A former neighbor revived his uncles rug restoration/cleaning business in NY. I choked when he showed me a pile of rugs where each would fetch as much as a CGT. His customer rolodex read like the who's who of the rich and famous. For example he became good friends with the late Doris Duke. It's quite an intimidating, expensive and competitive business to be part of. Like anything else the more you know the better off you are when it comes to investing.
I don't have the interest to get into rugs but when looking I wanted a piece that was well made and a good value. Rewind 2 years, I was searching for an 18-20 foot hallway runner for many months. I visited many shops and prices ranged from $2k to $5k. I really didn't care for anything I saw.
I had been scanning Ebay regularly and found an importer/retailer in NYC that had what appeared to be very nice looking, quality pieces for very little $$. I decided to take a chance and I went for an 18' wool runner @ $399. Yep, $399. If I didn't like I'd find somewhere else in the house to use.
All I can say is that we recieve more compliments on this rug and it is very well made. Investment material? No, but a beautiful piece that I'll likely have for many years to come.
Here's their site
www.rug5.com Email:
BestofEbay@aol.com
Ebay Store:
http://stores.ebay.com/BestRugPlace_W0QQssPageNameZVIStoreHeaderLinksQQtZ km?
Good Luck!