Where to Buy Oriental Rugs

Expert Insight

• There are many large retailers that sell Oriental rugs all over the United States. Jacobsen Oriental Rugs and Carpets is based out of Syracuse, New York, yet has a website and ships all over. Alex Cooper is a large store selling Oriental rugs in the Maryland area. There are many Oriental rugs stores if you live in the New York area, such as Myco, Kermanshah, Baseer, Ahdoot, Peter Pap and many more.

Benefits

• The Internet makes finding an excellent Oriental rug very easy. Some of the best Internet retailers for Oriental rugs are OrientalRugs.com, Absolute Rugs, 1001 Oriental Rugs and Samaha Rugs. The great thing about these websites is that no matter where in the world you are, you can browse through a huge array of rugs.

Considerations

• A lot of outdoor flea markets and street markets sell lovely Oriental rugs. For example, if you live in larger cities such as New York City and Los Angeles, there are often lots of street markets selling Oriental rugs in the summertime. The great thing about the outdoor markets is that you can often bargain down the prices on the rugs here.

Geography

• Many people like to travel abroad to exotic locales such as Turkey to purchase authentic Oriental rugs. Outdoor street markets and fairs in Istanbul often sell marvelous arrays of Oriental rugs, and sometimes for lower prices (usually about 1/3 less) than they would be sold for in the United States--however, the reverse can also occur. The Kaiseri rugs from Central Anatolia in Turkey are exquisite and cannot be found elsewhere.

Warning

• Many people who buy rugs in Turkey or in the Middle East come home only to find out they have been lied to by the rug merchant. One of the most common exaggerations is the age of the rug. The Turkish merchants also have been known to lie and tell the customers that the rugs were woven with natural dyes. Also, occasionally Turkish rug sellers will try to pass off rugs from other nations as being Turkish. These are just some things to consider when buying rugs abroad.