Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

[embarcadero7]

This is good for AMD, but it's not free.

At places like Fry's, the manufacturer pays Fry's marketing money for shelf placement, and the more you pay, the better your display. When you walk in the store and see a pyramid of Doom3 games or something like that, that costs Doom & company big money. It's just like buying advertising.

This is how Fry's makes most of its money. They don't actually get much in terms of markup on the items. (Many grocery stores work on the same model.) Small product companies can't really compete in this kind of model because they don't have the deep marketing pockets, which is why so many consumer electronics start-ups that have failed blame John Fry for milking them of their lifeblood before customers could even try out their products.