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Comment by zebrafish | Hacker News Reader

This is not a new program. It has been around for vendors (not sellers) for a long time. It’s a good way to get reviews on a product which has none. Reviews are necessary for an item to perform well in Amazon’s search algorithm. Yes you pay to play because Amazon functions like every other retailer. Some related also non-news: you have to pay for end cap space in the supermarket and placement in the weekly circular.

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Fun fact: Slotting fees for end-caps are largely waived at EDLP retailers (a business model much of the industry is moving towards, compared to the more traditional "Hi-Lo" pricing strategy) in favor of better pricing from suppliers. End cap placement is largely driven by the agenda of category managers, which depends on the metric du jour of the directors of grocery merchandising/VP. If promoting a product in the circular or putting it on an end-cap will increase units or gross for the category overall, that decision will be made whether or not there is some sort of supplier concession.

I recognise a lot of the words and letters used in this comment, but have no idea what it actually means?! Care to clarify...

- slotting fees, end-caps, EDLP, Hi-Lo, category manager, circular

Try Google. There is a slotting fees arricle in Wikipedia for instance.

You say it is not new as though you are contradicting the article. Newspapers publish opinions, analyses and reviews as well as coverage of current events.

The article mentions that ("If you invested $5,000 in Amazon in August of 2007, when Vine was announced...")

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