Originally Posted by
Cannibal
I believe part of this is due to the vendors themselves.
The Jacks have been around, and active on HF, basically since inception.
Warbonnet effectively got his start on HF.
This interaction among the community is a huge bonus, IMO, for perspective buyers. It's nice to be able to ask the designer/manufacturer pointed questions and get honest responses. The other names you mentioned; Hennessy, Clark, Claytor, DD Hammocks don't really interact with us directly on the forums. They are watching, to be sure, but they don't actively engage their customers here. There are some good business reasons behind it, but it does put them at a disadvantage for the users here on HF.
This is also why some of the really small shops do a healthy business; because they are engaged here. BIAS, HammockGear, 2QZQ, etc., do well and are active.
HF is a bit of a niche within a niche of a niche. When a specific community is saturated with one thing or another, in my experience, the ones making that particular widget are also involved with that community. While neither the Jacks nor Warbonnet are particularly active anymore, they both still post on occasion and both will be quick to answer PMs. That tells me that they are still here and watching, but have backed off the posting a bit. Again, I'm sure there are very valid reasons for it, but they still make the effort to be 'one of us'. That, for me, will always carry weight in my purchase decisions.