Turkish rugs - shipping problems?

[Edward50]

I was in Turkey in October and came very close to buying a beautiful silk carpet but declined because I was not confident that they could be shipped in the promised 4 to 6 weeks with no additional cost at customs.

 

I kind of regret not buying as the carpet was beautiful and i believe fairly priced for the quality. I will be returning to Istanbul and Kusadasi in May and would like to hear from those that have had their carpets shipped overseas.

 

What carpet dealer did you purchase from? Did they deliver as promised and were you happy with the product you received? Thanks.

[4774Papa]

I lived in the Middle East for five years and became a little familiar with oriental carpets. We saw some nice Turkish carpets in 2010. I thought they were overpriced. People were buying them at sticker price with no negotiation.

The culture in that part of the World demands some negotiation.

I recommend that before you go to Turkey, go to an oriental carpet ship in the USA and price Turkish and or Pakistani or Indian carpets in the size you want. Compare those prices with what you get in Turkey.

 

Know the difference between a handmade carpet and machine made carpet. Also, between a double knotted or single knotted. Ask for the number of knots per square inch.

 

Then Bargain. We had friends that purchased a carpet and it was shipped as agreed.

[itsjb1]

I was in Turkey in October and came very close to buying a beautiful silk carpet but declined because I was not confident that they could be shipped in the promised 4 to 6 weeks with no additional cost at customs.

 

I kind of regret not buying as the carpet was beautiful and i believe fairly priced for the quality. I will be returning to Istanbul and Kusadasi in May and would like to hear from those that have had their carpets shipped overseas.

 

What carpet dealer did you purchase from? Did they deliver as promised and were you happy with the product you received? Thanks.

 

 

We purchased 2 carpets from Punto in Istanbul. Carpets arrived as promised, with no additional charges.

[susan0000]

I read somewhere else a hint that when they purchased a carpet they signed the tag stuck to the back to ensure that the carpet sent to them was indeed the one they purchased. I thought this was a great idea! just thought I would pass that along!

[Clay Clayton]

We too purchased two carpets from Punto and they arrived without issue about 4 weeks later - well within the 6 weeks we were told to expect. Since then folks from Punto have been in touch annually to see if we want to buy more. They say they are in the states and would love to stop by and have us set up a "party" for others to see their products. We have politely declined their offers.:D

 

I second the PP who talks about bargaining. It was critical to our sale. Our only regret is that we didn't start out lower but we honestly thought we had countered with a price so low that they would recognise that we really werent in a position to purchase. They of course came back with a higher price but not "that" much higher. We ended up much closer to our inital counter offer than we did to their original price.

 

After our return, we did some research (wish we had of done it in advance but not sure we would have known what to look for) and determined that while we didn't get robbed, we didn't get them for the rock bottom price either. BUT we did get two rugs that are completely different looking from anything I have ever seen available here AND we have a great story!:D

[jessicalorene]

just out of curiosity what did you guys pay ?

[elleks]

We bought a lovely rug in Kusadasi. I can't remember the name of the place (they took us there on the ship excursion) but it was near the waterfront, and had a lovely courtyard.

I think we paid about £400.00, and it arrived within 2 weeks of us returning home.