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ORIENTAL RUG ZINE
BUYING IN THE BAZAAR (page 2.)
Emmett Eiland
The most important I learned from an incident in Afghanistan in 1971. My
brother and I had come to Afghanistan looking for rugs, though advised by everyone that no rugs of any account were available there. Stubbornly we pressed on and, arriving in downtown Kabul, were absolutely astonished to
find wonderful rugs and tribal trappings spilling out of rug stores onto the dirt sidewalks and into the streets. Thousands and thousands of rugs. Wonderful things! Among the most interesting to us were a handful of old U-shaped
pieces that were made to surround the doors of Turkmen tents.
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When the author made his first trip to Afghanistan in 1971, rug stores like this one in Kabul were
virtually overflowing with rugs.
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Almost never seen elsewhere in the world, in Kabul we unearthed 6 or 8 pieces in just a day or two. Merchants were asking about $250 each for them, but we bargained vigorously, eventually
buying them all for about $90 each. We had allowed only three days in Kabul and soon all the merchants knew we were leaving the next morning. That evening a dealer showed up at our hotel with one more of the
door-surrounds, willing to sell it for $80. It occurred to us that we may have paid too much for the others. Anyhow, we had enough of those pieces and told him we had already spent too much money and didn’t want to
buy others. As we talked, we began to see other rug dealers making their way up the hill toward us, all with door-surrounds over their shoulders. When they heard that we were no longer interested, the price dropped to $75. We still
weren’t interested. $60. $50. Finally, with mixed feelings, at $40 we bought another 4 or 5 pieces.
From this experience has sprung my last-day approach to rug buying. The trick is to arrive in town with a last day mind set. Last day in town, not much
money, not interested Let it be known among rug dealers that you spent thousands of dollars on rugs on your last stop, (and in fact you may have to spend a little money locally to show that you really are a buyer), but now
you’re tired of buying rugs. Yet somehow you let it be known that, if the price were right, you might be persuaded to drop some money. Anyway, you are leaving tomorrow morning and don’t really want to buy rugs at all. It is
exceedingly difficult to put on this attitude and stifle your natural excitement, but nothing worthwhile comes easy. Just bare down. You will be rewarded.
Finally, you must make dealers bring rugs to you. Suggest they meet you in the parking lot of your hotel. Get them off their own turf where they are
masters. If they come to you, they will not leave until they have sold you something.
One last thing you should know. Devout Muslims often carry what I have heard called worry beads, and as they go about their business, they work the
strung beads back and forth as they walk and talk. It is rumored that a kafir Westerner has occasionally been seen carrying worry beads when shopping for
rugs in, let’s say, the Istanbul bazaar. Fingering beads as he walks among the rug stores, he is not swooped on by bazaar merchants and is treated with
respect and even sold rugs at fair prices. But really, who would stoop so low merely to get a good price on an oriental rug?
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