The existance of ANYONE on the "good list" is enough to set them off.
I've had a number of interesting phone calls from the manufacturers who have seen the appearance of a few firms on the "good list".
"Alarmed" would be a good description of their response in general. One was VERY unhappy when they asked me to cancel faxing to them, and I explained that I was happy to - but that the system would inform any consumer who signed after that point that they had refused their transmission! That really got their attention, and they dropped their request.
If they thought this was "insignificant" they would have simply given the petition the finger, without regard to the fact that future signers would be told they didn't care what their potential customers think.
There is a WIDE diversity of opinion among the targets of the faxed petitions. There are a couple of firms who are dead-set against changing this, a couple who I believe have been pressured by their dealers to adopt the policy (collusively, which, by the way, has its own set of issues - which is EXACTLY why part of the "remedy" part for consumers is to go to places like LP, DiveInn, etc) and a couple who simply haven't made up their minds on which way is best for them.
There is an old saying that one pissed off customer tells 10 of his friends, while a happy customer tells one.
The Internet makes that "10" more like "100". So in terms of actual "impact", those in the executive suite have to figure the "impact" of this as numbering into the thousands to ten thousand or so - thus far.
In an industry that have shrinking sales volume, this is not an insignificant thing.
Consider that without the volume that LP does in some of these products some of these manufacturers would be bankrupt. LP sells more gear, all on its own, than most of the MANUFACTURERS.
There are a number of manufacturers that, over the last few years, have remained in business EXPLICITLY because LP exists.
BTW, ~400 signatures on a previous petition to a major manufacturer in a completely different industry resulted in near-immediate response and a public statement of and change in policy. This was a consumer products manufacturer who has customer counts in the tens of millions in the US alone. All it takes is a perception that a "sea change" is forthcoming among consumers in the executive suite. NOBODY wants to get caught behind that curve.
As for setting up an equipment manufacturer, anything is possible. Believe me when I tell 'ya that the entrepreneur in me never dismisses a good business opportunity out-of-hand.
