May be going back to a dead horse here but...
On the topic of monthly meets and that type of thing, I wonder if it would help interest/attendance if it were more of a "workshop" than a Vaper's Anonymous meeting.
For example: I'm very intrigued by the thought of DIYing
juice but have never seen it done and am a little chicken about buying a bunch of crap only to fail miserably and mix up a few batches of crap that I wouldn't wish on anybody. I've heard all over the place that it's real easy and real cheap and that everyone should do it but that doesn't really comfort me enough to place an order for supplies today. If I could see it done by someone with some experience and sample the result and take notes and make a list of all the stuff I need and....... , that would probably make all the difference in the world to me.
Example 2: I read all the time that it's so easy to rebuild atties and Vivi Nova heads that anyone could do it. Same situation, I've never seen it done so I doubt I'll try it until that point.
I'm personally not interested much at all in buying much at a vape meet. I can usually get most of what I need from Sam competitively priced enough for me. If I want to try something that he doesn't carry, I get it online and then tell him about it. If it's something I like and can see buying more of in the future, he does what he can to get it. I'm not necessarily married to him as my sole supplier but I do feel a certain amount of loyalty to him. Surely most people have their favourite vendors to source certain things from.
The social aspect IS appealing to me. So is the trying new things and learning new things.
If it was more of a workshop scenario, I definitely wouldn't mind seeing business being done. Everyone will always need a few cartos or a new atty or a battery or want to get their hands on the latest PV or you name it. But if a vendor is "sponsoring" the meet up, it just feels more like a sales seminar to me and it loses much of the attraction.
I don't mean to say that there should be no vendors there. In fact, it wouldn't bother me to see several. A howto or two, availability of various products, maybe even a door prize now and then, and I would think a lot more people would have an easier time making it more than quarterly.