Part of this habit/hobby is the learning curve. That's part of the enjoyment, but also part of the challenge.
You get what you will study and learn about and concentrate on. You can get outstanding pipes for $40,
and mediocre or poor ones for hundreds, so you have to pay attention. As some of the posts suggest, you
can luck out and get something worthwhile ordering blind, but as a matter of principle, you probably
shouldn't. To get what you want, you have to learn about it, compare retailers, read about it, and finally
take your best shot. As you see from reading Forums, pipes do tend to accumulate, so there's no point
in ending up with pipes you don't want cluttering your racks and your life. Even when you donate a pipe
to a friend or a good cause, you want to donate one you'd be proud to smoke, not a cheesy one you want
to unload.