If I may? I was around when it happened, and I remember well that a lot of thought and careful deliberation went into the exact wording of the vendor rules. And they worked well enough for a while. Then the "artisans" came along. And then the vendor rules didn't really work that brilliantly any more.
Here is the kicker:
I won't name names, either. I would not want to turn this into a witch hunt. But I did do some quick research, and came up with ten people who ought to have a vendor badge, but do not. If you do not believe me, pick any artisan with a high post count but without a vendor badge, and run the result through your search engine of choice along with +custom +(brush* OR razor*).
I think that the vendor badge serves an important purpose: It gives members, especially beginners, the ability to put what that vendor writes, or displays, into perspective. Moreover, it gives members, again: especially beginners, the ability to put what other members say about this vendor and his products into perspective. Because it has long been established that some (not all by any means, but the more aggressive ones) do incentivise buyers to either write positive reviews, or encourage other people to buy their products. There are, for example, rewards programs.
Now, I am not saying that rewards programs are bad. They are a legal way of boosting one's sales. But in the context of SRP's rules, they are illegitimate if the vendor cannot be identified as a vendor.
Again without naming names, several lines of shaving products, allegedly all made by the same individual, started having major success out of the blue some time ago. The interwebs were flooded with lyrical reviews, semi-professional Shave of the Day shots, and seemingly regular members kicking up a major fuss when these products were negatively criticised. I know, because I run a tiny, and highly specialised community with very limited access. Some of us tried these products, thought they were a cruel joke, wrote scathing reviews. Literally minutes later the "artisan" tried to join (under several guises, but some of us have an intelligence background, and we are not easily given the run-around), and when he was refused access, several previously dormant members began to relay messages, or became highly abusive themselves.
Gentlemen, make no mistake. There is a lot of money to be made in this business. And I am using the term business deliberately, because in my opinion, a lot of the spirit that made the straight razor shaving scene special several years ago has been knocked out of it by rigged reviews, shilling, and other kinds of illegal behaviour. And I hate that.
I am afraid that is provably wrong. I was given quite a bit of stuff. Lots and lots, to be precise. When the reviews section still existed, I had something like 70 in-depth reviews in there. Of course I didn't buy all of the products. And on four occasions, I did not divulge the source. For good reasons, mind you, but I didn't. And I regret that. Now, those who remember my reviews will, I hope, remember them as balanced, and I did occasionally slam a product. But...
I want to know if someone giving seemingly helpful advice, or posting beautiful pictures, is doing that because he's a genuinely nice chap (the vast majority are, thank God), or because he's trying to boost his sales. I really want to know. And therefore, I wish more vendors wore a vendor badge. If they are genuine, they could wear it with pride. Lynn, Glen, several others - genuinely good people who happen to make money by selling shaving related goods. Great! We need more products. Choice is good.
Thank you for your consideration,
Robin