[dredmorbius]

The B&M retail story is ... considerably more complicated. For grocery stores, "slotting fees":

“Slotting fees” (or “slotting allowances”) are fees that manufacturers pay retailers to appear on their scarce shelves. It can cost millions of dollars to launch a product in the nation’s groceries, and through that cost, these fees shape our supermarkets and diets long before we’re able to make a purchase decision ourselves.

It’s easy to think that these fees show supermarkets are “rigged” — against both consumers and smaller manufacturers that can’t afford the fees. But as the above video shows, the debate is an intense one, with strong partisans, and decent arguments, on both sides.

https://www.vox.com/2016/11/22/13707022/grocery-store-slotti...

Not excusing or arguing for Amazon (I'm not a fan), just noting real-world complexity.

[gamblor956]

Importantly, those fees are only paid to launch a new product. They pay them because retailers won't buy inventory of a new product until they know it sells.

So again, not even remotely the same thing as what Amazon does.

[galkk]

This is not correct. There are also placement fees that are paid to put the products on better locations on the shelves etc