Tips for Buying a Persian Carpet

Identify Your Market

• Begin learning about persian rugs as soon as you decide that you're going to buy one. Read books with color pictures in them to get a feel for what you are looking for. Persian rugs are made in many locations in the Middle East, including Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, and each location has its different techniques and styles. If you are going to buy a high quality rug, you should expect to pay thousands of dollars. Because of this, it only makes sense to learn what style you are seeking and not settle for anything that is "almost" what you want.

Antique Vs. New

• One of the major decisions to make before buying a rug is whether you are looking for an antique or a new rug. Although many new rugs are dashed off for profit, and are not high quality, this is by no means true of all of them. If you know what you are looking at, you can purchase a very high quality new rug. Antique rugs have more of a cultural mystique to them, and can be very good investments. The rarer they are, the more likely they are to increase in value. However, antique rugs may also be damaged, or may not be as durable as new rugs due to their age.

Buy From the Right Person

• Avoid hucksters and hard sellers. Venues for buying rugs include online auctions, live auctions, outlet stores, dealers in North America, and dealers in their countries of origin. None of these venues is necessarily better than another; your main challenge is to locate an individual who is interested in giving you a fair deal for a fair price. When you find this person, develop an ongoing relationship with him, especially if you are planning to buy more rugs in the future. Not only will this provide you with a contact in the industry, but if this person knows that you are a repeat customer, he is bound to give you preferential treatment.

Know Your Rugs

• Learn about the structures and qualities of rugs so that you know what you are buying. The quality and condition of a rug can be identified through a number of factors, including number of threads per square inch, style of knot used, appearance of the pattern on the back of the rug (it should look the same as on the front, indicating a hand-knotted rug), and style and condition of the fringe at the ends of the rug. If you depend on others to tell you about these things in the midst of making a deal, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. You need to become your own expert if you are serious about acquiring quality rugs.