The Ethics of Slotting: Is this Bribery, Facilitation Marketing or Just Plain Competition?

The practice of manufacturers' payments of fees to retailers for the display and sale of their products has become a common practice. In the grocery retail business, the fees paid by manufacturers are called slotting fees, or a payment made for a slot on the shelf. Entrepreneur's products are often precluded from stores and markets because slotting fees are prohibitive. The fees are nonuniform and often paid in cash, creating an atmosphere that has already spawned illegal activity on the part of retail executives.