While I don't think in my post that "I" was dissing the brand, just saying what a seller told me, and then asked what it was about the particular pipe... I also see that not liking a brand or make of something is totally natural, at least in the world I grew up in, where... Fords all suck, Lee Jeans are horrid, Buddy shoes are for poor people, Coke products, anything made at McDonalds, Kraft cheese, Folgers, and most generic brands all make inferior products. We are a material people, and to have brands and makes that we like and dislike is perfectly natural. Of course this is trickier when a brand helps keep the lights on in out favorite club house, but despite what people have said about one brand or another, I don't think this has much influence on what others buy. Heck, Ford somehow keeps selling cars, right?