see both sides of this - there are certainly a lot of people, though not so much on here, who want ultimo bling and player-sponsorship "credibility" from their gear. For me, and I suspect a lot of people will agree with me on this one, I buy a bat for the quality of the willow and of the design/shaping. Labelling is referred to so much for two reasons - because, when done well (Newbery, Black Cat, M&H) it adds a classy, understated touch to the bat, and because when done badly, it looks downright bloody horrible...
I'm not overly concerned about willow "Quality". What I want is to know the bat I've bought is going to rebound satisfactorily, so the maker has pressed and shaped it to the best of his ability and will stand behind it and say "It's fabulous" (well maybe except for my soon to arrive Dynadrive, but that's an emotional purchase, and we all know Gray Nics will say that anyway...). Ultimately if you buy a Sabre, and it goes, but you hate the stickers, you can always remove them.
But then there comes the other side of the equation. We all know just how much of the game is mental, and if you find a Sabre with a lovely shape that picks up perfectly, and you decide to buy it, but in the back of your mind is that little bit of "I don't know if I really like the stickers", will it affect your play? Does this tiny chink mean that with not 100% confidence in your bat, you will find yourself using it poorly and ultimately deciding that "Sabre bats are rubbish", in spite of the quality of the manufacture or willow?