I like Petes, and Savs and a lot of others. The QC with Pete can make people frustrated. If you are buying new and from a reputable dealer do not worry about it if you see a Pete you like more than a Sav. Smoking Pipes, P&C and I am sure others will let you return a pipe that was not smoked if there are issues. I know SP and P&C will but double check with other dealers. I recently recd. a Pete where the decorative band was a little off with a gap. It was returned with no issues. Peterson does a lot of silver work and that is primarily the type of pipes I get from them. If you are not looking for a pipe with silver work then there are a lot of other brands to pic from.
Dont forget estates either. Smoking pipes does a REALLY good job on their estates with pretty fair prices on em. James Island Piper will be cheaper but he does no clean up or restoration and I have recd. pipes that got by him with issues because of that. Returns are not an issue with JIP though.