# Name for this type of retail shelving **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-type-of-retail-shelving/649481 "2013-02-06T13:22:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-type-of-retail-shelving/649481/1 "2013-02-06T13:22:43Z")
Does anyone know what the industry term for the racks that hold acrylic craft paint 2 oz. bottles is? You see them at Micheal’s and JoAnn’s, and other big box craft stores. They have rails that define rows so all the colors don’t get jumbled together and usually are on an incline so that the bottles slide to the front so the shelf always looks fully stocked. Thanks, -rainy ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-type-of-retail-shelving/649481/2 "2013-02-06T15:17:42Z")
Collectively, they’re store fixtures. Not sure about the specific ways of shelving small bottles, but the overall shelf structure is called a gondola, often shortened to “gon” and there are a variety of rails and fences that snap into holes in the shelves. Many gondola shelves are built so they can be installed flat or inclined, depending on what notch you select when hanging them. It’s also quite likely that Testors, Krylon, or whatever other brand of paint has their own fixture that is laid on the shelf, so the store doesn’t have to mess around with setting up dozens of fences. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-type-of-retail-shelving/649481/3 "2013-02-06T15:36:06Z")
Seriously, we just call them racks. If you needed a more detailed name, I’d probably say retail display rack for _X_ brand of paint. They’re almost always provided by the manufacturer/distributor as part of a package deal: you buy three jars of all the colors, you get the rack for free. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-type-of-retail-shelving/649481/4 "2013-02-06T15:40:36Z")
You can search on[Retail Display Racks](http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=&oq=retail+display+racks&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGHP_enUS473US473&q=retail+display+racks&gs_l=hp....0.0.0.3944...........0.)and get a lot of hits. Lots of subcategories, but as **garygnu** says, they’re generally called racks. ---
**Author:** ![TrappedSouls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@TrappedSouls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TrappedSouls)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-type-of-retail-shelving/649481/5 "2013-02-07T02:07:05Z")
In my company they are referred to as “craft paint shelves”, they are recessed about 1" deep and have a row of small holes on the front and back of the shelf. There are thin metal rods that we can squeeze into the holes that act as the dividers, and the shelves can be installed flat or at the incline for gravity feed. The only downside is that with the rod-divider, the little bottles of paint can fall backwards and roll into other rows under the divider. It would be better if they were solid dividers. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-type-of-retail-shelving/649481/6 "2013-02-07T16:12:54Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > They’re almost always provided by the manufacturer…you get the rack for free. Unfortunately we didn’t. Three bottles of every color – no rack. That’s why I was wondering if they had a trade name I could search the fixture sellers’ web pages for. I think I’m also technically lookiing for something more along the lines of what TrappedSouls mentions. I need them to fit on my existing gondola shelves instead of being one large ‘block’ that would need to sit on a counter for display. If anyone finds a sales link and can post it, that would be great. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-type-of-retail-shelving/649481/7 "2013-02-07T17:12:36Z")
2oz jars come in many shapes and sizes; how wide are yours? You could ask a distributor (MacPherson?) if they have a rack available. Heck, ask another art supply store to sell you one of their old ones. I have no idea how easy ordering from them is, but [alibaba.com](http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/wire-paint-rack.html) sells that kind of stuff. The site is a bit confusing.