If I was new to pipes and wanted to go shopping, I'd do a bit of reading online to find certain brands that are reputable first, and so armed, select what I wanted.
But sizing up a pipe of any kind is not that hard:
1. Insert a cleaner into the bowl; drilling should be dead-center and at the bottom of the bowl. My standard is that a cleaner must pass from the stem to the bowl so that if I have created a restricted airway with a flaw in packing, I can almost always correct it. Bents usually won't pass a cleaner due to the offset in drilling between the shank and the bowl. I only smoke straights.
2. Check the mortise/tenon junction. You should have confidence that the length of the tenon will guarantee that the connection will hold. It shouldn't be so tight that it squeaks when you turn it in the mortise; on the other hand the tenon shouldn't be so loose that slight finger pressure is enough to turn it. There are a lot of opinions and standards as regards the length of the tenon, but to me the standard that it should abut the far wall of the mortise is the best. But you will find a lot of variation in this; in my opinion this is where a lot of makers cut corners. But think of it; the airflow inside the pipe is very important, and the spot where that airflow is impacted the most is at the junction.
3. Button (the very tip of the stem). You will find that pipes that begin to get costly and those that are have some to a great deal of shaping. $100.00 new pipes and less have very little care as regard this. Just be sure that the opening seems to you to allow airflow moderately. Small files can open the button on most pipes where it is restricted. Just be sure that the opening is not so small that you can't even insert the file.
4. Any kind of degradation that you can find in the bowl means it should be rejected. Look for shallow divots, known as soft spots; spider-webbing (please look that up); also bowls that are out of round or "fully enjoyed," that look like they have had they bejeesus smoked out of them. But even a heavily-used pipe can smoke fine for years; pipes last a long time.
5. If the pipe looks beaten up or otherwise mistreated/heavily-used, it can still be fine, but even though you may pay very little for it, you probably won't want to use it in this condition, being an eyesore; which means you have another cost for the restoration.
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