PUGGY&#39;S HILL

Innnnnnteresting. I forgot to say (and just added) that it's silk, which pushes the price up considerably. Also, very finely knotted. Which will mean something to rug afficionados . . . .

. . . but pricing comparables on eBay? Gosh, I guess that's why I have Minions (for the extra brains, which seem to have run out my toes)!

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p-zeitgeist.livejournal.com

Have them appraised. Gregorian may well do it.

For that matter, Gregorian may know the best way to re-sell them, or be willing to buy them themselves: those are wonderful pieces, and I only wish I were in a position to make an offer on them myself.

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Gregorian, when I called, were the ones who told me to try to sell them on Craigslist! They are now as Schnooks unto me - though I have just sent them a nice letter with photo, in case they'd like to reform any.

Edited Date: 2008-08-02 07:13 pm (UTC)

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handworn.livejournal.com

Check out the local in-person auctions. My experience with rugs at the better auctions is this: the rugs people don't associate with the non-rugs people, stay just for the rugs, and bid them to mind-boggling prices (the rule of thumb that comes to mind upon seeing this is, the rattier the rug, the more it's worth). I'm sure there are decent mid-level auctions in NYC (those just below Christie's and Sotheby's).

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casacorona.livejournal.com

those are machine-made wool rugs. What Ellen's got are hand-knotted silk carpets. Whole different ball game.

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stephanieburgis.livejournal.com

I don't know anything about rugs, but I do know you can specify on eBay that the buyer has to come and collect. (We're looking for a pram on eBay and they're almost ALL collection-only!)

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Ah! Good. (And happy pram!)

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casacorona.livejournal.com

E, I strongly suggest that you get them appraised. Delia doesn't buy crap...these may be quite valuable. Photos don't tell you anything about a rug -- you have to look at the back and the materials. You might be able to sell them directly to a dealer, too.

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Hmm... we did have them appraised for insurance purposes about 10 years ago; I'll start with that.

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handworn.livejournal.com

Don't rely on the insurance appraisal. Appraisals for insurance purposes use replacement value, and tend to be high. Other appraisals, for the purposes of auctions, for example, focus on how much the market is likely to pay for it in the fair-market, supply-and-demand equilibrium, which store prices have nothing to do with. They tend to be lower.

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Thank you *very very* much for *all* your useful comments here - and for sharing the benefits of your own experience.

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Oh, very pretty.

I think you should get a real appraisal. Gregorian doesn't sell rubbish, and really you want to be sure you ask a fair price.

Maybe if you drove up to the old stomping grounds again sometime, you could take them along and have Gregorian appraise them? They're the sort of business that remembers customers, and they may even be able to tell Delia what she paid in the way back when.

Selling stuff on Craig's List has a very high flake factor.

In your shoes, I'd:

1. get appraisal

2. see if there's someone reputable near you who would sell on consignment

3. Craig's list, no no no.

4. eBay customer pickup---Ummmmm. Could be interesting. There must be a shipping company that would handle them for less than UPS or Fedex. Get an estimate first and then add 10% or 15% for hassle factor, if you list on eBay, and make sure the shipping is listed up front. Go for a worst-case scenario: California or Washington State, say. Then if you feel charitable, you can charge less.

ETA: Oh my, Gregorian is selling Mouse Rugs! Cute, cute, cute.

Edited Date: 2008-08-02 06:37 pm (UTC)

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Consignment - good thought!

I actually called Gregorian's last year, and they're the ones who suggested Craigslist! I was gobsmacked. I just emailed them with photos & toadying note, and maybe I'll get some help on value, or even the original receipt... Thanks for your excellent list.

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Maybe a high-end item would attract a better clientele on Craig's List than the usual assorted electronics and the like, but I'm dubious. It would also attract a higher-end scammer.

If you do go the Craig's List route, accept payment only in cash or bank check, and maybe have a few extra friends with you two when the handoff of rug and payment happens. Generally people try to meet in neutral places to make the exchange---a factor in Starbucks' success---so, if the rugs can be rolled and carried, that would be better than having someone come to the house.

Good luck! And congratulations on your fortitude. It is almost impossible for me to throw stuff out---I put it in the trash and R fishes it out. I found a bag of old magazines in the cellar the other week that I threw out last year. Uphill work.

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These puppies are 5 ft x 7 ft. They ain't going to Starbucks.

Yeah, well, I'm the one who fishes through the trash, or the bags of clothes, going, "You're getting rid of **that**??!" So sympathize with Delia some!

Thanks again for the Excellent advice. I love this brain trust thing....

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I looked on NYC CL, and there are people listing good rugs. But there's no way on CL (unlike eBay) to tell whether a posting has resulted in a successful sale or how long it took. Well, it would be an adventure...

And I'm as bad as you on the clothes, the other day I "borrowed" a sweater back from my bag of stuff waiting (for ages, of course) to get lugged down to Goodwill.

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handworn.livejournal.com

Try iGavel.com. (This idea just occurred to me, or I'd have mentioned it above.) It's for much higher-quality items than the average run of eBay stuff. I don't think individual people can post on it (though I don't know that for certain, never having investigated the point) but they can bid on iGavel, and you could find a NYC dealer who you could consign it to. Stuff of mine has been sold that way.

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Oh, another disposal route: Get appraisal, then donate rugs to a charity auction where they are likely to net approximately the appraised value. (You might even want two appraisals for that, although if you have one from someone with Gregorian's reputation, that should suffice.) Channel 2?

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yer so bright!

From: (Anonymous)

Hello! If you're selling the rug online, you can contact us at rugrag.com.

We verify if your rug is hand knotted from photographs, then create a link for you to put into your listing. If you check out our home page, click on "about us," then click on "verification service" to see an example.

Our service is currently free of charge, and should help in the sale of your rugs. Be sure to send a bunch of high quality images (as seen in the sample verification) to info@rugrag.com

Hope to talk to you soon!

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From your message you appear to be some evil spambot trolling the internet looking for people who have used words like "sell" and "rug." And yet your website is actually quite good!

How can this be?

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You've got something that looks like a Qom rug. Very finely done, "city style" with a high KPSI (knots per inch). Certainly looks like silk, but the warps are likely to be cotton -- you will want to look closely to see what the weft is made of (may not be the same as the pile). These are not vegetable dyes, but that isn't really to be expected.

If you want to sell it, KPSI is something an aficionado likes to know, and besides an overview photo like the one in your post, you will want some close up photos, including a bit of the warp fringe and the selvedge, plus a closeup of the back (lets one see the warps, KPI, etc).

Ebay has a thriving trade in very good quality rugs, as well as lots of cheap dreck. If you tool around for a while getting the lay of the land, you can see what is expected. People are used to paying high shipping costs. Some of that is a scam on ebay to save the vendor from paying seller's fees -- the seller sells the rug for $10 and charges $200 shipping. But if you weed thru looking for the more reputable sellers, you should get a feeling for what real costs are. For a rug like yours, you could roll it up, wrap it in a tarp, tie it very well and duct tape it to death, and ship it more reasonably that you might think. Silk rugs compress :).

As an Ariadn'es thread to more research material try http://www.oldcarpet.com/qom.htm
(I have no interest in any vendor of any kind)

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a few more points: translation being what it is, you might find this type of rug described as "Qom", "Qum", "Ghom" or "Ghum." Depending on your KPSI, exact composition of warp/weft/pile, and desirability of the design, you could be looking at a value more like this listing (http://cgi.ebay.com/HIGH-END-5X7-ALL-SILK-PERSIAN-QUM-RUG-KPSI-600_W0QQitemZ7375105207QQihZ009QQcategoryZ37980QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247) than some of the other suggestions people have made.

Rug merchants have been for famous for their sharp practice for centuries and not much has changed. Almost no "retail price" represents anything close to what you will actually pay for it. Of course, the price you would pay on ebay for a good quality rug is still substantially less than what you would pay if you bought the same thing from a place like Gregorian's -- I'm not sure you will get your money back. Ebay is caveat emptor, and a high-end rug place offers you a lot of services you sure don't get from an ebay purchase -- many have a lifetime trade-in option, for example. (apologies if I am stating the obvious)

good luck!

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My apologies if I am becoming pedantic, but many of these comments are inaccurate at the best.

The design you have is not a prayer rug. There are specific elements of design that make a prayer rug and it doesn't have them. A high-end silk rug that ought to be treated as a piece of art rather than a place to wipe your galoshes? sure, absolutely. A rug person who is likely to spend this kind of money knows what they are looking for and doesn't need to be told what to do with it.

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oh and still more drivel from me... most of the good rugs on ebay are listed in the "Antiques" category, even if they're not :)

No idea if you'll go that route, but thought that I'd give you a brief tour of that little marketplace.

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No apologies necessary - you are the Rug God(dess) I've been looking for, and this is all exactly what I've been wanting to know! I've got lots of additional photos of things like the back with a ruler against it - I didn't know it was called KPSI, but retained some primordial memory of something to do with knots.... I've seen pure silk rugs - definitely to be hung on the wall - and I think this one is a silk/wool blend, as it's got a sheen but is not that intense (also: huge! 4 x 7!).

Thank you very much for your time and info. Feel free to step in anytime.

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marydell.livejournal.com

Hand-knotted silk rugs of that size are worth quite a bit. Check out this listing (http://www.catalinarug.com/n/pages/products.asp?pid=6098) of an apparently similar one, selling for close to 1k with a (supposed) deep discount.

My Muslim friends are rug afficionados, because of using them for prayer...since you're in NYC, maybe you could find a high-end consignment shop in a Middle-Eastern neighborhood?

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mouseworks.livejournal.com

Silk rugs aren't for usual walking on. They're either going to be used as bed covers (as in My Night at Maude's or as table covers for non-food tables (see Renaissance paintings) or as prayer rugs (rolled between uses). Or as a barefoot rug for beside the bed.

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shrewreader.livejournal.com

I'd say this might make an excellent post to Athena's web. This, after all, is what alumnae are for.

Also? I might be interested. E-mail off list?

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zarhooie.livejournal.com

*looks down at floor*
*pets rug*

I went in and asked mom how much she paid for the 100% hand-knotted silk rug that's sitting on my bedroom floor right now. It's 8x10 and she paid $5000 for it new. That might help you establish a baseline, maybe. Good luck!

(Mom says we don't need any more rugs. I asked.)

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Thank you! That does sound about right. I bet your rug is pretty!

From: (Anonymous)

What's the verdict on these rugs? I'm curious what venue you may have ended up using, ebay, craigslist....

-David

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