version of: how do I know what I will pay before I come in? The answer is straightforward once you understand how weight-based pricing works, and it is worth explaining properly because it is genuinely different from buying a bottle off a shelf.
What 'tare weight' means in practice ¶
Tare weight is the weight of your empty container. Before we put anything in it, we place it on the scale and record that number. When the container is full, we weigh it again. The difference is the net weight of the product you are taking home. You pay only for that net weight. A heavy glass jar does not cost you anything extra. It just gets recorded at the start.
How per-100-ml rates translate to real costs ¶
Our prices are listed per 100 ml, which is a standard unit for liquid products. If the dish soap is 130 yen per 100 ml and you fill 350 ml, you pay 455 yen. There is no rounding, no minimum charge, and no handling fee added at the till. The scale reads in grams; for water-based products, 1 ml is approximately 1 gram, so the conversion is simple. For denser products like the concentrated laundry liquid, the density is noted on the dispenser label.
Why this usually costs less than a supermarket bottle ¶
A standard 500 ml bottle of dish soap at a supermarket includes the cost of the bottle, the label, the transport packaging, and the retailer's margin on all of those. When you refill, you are paying for the product and nothing else. The Shiga dish soap at 130 yen per 100 ml works out to 650 yen for 500 ml. A comparable product in a supermarket bottle typically runs 300-400 yen for a smaller volume with a weaker concentration.
What to bring and what to expect on your first visit ¶
Bring any clean container with a secure lid. Glass is ideal but not required. Rinse it out before you come. Residue from a previous product can affect the new one, and we will ask you to rinse it if it is not clean. The whole process for a single product takes about three minutes. If you are refilling several products, allow ten to fifteen minutes. Tuesday is our cleaning day and we are closed.
If you have a specific question about a product's density or want to calculate a cost before visiting, email us at hello@reedvaultgate.com. We are happy to work through the numbers with you.