How Should I Shop for an Oriental Rug?

- It is always good to have an idea about what kind of rug you are looking for.

- Make sure to buy rugs from a person who has experience in rugs and knows about rugs vs. a sales person who is trying to make a sale.

- Do not fall in the trap and buy rugs in auctions.

- Do not buy rugs without a certificate.

- Be careful with rugs that are on sale (%50, %60, %70 Off)

What to Look for When Buying Rugs?

- How old is the rug?
Generally value of rugs increase as they get older

- How is the condition?
Check out the overall condition of the rug. You should be able to distinguish a rug that is in a good condition, considering the age of the rug. Generally a good conditioned rug has all edges and fringes in line and does not have bad repair or moth damage.

- How are the edges and the fringes?
Make sure the edges are not damaged and the fringes are in good condition.

- Make sure there are no Moth damages or other holes on the rug.

Should I Buy New or Used Rug?

It depends on the rug. You should know that Oriental Rugs are considered antique after about 80 years. An antique rug can be very valuable if they are kept in a good condition. Sometimes used rugs have much higher quality than new ones. In cases even though the rug is used and warn it still has better quality and will out live some new ones. However, this does not mean that new rugs can not have good quality. In fact there are new rugs that 20 or 40 years old and have very high quality. Quality of a rug is one of the attributes that is very difficult to determine. Therefore, it is always a good idea to get a trustworthy professional opinion.

How Long Does a Rug Usually Live?

Rugs from Persia, Turkey and Russia can easily live from 3 to 5 generations given that the rug was given the kind of care it needs. Generally silk rugs live longer that wool.