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NOT RECOMMENDED Review of Rugknots
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Based on Rugknots.com mainly positive reviews & how nicely their rugs were displayed & marketed on their site, I decided to purchase (3) custom, hand-knotted rugs from Rugknots in September 2018. (I initially hesitated to buy this type of custom, hand-knotted rug online vs going in person to see & purchase these types of rugs from a local, reputable rug-seller). As they say, “Buyer Beware!”
I received my (3) rugs near the end of Sept 2018 - my Contractor was with me when we opened & unpacked all (3) rugs. As soon as we laid each rug out, we immediately saw that each rug was NOT as they were described or displayed on Rugknots website - each rug had varying degrees of damages & defects. I was VERY upset & shocked when I saw I’d been shipped damaged rugs, & immediately contacted the sales person who’d sold them to me. He apologized, & instructed me to send him photos of the damaged & defective areas on each of the rugs. Keep in mind it’s next-to-impossible to effectively capture these damages & defects on a highly detailed & patterned custom rug, as each of these rugs had looked “perfect” in their photos on Rugknots website - you need to be up close & view these types of rugs in person, to properly see any damages or defects - most photos will not show up marks, spots & defects on these types of detailed custom rugs. My contractor sent him approx 12 photos, but it was next-to-impossible to clearly see in the pics, the various damages & defects we could easily see when we were standing right over them & viewing them up close.( Pls Note: I never would have purchased ANY of my (3) rugs IF I’d been able to go first & see them up close). I debated at one pt keeping the rugs, despite their defects, as they looked OK from afar - also, each of these rugs were extremely heavy & bulky, & would be very difficult & challenging to re-package & ship back to Rugknots. I ended up shipping the rugs back, as I simply couldn’t accept damaged merchandise, that I’d paid thousands of dollars for, through no fault or responsibility of my own. I later found out that Rugknots’ rug Partner, Arsh’s Fine Rugs, had both stored & shipped me all my rugs; Arsh’s Rugs is located in a completely different warehouse location from Rugknots. It turned out that none of Rugknots’ employees I worked with (including the sales person who sold me the rugs) had never seen or viewed up close any of my (3) rugs; they only had the same website photos as I had, to see my rugs, & all my rugs looked “perfect” on their website photos. After receiving my damaged rugs, the main owner of Arsh’s Rugs, completely denied ever selling & shipping me damaged or defective merchandise. He falsely claimed that all the rugs they’d shipped me were thoroughly inspected, & were shipped out in “excellent” condition. This same owner took absolutely NO responsibility or blame for the situation, & blamed me for damaging the rugs they’d shipped me, falsely claiming that the rugs they’d shipped me looked completely different from the rugs I shipped back to them, & that I’d done all the damages to them, while I had them in my possession. To make matters worse, Rugknots also completely believed & supported their Partner, Arsh’s Rugs, over myself, the buyer, & never apologized to me, or attempted to make things “right” for me. The other problematic issue with buying rugs from Rugknots OR Arsh’s Fine Rugs, is their very limited return & refund policy. The onus is totally on the buyer, & not on them, the seller - they state that ALL rugs bought from them need to be returned in the "very same unused condition" they’d be shipped in, & b/c my rugs were all damaged when I got them, it was their word against mine from Day 1. They ended up refunding me only about 1/2 of what I’d originally paid for the rugs, saying that I’d damaged the rugs, & I ended up taking a total loss of over $4,000! Unfortunately, by this time, it was too late for me to have my credit card company issue a Chargeback to Rugknots, to enable me to get back my full refund. At this pt, I immediately contacted the BBB, the Attorney General & the FTC, & issued formal complaints against both Rugknots & Rugknots’ Partner, Arsh’s Rugs. I also wrote NOT recommended reviews to Google, Yelp, SiteJabbers, Facebook & now, Trustlink.
What ever happened to businesses believing & supporting ME, the buyer/customer & making sure that
said business did everything they could to make sure I was satisfied with the final outcome? I never received any apologies from anyone in Management, nor did they ever attempt to call & speak with me about what transpired. This is the 1st time I have ever lost money in an online purchase, & hopefully, will be the last.
What I Learned from this Horrific Experience: Pls do NOT shop for any type of custom or hand-knotted rug online, no matter how wonderful their rugs look in photos, or how low their prices seem, or how many positive reviews they show. Any damages or defects on these types of rugs do NOT show up in photos - you simply need to go in person & shop from a local, reputable rug seller, & go view these types of rugs up close, to properly really “see” & feel these rugs properly. The prices will likely be higher than online prices, but my online rug purchases ended up costing me over $4,000, & caused me a great deal of stress & aggravation. Also, keep in mind that IF you do decide to still shop online for a rug, & you run into problems like I did, shipping rugs back, even manufactured ones, are no simple or easy task. I apologize for writing such a long review, but it’s important to me to make sure that potential buyers are well-informed & have all the facts before they buy vs being disappointed afterwards.
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