There is an old George Carlin joke: "Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?"
IT is no different in buying pipes and tobacco.
Pipes are like anything else. If it is worth the price to YOU. Then it is worth the price. I have books that no one else I know of would give a nickle for that I paid heavy dollars for. I see it as being all your point of view.