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Tips before buying
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Why shop on the Internet?
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Pricing
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Investment
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Quality control
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Investment
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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.
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A story about two brothers and their carpets. This is a true story about two brothers from a well known trading family who inherited a number of handmade carpets from their father who traded in carpets. One of the brothers sold carpets in Hamburg for a living, while the other brother worked as a surgeon in USA. When the time came to split the inheritance and the hundreds of carpets included, the surgeon wondered if he could borrow a room at his brothers warehouse to store his share of the carpets. This was ok and they made a fair split of the carpets, both when it came to selection, quality and styles. The surgeon locked up his carpets, returned to the USA and the carpet dealer continued with his business.
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14 years later. the two brothers were both successful in their professions. One day the surgeon made a decision to return to Hamburg and to convert his carpets into money. The carpet dealer had helped his brother during these years
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by throwing insecticides against moths and other vermins, through a hole in the ceiling. When they met again the surgeon was being helped by his brother, the carpet dealer, who had lots of contacts in selling the well-preserved carpets. On going through the carpets, the carpet dealer realized that these carpets were worth a lot more since the time the split had been done. The surgeon sold all his carpets and was well paid for them.
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What's interesting is that, when the brothers sat down after the sale and to reflected on all that had happened, they realized that if the other brother, the carpet dealer, had done as the surgeon did and just kept his carpets he would have made twice as much as he did during these 14 years of hard work in his company selling carpets. This is a true story and without any exaggerations and for sure may have happened many times among real estate and carpet dealer business or at other occasions when someone inherited investment objects. "Real estate and carpets can get sick, but they never die" - an old Persian saying which has proven to be true from time to time. One always gets, assuming one purchases good carpets for the right price and sells them in time, a good return on investments from carpets.
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The development in carpet producing countries
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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