Carpet Delivery

[duquephart]

I'd be curious to hear from those who purchased a carpet/rug in Turkey in regard to how the goods were delivered to your door. In another thread someone said that the carpet people wait until they have enough sold (and unsold) carpets to fill a container and then over they come to distribute same - the result of which is another sales pitch in conjunction with delivery. Two guys show up in a van and part of the deal is them wanting to sell you another rug for "a really good price" that eliminates the need for them to take it back to Turkey. This makes sense when one thinks about it: Why would delivery/shipping take several weeks otherwise? - why wouldn't they take another opportunity to sell a known buyer - etc.? In our case we purchased from one of the "approved" dealers in Kusadasi and were told the carpet would take "eight to ten weeks" to arrive and asked if that was OK with us (assuming it is a standard thing we said we were good with that). Now, yesterday (nearly seven weeks later), we get a call from "Muaz" asking if he can deliver our rug later today. So ----- are we going to be offered another "carpet demonstration?" And - by the way - if we get asked if any of our friends/neighbors might be interested in a Turkish carpet I will immediately inquire as to what level of commission might obtain for us 😊. This might be interesting.

[Jim Avery]

Buy 10 get one free.🍸

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, duquephart said:

Why would delivery/shipping take several weeks otherwise?

Assuming you didn't pay for airfreight, the rug merchant sure didn't, so its container shipping.  While the rug merchant may not wait to get a full container load before shipping, the freight forwarder they are using surely will, so let's say two weeks to get that.  Then, non-stop its 2 weeks from Turkey to the US East Coast by container ship, add another week for port stops along the way, and you're at 5 weeks now, and just at the port of arrival in the US.  Then a week for customs clearance, and a week for the freight forwarder to arrange a LTL (less than trailer load) shipment to you in Minnesota, and another week for actual transport, again stopping along the way to deliver partial loads, and you've reached 8 weeks.  They are not paying priority pricing for Amazon's network, or even DHL, so there are delays at every step of the way.

[jebbs]

We love our Turkish rug!  It arrived about 8 weeks after purchase, with my husband’s signature on the label.  Yes, the delivery is just as you said.  A sales pitch for another rug!  I also seem to remember a request for a cup of tea.  
When we arranged for delivery, I asked where other stops were and helped the driver do an “organized” circle around Boston, rather than zigzagging with traffic.

Still enjoying our rug, and the story 10 years later!

[duquephart]

31 minutes ago, jebbs said:

We love our Turkish rug!  It arrived about 8 weeks after purchase, with my husband’s signature on the label.  Yes, the delivery is just as you said.  A sales pitch for another rug!  I also seem to remember a request for a cup of tea.  
When we arranged for delivery, I asked where other stops were and helped the driver do an “organized” circle around Boston, rather than zigzagging with traffic.

Still enjoying our rug, and the story 10 years later!

 

A pitch or another presentation?

[duquephart]

3 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Assuming you didn't pay for airfreight, the rug merchant sure didn't, so its container shipping.  While the rug merchant may not wait to get a full container load before shipping, the freight forwarder they are using surely will, so let's say two weeks to get that.  Then, non-stop its 2 weeks from Turkey to the US East Coast by container ship, add another week for port stops along the way, and you're at 5 weeks now, and just at the port of arrival in the US.  Then a week for customs clearance, and a week for the freight forwarder to arrange a LTL (less than trailer load) shipment to you in Minnesota, and another week for actual transport, again stopping along the way to deliver partial loads, and you've reached 8 weeks.  They are not paying priority pricing for Amazon's network, or even DHL, so there are delays at every step of the way.

 

It was a package deal including delivery. Never asked how it would arrive. A dealer in Istanbul pitched me on delivery - again included - in one weeks time so there is such a thing. I'm sure they know their costs and take them into account.

[jebbs]

Well, a litttle pressure.  But he could see I really had no place in my home to put the new 8x10, my floors had all Middle Eastern, hand made rugs. He dropped the pitch easily and never asked for any referals.

A great souvenir from a fantastic trip!!!!

[duquephart]

Done deal. The guy took a half-hearted stab at a round carpet for under our kitchen table and another at a runner for a hallway. No attempt at any sort of presestation. Happy campers!

[rmalbers]

Wow, that is very nice looking.

[pavementends]

When in Kusadasi we had the (mandatory?) visit to the carpet showroom.

 

I knew I wasn't buying a carpet. I have bought a few (machine-made) in the US that were carefully chosen to be appropriate in size, color, and design. And that could have been returned if they did not work upon placing them in the room. Buying a carpet in Turkey it seems to me is risky, very risky. Congrats to those who did it and had it work well.

 

I didn't take the chance. We enjoyed seeing the various carpets- and, perhaps, the carpet salesman experience.

[OneSixtyToOne]

2 hours ago, duquephart said:

Done deal. The guy took a half-hearted stab at a round carpet for under our kitchen table and another at a runner for a hallway. No attempt at any sort of presestation. Happy campers!

Very beautiful. I assume it’s silk?

[Mike07]

11 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Very beautiful. I assume it’s silk?

 

 

Looks to heavy to be silk, IMHO. I think silk rugs can be rolled up and put in a hand bag (like beach bag).

[Mike07]

2 hours ago, duquephart said:

Done deal. The guy took a half-hearted stab at a round carpet for under our kitchen table and another at a runner for a hallway. No attempt at any sort of presestation. Happy campers!

 

 

Ok, I want a Turkish rug now.

[Whale2155]

We bought a rug last year.  It took a while to get here, but it was delivered right to our door, and we live nowhere near any large cities.   The fellow who delivered it was polite and unwrapped our rug to verify it was the one we purchased.   Sure he asked us if we were interested in another one, but a polite no was all it took.   He was not pushy at all.

[OneSixtyToOne]

13 minutes ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

Ok, I want a Turkish rug now.

They are quite beautiful. All hand knotted and colored using organic dyes. The wool is from Angora goats. 
 

Edited June 18 by OneSixtyToOne

[Mike07]

I have it on my itinerary to do the Istanbul extension with Viking later this year. So, how do I go to these bazaars and shopping centers and not pay tourist prices but ensure the dude actually delivers me my rug and not a Chinese copy. I have no problems waiting 8-10 weeks

Edited June 18 by Mike07

[duquephart]

48 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Very beautiful. I assume it’s silk?

 

Yes. I don't think you can this finely detailed with wool.

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, Mike07 said:

I have it on my itinerary to do the Istanbul extension with Viking later this year. So, how do I go to these bazaars and shopping centers and not pay tourist prices but ensure the dude actually delivers me my rug and not a Chinese copy. I have no problems waiting 8-10 weeks

Viking has a list of vetted shops. When you buy, you sign the back so you can be sure the same one you bought is the one that is delivered. The official shops are state sponsored and the shipping is included because the government also subsidizes that.

Edited June 18 by OneSixtyToOne

[Mich3554]

2 hours ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

Looks to heavy to be silk, IMHO. I think silk rugs can be rolled up and put in a hand bag (like beach bag).

We carried both our rugs (5’ x 8’) home with us plus a silk wall hanging (18” x 3’) in a bag that was about the same size as a garment bag.  The 2 rugs were wool.  The silk hanging is surprisingly heavy as there are way more threads/inch than the rugs.  I wound up finding a quilt hanger to mount the hanging as I didn’t want it adulterated in any way.  
 

We did not buy our rugs as part of a tour during a cruise, but on a land visit to see a friend.  We went to a carpet place in Istanbul where locals buy (definitely not in a tourist area).  She did the negotiating for us.  

[Mich3554]

1 hour ago, duquephart said:

 

Yes. I don't think you can this finely detailed with wool.

To tell if it’s silk, look at it from another direction.  Do the colors change?  If it does, it’s silk.  If it does not, it’s wool.  This is silk, and if I flip it around and look at it from the other direction, the colors in it are several shades darker.  We had a really good salesman that taught us a lot about rugs.

Edited June 18 by Mich3554

[millybess]

33 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

To tell if it’s silk, look at it from another direction.  Do the colors change?  If it does, it’s silk.  If it does not, it’s wool.  This is silk, and if I flip it around and look at it from the other direction, the colors in it are several shades darker.  We had a really good salesman that taught us a lot about rugs.

The wall hanging is beautiful. Do you have a photo of the top of the quilt hanger?

[OneSixtyToOne]

48 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

To tell if it’s silk, look at it from another direction.  Do the colors change?  If it does, it’s silk.  If it does not, it’s wool.

 

This is not true, All the hand knotted rugs change color based on direction because of the weave. I have both and both shift color. Silk is denser and you can tell by the feel and sheen. Also they knot the ends differently.

 

This is wool from different directions:

 

Edited June 18 by OneSixtyToOne

[duquephart]

1 hour ago, Mich3554 said:

To tell if it’s silk, look at it from another direction.  Do the colors change?  If it does, it’s silk.  If it does not, it’s wool.  This is silk, and if I flip it around and look at it from the other direction, the colors in it are several shades darker.  We had a really good salesman that taught us a lot about rugs.

 

The colors changing is what did it for my "No ----- we're not buying a rug" wife. That and the blue.

[Mike07]

57 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

The colors changing is what did it for my "No ----- we're not buying a rug" wife. That and the blue.

 

 

I'm defense of your wife, the rug ties the room together.

[Mitina]

1 hour ago, Mike07 said:

the rug ties the room together

A Big Lebowski reference? 😅