Posted by Michael Wendorf on March 24, 1999 at 10:18:16:
In Reply to: Re: I Love a Bargain posted by Steve Price on March 24, 1999 at 09:53:01:
: Dear John,
: I believe that almost everyone falls into one of two categories: those who will tell you that they LOVE bargains, and liars.
: On the other hand, I suspect that most rug collections consist mostly of pieces acquired for reasons beyond that.
: Regards,
: Steve Price
Dear John and Steve:
What is a bargain? Of course, if something just falls into your lap you take it. But I think the focus on bargains becomes obsessive to some collectors and hinders them sometimes from adding something to their collection that should be there. I have also learned from painful personal experience that the old saying "that's a bargain and always will be one" has a lot of truth to it. The reason something may be a bargain may be because it is really not very good.
On the other hand, some things that seemed a stretch at the time come to rattle my soul every time I look at them and I am reminded how cheap really great rugs still are and that even someone of fairly ordinary means can have a few or several examples.
Regards, Michael