A couple questions:
Do you have the opportunity to actually try ukes out in person, or will you be ordering sight unseen?
Which is most important to you - looks/bling, or intonation?
My most recent uke purchase was a custom luthier-made uke, after learning that what I wanted did not exist off-the-shelf. While I own several really good factory-made ukes, I've also owned some disappointing factory-made ukes. The disappointments were all ukes that I bought sight unseen, something I'm not likely to do again unless it's a custom from a luthier with a money-back guarantee.
When I was last uke shopping, I found some real inconsistencies in factory-made ukes in terms of intonation and overall playability. Probably nothing that a good luthier couldn't remedy, but my thinking was that if I was paying full retail, it had to be perfect from the start. Even the brands that I admire - Kamaka, Collings, Kiwaya - had their issues, so I ended up going custom (for a lot less than your budget, actually, but as you can see in my profile pic, my uke is very plain - it's usually the inlay work that drives the price up).
All of that being said - if I was going to buy another uke, I would not hesitate to order another custom from the luthier I bought from. However, I'd also keep on the lookout for a good off-the-shelf Kamaka or Collings.