Retail is all about leaders and followers. Somebody has to sell the first temple/helmet/sword, paving the way for a bunch of imitators--some of which will be better and/or cheaper than the originals. Unfortunately, the inventors don't always reap the biggest reward--the clever marketers do. Look at Bill Gates. My tendency is to look for/buy/support the unusual, but a lot of that's about wanting to produce work that doesn't look like everyone else's.