Adding more photos

I have a suggestion, go to etsy.com and search the antique Persian rugs and see how they are priced. There are some good dealers associated with etsy, so you should get an idea on pricing.

That said, IMO, the price of your rug, IF it fit the description on the tag, $3,000.00 would be fair. However, it is not as advertised, and I find it inexcusable that the vendor misled you with the rug's description. "Very Good" condition it isn't.

It is beautiful and I can see why you love it.

For a rug of that style, age, and condition, I think $3,000 is very fair.

You could not find this quality in a new rug for that price.

It’s gorgeous, but all that matters is if you love it. :)

I agree with @elcieg. That said, my first thought was hmm - define ”very good condition” for a 100 year old rug. But, I would be as surprised as you are with the obvious worn areas based on description by seller. I bet it is repairable to a certain extent but wouldn’t be cheap & who would want to do that after spending $3k unless it were a priceless heirloom?

Ok it’s 130 year old Persian Kerman rug… I guess I should have asked for more details about it before I bought it but I have been looking online for weeks and this is the only one I’ve seen that really sung to me. It is gorgeous and the perfect colors for my room….I’m pretty angry (and disappointed) that the condition is worse than advertised.

I really appreciate the comments validating my concerns. And I agree — no way could I get something this nice new for 3k (and while DH would prefer, I LIKE the character of old rugs, especially because all of our other furnishings will be new).

So…I don’t want to return it! But I did call and express my dismay. The manager will call me back tomorrow to discuss potentially giving me a partial refund/discount. Not sure what would be fair…I’m thinking 15%?

That’s a great idea, good for you! Win/Win. Please update us!

You can take the route that you're paying for repairs (unspecified at this time) and another cleaning ($5.00 a sq foot), at least $5.000 a sq foot (96 x 5...$480.00) ...go at 20% off. Hey, worth a try, but vendor definitely must discount your purchase. Gently remind him, that reviews from satisfied buyers are valuable.

Unfortunately for us trusting souls, we expect we are dealing with truth.

Good luck!

While international pressure is heavier now, it's a pretty safe bet that rug was woven, at least partially, by children.

Ooh @judianna20 GREAT suggestion!!

The colors in that rug are beautiful. I much prefer used rugs so when I inevitably spill wine on it it won’t be the first stain! Also tell your husband you never want to be the oldest thing in a room! (The price is probably fair but I’m no rug expert, I have a rug in my guest room on loan from my SIL that she paid 10k for which I would never do!)

I can't say much about pricing because I don't understand the pricing on antique rugs and it seems to be all over the place.

But the hundred year old rugs I inherited have spots like that. And so do a couple of my 50 year old rugs that got heavy wear from being in hallways. Personally I don't think it detracts from the rugs.

I've bought a number of antique Persian rugs - some in shops, some on Ebay, and a few in Iran. (Unfortunately the latter is no longer an option for me!) It's really tough to assess quality in pictures, the sellers will try to get the highest possible price obviously and they have an information advantage. I've been stalking a bunch of Ebay carpet sellers for about 8 years and I don't think there's any way to trust or verify the information they provide (about age, vegetable dyes, style/origin, or knots per square inch which yours doesn't list.) So while I'd like to believe that I have a bunch of 100+ year old rugs in my house, realistically I appreciate that may not in fact be true! I've had some hits and some misses and my general theory is that if you can live with the price and you're happy with the rug, it's a win.

But as someone who generally has a lower budget, I believe $3k for a carpet in that condition is high. I spend a lot of time scouring for good deals, and I've gotten large carpets in much better condition for 1/4 of that price, although arguably more "common" in terms of colors and patterns. I don't know what the appropriate discount would be, but the information on the rug says "evenly low pile" and at least from your last picture, that does not appear to be the case.

I bought a semi antique Persian rug from rugsource.com for an amazing price ($650 for 7’ x 10’) that had a few bleeds and color loss. I know some with flip out but, I bought fabric paint in ivory and blue and carefully touched up those flawed areas. Only I know where they are :). If you love the rug (and the colors are so unique), keep it. Once you have furniture placed and you finish decorating the room, no one will notice what you’re seeing. You cannot expect perfection after 100 years. I’ve purchased three Persian rugs (one new made in Pakistan) from rugsource and find their descriptions and photos very accurate.

I bought a beautiful Bokhara rug at a Miami auction for $2,000.00. Sold it 20 years later for three hundred dollars.

Timi, intriguing idea … I’ve never used fabric paint, does it hold up well on a rug? I have a rug (not valuable) I might try it on, thanks for sharing.

Someone told me that even rug places will touch up old rugs with colored markers.

Interesting, Pal, thanks.

I have a rug one of our cats loves to use as a scratching post, even though a real scratching post is sitting right on the rug.

I’m still negotiating but wanted to post a quick update…they initially offered me a $300 refund but when I countered that I wanted at least 15% they proposed 10% ($317) plus 5% in store credit.

I am waiting to hear back on my last request of the full 15% refund.

I don’t like that they are negotiating via email through an employee.

Assuming I keep the rug, here is my furniture so far. I’m looking for an octogonal cocktail ottoman with a shelf & thin legs (metal??). Leather maybe? Velvet? Advice welcome!

Furniture

@Sara Mir nothing to offer on your search for cocktail ottoman but that’s a gorgeous couch & wow - perfect colors in that rug for that couch! Great that rug seller is negotiating with you & thanks for update! Perhaps their 10% offer is standard. 5% more shouldn’t hurt them. The credit is only helpful if you plan to purchase another rug.

Ditto what KW said! I really like your furniture.

Ok updating this thread after a long saga with the vendor. Do not like RugSource, never do business w them again.

Once we put the rug in the room it was intended for it just looked too yellowed and dirty and worn. The fact that it was sold and mailed so dirty and it was described as having been cleaned….grrr

So we ended up with a new rug, a lot lower quality but good enough (soft! Wool, hand knotted) for our living room. Here is the room in its current and typical state of disarray (3 kids live here!) All the furniture is now in….what do you think?

The cocktail ottoman is not the color I had hoped. Thinking about having it reupholstered with some fun velvet pattern. Or a tweed? Or?????

That’s a beautiful rug!

The rug is really good with the furniture colors. Ottoman is a great size & style too. I agree the bright white isn’t quite perfect but there is white in rug. If it were ivory - a subdued white, that might be perfect. Also looking at pale gold of toss pillow on swivels, hmm. Maybe even light camel or khaki - that’s in the rug too. Sounds like the other rug issue wasn’t satisfactorily resolved. I’m looking at sites for some replacement small rugs & had to double check RugSource wasn’t a site I was viewing!

Did you pay by credit card? I would contact them and claim misrepresentation. Ask them to negotiate with the seller or have them stop payment and ship the rug back. In store credit is BS. Does the seller or rugsource have a warranty or satisfaction guarantee?