Celiac Supplies, which bills itself as "Brisbane's first & only gluten free grocery store," may find itself customer-free as well after recently instituting a new policy aimed at preventing people from browsing without buying.

"As of the first of February," reads a sign posted on the door, "this store will be charging people a $5 fee per person for 'just looking.' The $5 fee will be deducted when goods are purchased."

The sign goes on to explain that the policy is meant to combat the practice of showrooming, defined by Consumerist as "using a retailer to check out an item in person before buying it online."

Celiac Supplies insists that its prices "are almost the same as the other stores plus we have products simply not available anywhere else."

Of course, that statement is entirely lost on potential customers who would rather not buy into a protection racket before being allowed to shop for health food.

"Target and Best Buy were likewise stung by shoppers who came in, tried out their products and then went home to buy on Amazon," notes Daily Finance. "But instead of banning phones or trying to charge an entrance fee, they instead extended their price-matching policy to Amazon and other online retailers."

Something the owners of Celiac Supplies might want to keep in mind for when they're inevitably forced to start again after going out of business.

[photo via Reddit]