Some of you may already realize that you can find amazing rug deals on ebay, but I had no idea until just last week. Rugs are one of those things that many of us need/want, but it never ceases to amaze me just how expensive they are. Well, seeing as how I’ve been looking for a rug for my guest room and hadn’t found anything that I liked that was in my price range at the normal retail haunts (my price range being…as little as possible…on a rug as nice as possible), I decided to start looking outside the normal retail arena. I started keeping my eyes peeled at antique & thrift stores, craigslist and discount places, however nothing was coming up that was both really nice and bargain priced. So, as a last resort I decided to look on ebay… and I don’t know why it never ocurred to me before. After figuring out the best way to weed out the crap, I was able to discover some really beautiful rugs there. Just to prove that I’m not talking crazy, here’s a picture of the 8×10 wool Nepali rug that just arrived for the guest room.
I have to say that I absolutely LOVE it! N and I were more than pleasantly surprised at how nice it is in person. The wool is super soft, and oh did I mention that it came with FREE SHIPPING! Anyways…I’m gushing. I love it so much.
At any rate, if you’re looking for a great rug too…definitely give ebay a try. Although here are a few helpful tips that I found useful. 1) Hit up some rug stores first to see what styles and/or countries you might be most interested in, for example I knew that I was most interested in rugs from Iran or Nepal because I liked the way they felt and I liked many of their patterns. 2) Start with a fairly generic search like “Wool Rug Iran” and then whittle down from there in the filters on the sidebar. It will help cull down the mess that you don’t want. 3) Stick to your guns on price. If you only want to spend $150 or less on an 8×10 Persian rug, don’t worry…there will be quite a few that come along!
I did a little more digging tonight to show some of my other ebay finds. Here they are:
As of the time of my posting, this 7×8 rug is only at $9.50 and has Free Shipping to boot! Here’s the LINK.
This wool 9×12 rug is more expensive at $275, but is still a great price for that size! Here’s the LINK.
Okay, so it’s a 5×8 Pottery Barn rug…but I sometimes still kick myself that I never bought it when they were carrying it because I love the Moorish pattern so much. Anyways, it’s HERE for $299 Buy-It-Now with Free Shipping.
This 4×7 is at $235 with Free Shipping, but they’ll take a lower offer! Here’s the LINK.
Anyways…these are just a couple that caught my eye. As you can see, I have a thing for geometric patterned rugs. Good luck rug shopping! P.S. If you have great pics of your FABULOUS bargain rugs (and how you used them in your home), I’d love to see them! Email me at houseobsession [at] gmail.com
11 comments
chellie_d says:
Apr 1, 2009
We are officially sharing a brain on this one. I too am on the rug hunt – but I’m in Australia so the eBay pickings are not quite the same. Thanks so much for sharing your search criteria – I’ll be having a go at that myself shortly! And well done on your selection – it really is a beauty.
Leah says:
Apr 2, 2009
We got every rug in our house on eBay. Some are vintage caucasian rugs, others are new rugs from West Elm, Pottery Barn, etc. — all were great bargains and excellent quality. Yay for eBay!
houseobsession says:
Apr 2, 2009
I saw quite a few Caucasian rugs that I liked, but the person selling them didn’t provide images that were quite clear enough for me to see the nap of them. Do you have any good closeups of yours to send? I’m still looking for hallway runners, and those were by far the favorite!
Rugs says:
Apr 2, 2009
There are some great options on eBay in regards to rugs. Definitely some very good deals, but there are also some to watch out for. Really awesome it worked out for you!
James says:
Apr 2, 2009
Oh those rugs look great I like the first one (blue) ..
Aleksandra Podbereski says:
Apr 2, 2009
Fabulous tip! Thank you! (We have a basement that we’re attempting to “wall-to-wall-carpet” with rugs.)
amanda says:
Apr 2, 2009
Wow! I absolutely love your blue and white rug! Maybe I’ve been living under a rock, but I’ve never seen anything like it – on one hand I love the asian rugs, but they always seem too BUSY. This is a perfect balance! Do you know what the general style is called?
houseobsession says:
Apr 2, 2009
Amanda, I don’t know the name of the style exactly. It reminds me of the Bokhara rug designs because it’s got a central geometric pattern with a banded geometric along the edges. I know that the pattern features lotus & tulip patterns, but other than that I’ve not run across many that look like this either. Originally while at a rug store, I’d seen a lot of two-tone rugs from Iran that I really liked, which is why I began my search for “Wool Rug Iran.” I branched out and began to search for “Geometric Wool Rug” etc. I definitely agree the search on ebay (or any of the places like overstock) can be frustrating, but carry-on you’ll find something great!
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