This page exists to document how the outdoor living industry has changed over time, how pricing and access have shifted rapidly in recent years, and why independence and honesty matter more now than ever. It is not written to assign blame, but to preserve a record. What follows reflects firsthand experience from 2005 to the present.
WHERE IT STARTED
I started my company in early 2005 with very minimal resources and a clear intention: to build an outdoor living business based on transparency and trust. At that time, it was common in this industry for homeowners to be quoted one product quality and installed another, or charged inflated prices without a clear explanation.
Rather than participate in those practices, I began writing publicly about how the industry worked—explaining products, pricing structures, and installation differences in plain language. That honesty resonated with homeowners and helped my business grow, but it also set me apart from long-standing industry norms.
WHAT CHANGED
For many years, the relationships and supply chains that supported my business remained stable. I worked with the same manufacturers, sold the same core product lines, and built my company around consistent pricing and availability.
That stability changed rapidly. Within a relatively short period of time, industry consolidation reduced the number of viable manufacturers in the region, and long-standing pricing structures shifted. Products I had sold responsibly for years became difficult—and in some cases impossible—to offer due to cost alone.
This was not a gradual transition. In the span of roughly one year, supplier relationships that had defined my business for more than two decades became economically unworkable. Honesty has a huge market.
WHY INDEPENDENCE MATTERS
Years earlier, I had already begun developing alternatives—not as a rejection of existing suppliers, but as a safeguard against disruption. Independence allows builders to maintain quality, availability, and fair pricing even
when industry structures change.
THE FULL STORY
For those who want a complete, documented account of how the industry evolved and what it cost independent builders, the full narrative is available as a downloadable PDF.
“Honesty has a huge market. And I have spent my life standing in it.”
Troy Paul Eckstein