I disagree with two of your points, Alex.

Firstly, there ARE some shockingly crap builder out there. Call me weird, but I'm not a believer in the all pervasive nature of market forces. I lament privately with a couple of compatriates that are on my wavelength how these builders can not only still exist but thrive. And people jump online and say what amazing bikes they are, when it's obvious to anyone that knows anything that you'd be better off on a Surly. There's a big part of the custom market that just wants someone to lavish attention on them and are extra overjoyed that the privalige only costs about 600 bucks. Market forces do not equal quality. Not even close.

Secondly, although I think if you can buy local you should, why limit youself to a handful of framebuilders? You're probably lucky being in Oregon as there are a lot of guys to choose from, but in these days of the phone and internet and airfreight, there should be nothing holding a customer back buying what they want, no matter where they are. I sell most Thylacines to US customers, and I over-service the hell out of them to make sure they not only communicate their wants and needs effectively, but also so I get a feel for who they are, where and how they ride, and where they want to go with their cycling. I don't think good communication skills are geographically specific - the framebuilder next door could quite easily not bother listening to you and build the wrong bike.