Afghanistan Silk Rug

[your_good_sons]

Today, a man came to me to get his silk rug cleaned. He picked it up in Kabul in 2010 while serving our country. First, I didn't think Afghans made silk rugs. Second, I'm pretty sure this was a machine made rayon rug from China. It wasn't that dirty. I said I'd be happy to dust it for no cost. It was about 3x5 (90x150 cm to be exact) and I dusted it in about five minutes. There were no spots to deal with. I didn't have the heart to tell him what it appeared to be, he told me he purchased it in a bazaar and haggled them down to $80. I told him he got a good deal and thanked him for his service. I think I handled this one right.

 

[The Great Oz]

Unfortunately a common story.

We had an Afghani employee that asked for a leave of absence to see if he could find his family after the US went into Afghanistan. He came back saying his family was fine, and that his Dad was making huge money selling junk rugs to US servicemen. "Americans are GREAT! They buy ANYTHING!"

 

[Desk Jockey]

He came back saying his family was fine, and that his Dad was making huge money selling junk rugs to US servicemen.

Oh man that's just not right.

 

[rhyde]

Yes, they do make some silk rugs so what? Silk really doesn't mean quality you can also buy socks & underwear made of silk.

Had a guy drop by the shop with an "Or-EYE- ENTAL RUG" he picked up in Afghanistan it was an olifin machine made rug

 

[Nate The Great]

Yes, they do make some silk rugs so what? Silk really doesn't mean quality you can also buy socks & underwear made of silk.

Had a guy drop by the shop with an "Or-EYE- ENTAL RUG" he picked up in Afghanistan it was an olifin machine made rug

So the question is, "Did you charge him wash pricing to make him feel better about his purchase?"

 

[rhyde]

He wanted a pad so no. I was going to keep my mouth shut but then he uttered THE words
what can you tell me about it, is it good quality

 

[Nate The Great]

He wanted a pad so no. I was going to keep my mouth shut but then he uttered THE words
what can you tell me about it, is it good quality

ZZZBest!

 

[rhyde]

It’s not so much the seller is screwing the buyer as much as they are using the buyer’s own blind greed to drive the purchase. What gets people in the door at 80-90% off “rug liquidation sales” it’s the promise of getting something for next to nothing.

I tell people all the time; If it’s a memento of a trip great, but keep the expenditure under 1K.
If you don’t know what you are buying don’t buy it.
People lie.. Quality, Age, value and often the less you know the bigger the lie.

I have had people buy substantial amounts of rugs Turkey & Afghanistan with the idea of selling in the states at a profit. I know one for sure was in it over 20K and the other had 100+ so so Afghan rugs but not profitable at his purchase price Vs. what they sell for here. The reality is the good rugs are spoken for before they hit the streets or are made in closed productions like woven legends which own the looms, wool, designs, and facilities. These never hit the streets of in Istanbul or Kabul what’s out there is mostly marginal rugs in terms of quality and design.