Brand loyalty: how persuasive is this in building your collection? Or theme? I'm driven in general by the concept of logical structure and therefore consistency. That influences my interests and choices in areas where these concepts may only be applied analogically, as in building a collection of pipes. There is no literal inconsistency in a collection of objects, unless the collection is considered to be representing a theme or type. A circle, a square, and a triangle are all geometric shapes, but the circle differs from the other two if you want to separate the one category into two. If you add a cube, still a geometric object, then that is the separable one, Adding more geometric objects, such as different types of triangles, various dimensioned rectangles, a cone, a sphere, and so forth leads to more partitions within the main category. Extending this example could eventually lead to the notion of topology.
I started with Peterson pipes and feel some loyalty to the brand, but I also don't want to have "redundancy" or "inconsistency" in this part of my collection. For example, I want a Pot and I have a Peterson Billiard, so I find myself driven by the analogy of logical structure to get a Peterson Pot, but not a rusticated model, because then it would pair in a subcategory with my B5 Bent Bulldog and not my Billiard, where it "belongs". Yet I don't want the Pot to be too similar in finish with the Billiard, because then there'd seem to be redundancy and it'd impose two distinguishable subcategories based upon shape and finish, putting the B5 alone in either case, which makes "sense" on one view and doesn't, to me, on another. (Yes, I know how this probably sounds to those not driven by the same abstract concepts.) So I'm almost compelled by my nature to choose a sandblasted Peterson Pot, which would share similarities with both the rustication of the B5 and the shape of the Billiard. This would also link, in a conceptually interesting way, my Radice Rind G sized Billiard with the Petersons, as you can probably see.
Buying what one likes is typical advice, but how much do like it, and why? What drives you?