Cheap eBay Rugs

Rug Rag Q&A

I havent looked on ebay for quite a while for hand made rugs. I am finding that the prices on the rugs on ebay are unbelievably inexpensive...what's the deal? Granted many are 100 KPI but they SAY they are hand made and maybe 50-100 years old and they are usually less than $1500.00. I dont understand.....how do I know they are genuine? are these cheap Chinese reproductions or something?

-anonymous

Response:

Hi, thanks for contacting,

This is a question which frequently comes up. A very good question too. Throughout our archive we've touched on many aspects of ebay which you may like to take a look through. We also have another link at the bottom of this post. Both our archive and entry below will provide tips and pointers as to what to look for in a rug, including those online, and some insight as to why these rugs may be so inexpensive.

Ebay is one of the best and worst places to purchase a carpet. A complete hit or miss unless you know exactly what it is you're looking for, and how to look for it. In reality, there is no blanket statement we can make about why some rugs are cheap, or seem so cheap. What we can say is the following.

It's not uncommon knot count or kpsi would be inflated. But then again, knot count is not everything in oriental rugs. It's also not unusual for rugs to be passed as something they're not, or defects which clearly would be rejected from a standard brick and mortar showroom to be sold for no reserve. Alternatively, for every 'bad' rug there's a good one, and sometimes the flaws and wear can only add character.

Every rug should be looked at on a one-on-one basis. When you see a rug you like, send it into our rug appraisal form, we'll get back to you on the fundamental information which you will need to know to make a more informed purchasing decision.

Please also check out our eBay Buyer's Guide to Oriental Rugs.

Thanks for contacting, we look forward to hearing from you and assisting in your next purchase!

-David Dilmaghani, Co-Founder, rugrag.com

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