Okay, so we got this weird phone call the other day.
It was a woman from Yuksel Carpets, which is the outfit that sold us our carpet in Turkey.
Interesting followup, I thought.
Anyway, according to the lady, it seems that Yuksel is in a jam. They were selling carpets at the big January carpet show in Atlanta, and a shipment of carpets got stuck in customs and never made it to the show. It would cost a lot to send them back, so they started calling everyone in the States who had bought a carpet from them to see if maybe they’d like another one, or two, or three. The upshot is this: a large truck full of Turkish carpets and kilims is going to turn up our driveway this Saturday at 2pm. Yes, our driveway, here in our humble rural paradise. They will be offering hundreds of high-quality carpets and kilims for knock-down prices. (And by “high-quality carpets,” we mean hand-knotted wool-pile carpets with 200,000 double-knots per square meter, dyed with natural dyes and woven in traditional patterns. Except of course for the ones made of pure silk)
I’m inviting friends. We’re not getting paid for this, though I may try to cadge a commission.
It occurred to us that this might be a scam. We have discovered that there really is a big carpet show in Atlanta every January, and that googling “Turkish carpet scam” provides plenty of links to scams going on in Turkey, but none here. I have emailed Yuksel to see if this is genuine, and got no reply so far, but I think it’s legit. Whoever got our address and phone number from Yuksel could also have got our credit card number, so they wouldn’t have to drive a truck into our driveway to steal from us.
If I had the tech handy, I’d broadcast the whole thing live, so that you could see and maybe buy a carpet or two.
Ok, so how about I send you a check…nope, already did that…ummm, tell you I want a green one?…give you my credit card number?
I’m sort of drooling here. I’ll be in Tucson on Sat, but that’s not quite close enough.
Does the truck bring its own apple tea, or is that your responsibility as host?
Maybe those Corn Maidens will get a workout.
Do they magically transform into vengeful metal Furies that smite the criminals? (complete with a soundtrack that has “Indian-sounding” chanting, drums, and rattles.)
For the Vengeful Metal Fury gates, they charge extra.
The Turkish lady said they would bring their own apple tea. They should actually bring raki, it might lead to more spirited bidding.
As an internet-savvy american, I would tend to simply say “thanks but no thanks” to any surprise convenient offers like this. I prefer that the commercial arrangement between buyer and seller always remain strictly on a by-need basis. What’s the utility of buying carpets off the back of a truck? If you needed more, you would have bought them at the show, wouldn’t you? So is the utility a chance to get big savings on choice goods? Greed, in other words?
I never buy anything on impulse, or because I can get “BIG, BIG SAVINGS!” I buy because I need it, when I need it, and as much as I need only. Commerce terminated afterwards.
It’s a scam protection device. And you have to admit, scams are the far more likely explanation when someone offers you a chance to make BIG SAVINGS ON PRODUCTS OFF THE BACK OF OUR TRUCK!!! It’s also possible, even likely, that it’s stolen goods.
Be wary.
so how did you make out? I received a call from a Turk I met in istanbul. He arrived in Boston (where I live) with a shipment of carpets and want to stop by my house and show me some. very similar.
My advice is not to actually invite him over unless you’re ready to buy a carpet.
But otherwise the private show was great! See:
https://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=20382025&postID=4814943414530035246
I have traveled to Turkey for many years to buy only true antique carpets for my business. I get calls from these sleaze-balls all the time. It’s a total scam. Here’s how it happens: In Istanbul, all the shippers (UPS, DHL, FedEx, TNT, etc.) have greedy employees who sell their “confidential” shipping information to these sleazy, sneaky carpet idiots, who then call you with a story that you once bought a carpet from them (you probably never did – sometimes they are posing as the dealer whom you actually met in Turkey). They will tell you that they be in your area, and that they want to visit you to show you their carpets. It’s B.S.
After years of politely asking these various idiots to stop calling me, I have given up. When they ask for my address, I now simply give them the address of my local Police Station, and make an appointment. When they have asked me what my favorite color is, I tell them “blue.”
When they call me at the appointed time to say that they cannot find my home, and to say that they are outside the Police Station, I tell them that they are, indeed, at the correct location because the police deal with scammers all the time, and the police are aware that they are outside.
Of course, I have told the police about this technique. I keep track of the names and phone numbers on my caller ID, the people who have called me (“Mehmet my personal rug man” or “Mr. Mehmet’s assistant, or brother”)and the police now watch them come and go.
Maybe the word will eventually get back to Istanbul.
These idiots will tell you anything to sell you a rug, just like they try to do in Istanbul.
Don’t fall for it folks!
I have traveled to Turkey for many years to buy only true antique carpets for my business. I get calls from these sleaze-balls all the time. It’s a total scam. Here’s how it happens: In Istanbul, all the shippers (UPS, DHL, FedEx, TNT, etc.) have greedy employees who sell their “confidential” shipping information to these sleazy, sneaky carpet idiots, who then call you with a story that you once bought a carpet from them (you probably never did – sometimes they are posing as the dealer whom you actually met in Turkey). They will tell you that they be in your area, and that they want to visit you to show you their carpets. It’s B.S.
After years of politely asking these various idiots to stop calling me, I have given up. When they ask for my address, I now simply give them the address of my local Police Station, and make an appointment. When they have asked me what my favorite color is, I tell them “blue.”
When they call me at the appointed time to say that they cannot find my home, and to say that they are outside the Police Station, I tell them that they are, indeed, at the correct location because the police deal with scammers all the time, and the police are aware that they are outside.
Of course, I have told the police about this technique. I keep track of the names and phone numbers on my caller ID, the people who have called me (“Mehmet my personal rug man” or “Mr. Mehmet’s assistant, or brother”)and the police now watch them come and go.
Maybe the word will eventually get back to Istanbul.
These idiots will tell you anything to sell you a rug, just like they try to do in Istanbul.
Don’t fall for it folks!
They are calling me all the time to sell me those _____ turkish rip-off rugs. Went to isntabul, rug,rug,rug,rug,rug, apple tea, rug,, reminded me of time scam. geeez, that's all they do, apple tea, where are you from , scum central they pander to USA dolts.
Went on one of those "cruises"; then the tour "guide" had us stop and visit a demonstration on "rugs". not a "demo/education"– a clever late-night infomericial.
All of a sudden the gringo apple tea starts flowing, the $3.00 coke can starts going, and all these slick suited salesmen come out with the high pressure sales pitch; flipping them over in sync, sweet talking us, trying to lure us into a 1K rug?!!? These people, many, are shysters stay away. they make money off of the ignorant and naive american tourists who are not knowlegable about the numerous turkish scams/conjobs.
I just had the same thing happen to me. I was planning on inviting some friends over. Can you tell me if this was legitimate, and which rug dealership you dealt with in Istanbul?
The outfit I dealt with in Turkey was Yuksel. The folks here in the States were Anatolian Treasures.
Anatolian Treasures were fine. As the other comments here will show, not all these traveling carpet shows are what they claim to be.
For any information on carpet scammers visit our website. As a debt collection company we are building a large case –> http://www.dat-consultancy.com/index.php/articles-a-general-info/70-debt-collection-in-turkey/173-theturkishcarpetfraudtherugrat.html
For more information on Turkish Carpet scams visit our website (www.dat-consultancy.com). As a debt collection company we are building a case against the scammers.
http://www.dat-consultancy.com/index.php/articles-a-general-info/70-debt-collection-in-turkey/173-theturkishcarpetfraudtherugrat.html
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