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Tips before buying | Why shop on the Internet? | Pricing | Investment | Quality control

Investment

The right carpet can very well prove to be worth a whole lot of money.

Many people think of a handmade carpet as an investment. That is of course correct in some ways, because the value of a handmade carpet often tends to increase over the years while using the carpet. But, a carpet is primarly made to be used. The main purpose of a carpet is to add that little extra to your home.
 
But a carpet purchased many years ago, carefully cared for, with a beautiful motif and beautiful colours has for sure increased in value and is therefore more expensive when sold again. This carpet is probably also, more expensive than a similar younger carpet, maybe not with the same colours and the same patterns.
 
The development in carpet producing countries
Production of handknotted carpets is forever changing.

IRAN 
90% of Persian carpets, both old and new, are being made in homes as a source of extra income. Among the nomads and the village people, it is the women who take care of the household including the children, weaving carpets which are to be sold at some market, while their husbands take care of cattle and the farming.
 
This trend is slowly changing, as the villagers move to the cities to seek jobs and the cities expand towards the villages. Factories are being build on places where the people used to cultivate the soil back in time and agriculture is also being industrialized.
 
Today a great part of the nomadic culture is disappearing when they become more resident. One of the reasons is that they find areas where the conditions are good and can stay for longer periods, therefore they do not have to move around. Slowly, they are changed into some kind of "resident nomads". Today most nomads move around with jeeps and motorcycles, a sight very different from the one with for example a nomad and his camels.
 
Nomadic carpets are already in short supply and they are becoming much more difficult to find. Back in time our buyers did not have to make an effort to buy hundreds of nomad carpets at the same time. Today it is a challenge to find one single buy!
 
Over the past years the lack of access and the increased inquiries have contributed to heavy price rises (500%) on almost all Persian carpets.
 
These conditions counts more or less even for smaller Persian workshop carpets.
 
Persian carpets are nevertheless still very cheap in proportion to the quality mainly for two reasons: 
 
1. Persian carpets are made as a hobby in the homes by the women (as an extra source of income) and they do not charge in proportion to the work they put in (compared to the Rölakan manufacturing in Sweden and the rest of the Nordic countries in former times). 
 
2. The sinking Iranian currency (Rial) which did not have the same effect on the price rises as in Western currency.
 
 
Production of handknotted carpets in China especially is decreasing.

CHINA 
Until about 18 years ago the Chinese government state aided the carpet manufacturing in China. The reason for this was to get the Chinese export of handmade carpets started and to create more jobs in the country. Eventually more interesting products with better profits emerged and at the same time the borders were opened in China for foreign capital and industry.
 
This is one of the main reasons why many people in China gave up carpet manufacturing and instead began to search for jobs at the factories and in the industry. Many younger Chinese carpet weavers found it more pleasant to move to bigger cities and work in the industry rather than stay put in the countryside.
 
The standard of living in China has improved and the work labour has in the later years become at least five times more expensive. The state aided help which has ceased, on carpets, raw materials (silk, wool, cotton) and the large influx from the clothes industry in the country have lead to a higher price level. The elderly who choose to stay and manufacture carpets are also slowly dying out.
 
Today, compared to 20 years ago, Chinese carpets are about 5 times more expensive to buy.
 
 
Carpet manufacturing in Turkey is very low in comparison to what it used to be.

TURKEY 
About 20-30 years ago Turkey was one of the worlds largest producers of carpets. The social and industrial progress has contributed to conditions that have lead to decline of carpet production which does not exist in Turkey anymore. Real Turkish made carpets are extremly expensive and today carpets are being imported, from Iran and India for example, to be sold in the domestic market. These carpets are also sold to tourists who often think that they are buying real Turkish carpets.
 
 
OTHER COUNTRIES 
In other carpet producing countries such as India, Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan the development is more or less the same which indicates that within 10 years the culture of weaving carpets by hand will probably be marginalized and in some areas die out.