Although I'm fairly certain the OP has already made his purchase/decision, I'll just add my two cents...
I think it's an entirely aesthetic choice and the aesthetics couldn't be further from one another. I will say that any production facility producing products in the thousands, year over year, are bound to have some problems. As has been mentioned, just have the retailer/yourself look over the pipe before any purchases to minimize risk.
You didn't ask, but I'll just throw out there that Briarworks makes a fantastic pipe in the same price point. Once again, different aesthetic