Rugs to Riches: An Insider's Guide to Buying Oriental Rugs, Revised & Updated Edition

I'm a beginner to oriental rugs and I find this read to be easy to follow and understand. I have two other books that arrived earlier but I find myself reading this more and putting the other two aside, those were just too detailed which will be good for a deeper dive later.

While I own a few rugs from a previous trip to the Middle East courtesy of Uncle Sam, I wanted to better educate myself to place myself into a better bargaining position with the local merchants. I believe this book is an excellent resource and explains a great deal about the history, workmanship, and variety of Oriental carpets, but it also includes tips on how to shop (including haggling), how to pick rugs based on your home, and cleaning and care recommendations. The only downside is the age of the commentary since the market has changed, at least from what I see, since this book was written. Nevertheless, it is a great introduction to the fascinating and beautiful world of Oriental rugs.

I wanted this book because I was passed down an oriental rug and wasn't sure what it was worth or how to appreciate why it was rumored worth that much. I would totally have this be my hobby now because this book was so interesting. If only I had more space to put rugs! This book told me everything I needed to know about Oriental Rugs and where my rug is from. I even understand the patterns now, what the colors mean, and how to maintain it. I estimated my rug's worth using the guide at the end of the book and without telling the expert my estimate, theirs was only about 20% off of mine! This book was really useful and I'll probably keep it as long as I keep the rug.

The book is informative and information is thorough. I picked this book because of the sales person where I bought my rug recommended it. Although this was a used book it looks very new. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get information about oriental rugs and information on the process of making the rugs, where it was made, how it is to be cleaned, and much more.

By far the best guide to oriental rugs, out of the 4 I have read. Very specific, practical, comprehensive information. The explanations are clear and spot-on. The section on bargaining is priceless. Even though it was published 30 years ago and the dollar numbers are outdated, that is unimportant compared to the value of this highly-qualified insider's knowledge. It is very nicely written, too.

It is a very nice handbook to take with you, if you are willing to buy oriental rugs

Interesting book. Chapter on "profit sharing" worth the price of entry. Tells you how to negotiate the price of a rug. I have never seen anyone else even approach this topic in this way. Rest of the book pretty basic but certainly worth the $4.25 it will cost you including shipping.

For someone who wants to learn how to purchase and recognize a high quality rug, this is a must for beginners. There are so many rugs out there that are outrageously priced yet there are characteristics from the book that you can learn to distinguish them from machine woven ones from China with wool imported from New Zealand.