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Before reading this article, you may want to read our posts on "Where do Rug Dealers get their 'Retail Prices' From" and how to Count KPSI
Recently, Rug Rag went to a local Department Store to view a Tent Sale in progress.
We went there expecting that this Reputable Department Store would be
conducting ethical business practices, as quite a buzz was going around
about this event. What we found was, unfortunately a flagrant disservice to the carpet buying public.
This subject is so horrendous it's difficult to know where to start. There were countless perplexities with this "sale," so we'll stick to exposing two major problems. The first being inflated representation by salespeople (which basically amounts to exploitation of buyer's trust in this Retail Giant) and secondly, deceptive pricing.
Contrary to the neatly stacked piles of hand made rugs and carpets (above), what we found was a disgrace. It's so unfortunate that a well-reputed Department Store would use deceptive marketing tactics such as the ones we detail below.
For example, note the pakistani Carpet shown above: We had been introduced to it as
a "museum quality" Oriental Carpet. Several salesmen even went so far as to assert "If museums knew we had this carpet, they would buy it."
The price on this Persian Design pakistani was marked at $214,099.00, the price of a 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo. The salesmen said: "Take this price as marked, and divide it by four." Divide by four, that's 75 percent off! Sounds like a great deal, no? We have news: This is no "Museum Quality" Carpet. We asked what this "Regular Price" was. The explanation was it's a "Retail Price." After further inquiry, the salesman admitted it was not really a price the rug would have ever sold for. This is a problem. A serious problem. If a seller advertises a "Retail Price" or "Regular Price," such a value assigned should be what the item would have actually sold for at some point in time. This number on their price tag was nothing more than a deceptive marketing tactic: Not an actual price, but a price specifically generated to inflate value, and deceive purchasers.
The salesman didn't stop with his pitch on this rug, and we didn't stop listening...
According to this salesperson, the "Museum" carpet was over 1000 Knots Per Square Inch... GREAT, LET'S COUNT IT... WE LOVE numbers!!! We'll use this standard US Quarter, which is an even 1"x1". Note the the two ply yarn used for each knot. We counted 23x23 knots, or approximately 529 kpsi... Oh boy, that's some big difference. Well, this is a problem. We were told this tent sale would beat any market price for an oriental rug from anywhere else. But if this seller is providing a knot count inflated by some 89%, how can others compete? Deceptive sales tactics, unethical representation and exploitation of shoppers Trust. Shame on this company.
Just another example we held up for photographs. Apparently, that rug wasn't the only thing trying to be held-up. Note: Exit sign in upper right hand corner of photograph is closer than it appears. We've had just about enough of these loaded sellers.
Above: Sure it's a signed rug, pretty high KPSI and nice looking design...
Look at this price tag above. It's through the roof: Just about $29K Regular Price? Even divided by their "magic number 4," this 30 square foot rug comes to nearly $240 per sq. ft. It's just not right.
Do they really think the public is this stupid?
Become an educated consumer, ask us any questions you have for unbiased assessment. To research on your own, try SpongoBongo for Oriental Rugs and Persian Carpets or try contacting us!
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