How To Sell Your Rug

How To Sell Your Rug

You have a rug and you want to sell it. Selling it to a rug dealer and carrying it in your car trunk is not a good idea. Why? Because rug dealer wants to re-sell the rug, therefore he is not going to offer you a high price. Besides, he has many rugs himself. What is the chance that he can sell your rug faster than his own rugs? Your rug has to sit in his shop for a long time and this will cost him money. He can also buy rugs on credit, but he has to pay you cash since you need the money.   

Try to find a private customer, and an end user. Someone who wants to use the rug on his/her floor. Someone who does not want to resell it. Where can you find such a prospect? This guy could be your friend, a neighbor, a relative, or a coworker.  Don't be shy. Just ask them if they need a rug. Talk to them to see if you can find someone who is interested in buying your rug.

If this does not work, go online. There are many websites on which you can post the pictures and descriptions of your rug. Of course you should know what you have. That is the first step. Otherwise, you cannot sell it because you do not know what that is and what the market price might be. You don't want to put a high price on your rug to make the potential buyers walk away from you. Find an honest rug dealer and preferably a Certified Rug Appraiser. Usually, they have two types of rug appraisals, verbal and written. If it is just for your own information, you do not need a written formal appraisal and the certificate. The appraiser should be able to tell you the origin, age, construction, design, knot per square inch, and the fair market value of your rug.

After you have all the necessary information on your rug, then post them along with a few good pictures (overall, and details) of your rug. If there are damages, be honest and mention them. Try Craig's list which is local and free. You can also try ebay. Besides your asking price, mention that you may consider any reasonable and fair offer. If you post your rug on ebay, include free shipping  in the U.S. continent and in 48 states by UPS ground which is safe and cheap. This eliminates Hawaii and Alaska as the shipping cost to these two states is expensive.  Of course buying insurance which is not that expensive is highly recommended. People love free shipping when they buy something online. After you sell you rug, roll it and wrap it in thick plastic and take it to a UPS store for shipping. The cost of shipping is calculated based on the size and weight of your package. If you rug is big, then fold it in half  or tri-fold it as you do with the letter to put it in an envelope and roll it to become a smaller package. Take a look at this short video to see how you can do this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O4FWpasl24

For questions or concerns, give me a call to chat. You can reach me at 310-770-9085 or info@rugideas.com

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
Certified Rug Appraiser (CRA)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Los Angeles Rug Cleaning: A 5-Star Yelp review from an actress and singer.

A 5-Star Yelp review from an actress and singer. Click on the review for a bigger image.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
Certified Rug Appraiser (CRA)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Another 5-Star Yelp Review for Los Angeles Rug Cleaning!

• Yvonne O.
• Los Angeles, CA

• 2 friends
• 8 reviews

9/6/2015

They mop the floor wit other carpet cleaners.
Then they cover that floor with a beautiful rug.
'Cause that's how they do.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)

Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)

Certified Rug Appraiser (CRA)

www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com

www.RugIdea.com

Tel. 310-770-9085

Tufted Rugs, Hand Tufted Rugs

Tufted Rugs, Hand-Tufted Rugs

Unlike a hand-knotted rug, a tufted rug is made without tying knots on vertical foundation threads called warps. Making a tufted rug takes a fraction of the time to make, and this reduces the cost and time of production. Therefore tufted rugs are cheaper than hand knotted rugs.

Some producers, importers, or dealers use the term "Hand Tufted" rugs to make it sound and look fancier and closer to handmade rugs. Clients who do not know the difference between hand made, and tufted rugs, really think hand tufted rugs are hand made or hand woven. While they are not.

The pile of tufted rugs are usually wool. These rugs are made with a tool called a "tufting gun." These guns can be hand mechanical or electrical guns. Loops of wool are pushed through a backing (also called primary backing) that has been imprinted with the overall design. When the rug maker is through with this process, another foundation, called a scrim is applied with latex glue. The quality of latex glues may be good or bad and this will affect the care and maintenance and durability of the tufted rugs. When this latex glue dries, the final protective cloth backing (also called secondary backing) is applied.

The last step is to shear the rug down so that all of the loops on the top of the rug are cut, and this will create the pile.

Depicting design on canvas, the primary backing

Weaving a hand-knotted rug requires skill and often a lot of time and craftsmanship to produce. The quality and value of a hand-knotted carpet is determined by the number of knots per square inch, material used, country of origin, size, age, provenance (who has owned the rug!), condition, etc.

Electric Tufting gun

An Indian weaver using a simple hand tufting gun

A Chinese weaver using an electric tufting gun

A good quality hand-knotted rug, can become a collector's item, and antique by the passage of time; of course this cannot be true for all types of hand knotted rugs, because there is a whole range from poorly made to high end ones. Hand-tufted rugs never quite achieve the heirloom status and they cannot become collectibles or antique.

When it comes to care and maintenance of rugs, it is possible to remove the pet urine stain and smell from a hand knotted or even area rug (machine made). However, due to the fabric backing and latex glue on the back of tufted rugs, it is almost impossible to remove the pet odor smell and stain 100% from such rugs.

Tufted rugs when new, look nice and beautiful, but by passage of time, vacuuming, and foot traffic, the latex glue disintegrates and powdered glue comes out of the rug. Cleaning of any kind, will not stop the white powder and disintegrating latex glue coming off the back of tufted rugs. Almost all types of hand knotted and machine made rugs can be wet washed and submerged. Due to the fabric and latex glue in the back, tufted rugs cannot be fully wet washed and cannot be submerged. And this eliminates the chance of complete pet odor removal as the smell bonds with the latex glue specially if cleaning is not done right after the pet accident happens. 

Buying a tufted rug is not bad, but at least we should know what we're buying and be aware of the care and maintenance limitations! It is cheaper than hand knotted rugs, but not easier to maintain and care for.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
Certified Rug Appraiser (CRA)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Pakistani Hand Knotted Rug For Immediate Sale in Los Angeles

We recently hand washed a beautiful hand knotted Pakistani rug for a client. He wants to sell this rug as soon as possible. I am posting few of the pictures here.

This rug is in great condition with no wear and tear. The foundation is cotton (plant based material) and the pile is Lamb's wool (animal material), so the construction is natural with no nylon, polyester, or petrochemicals. The design is floral or overall which is an old classic Oriental/Persian design which is never out of style or out of market. This is a labor of love and it takes few months up to a year to make a rug like this on a loom. Our client Mark will pay for the shipping in the U.S. continent (48 states) with UPS ground which is very fast and safe. We have not had any problem or issue with UPS ground in the past 10 years. His asking price which is really a fair market value for such a nice art work is $2,900. You would have to pay way more if you want to buy a rug like this from a dealer. This rug will add warmth and character to any room in which this is going to be used. This is going to be a wise investment financially as well.

Please contact Mark directly at:

Mark 310-210-3697
mtomlinson@ca.rr.com

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

This is why I love my job!

This was really cool. A 90-year old repeat client brought in a rug she had woven 15 years ago for cleaning! WOW.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
Certified Rug Appraiser (CRA)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdeas.com
Tel. 310-770-9085