Hello all. I obtained four Qum rugs (three that are 1m x 1.5m, and one that is 1.5m x 2m), all with kpsi of around 500 or so (although there is clearly double knotting in some areas). I planned on holding onto them for a long term investment, but I am now in a dire financial situation that leaves me with no choice but to sell some or all of the rugs or soon go into bankruptcy. I did some research and discovered their origin and was very pleasantly surprised to find out how expensive they are, but they going rate on them seems to vary by as much as 400%. I believe the variance is almost entirely to do with aesthetic appeal, and pricing a rug based on non-technical specifications is something I'm just not qualified to do. I was considering selling them on eBay, but do give myself the best chance of making the most money, I need to know where to start the bid or place the BIN price. Although I am in Canada, the rugs sit with my father in California, and I've learned that there is currently an embargo which should push up the price a bit more than normal. I've also considered giving them over to Christie's for consignment. I have the automatic rug estimator prices and I could use that as the BIN price, but I have a feeling that the real world value might be quite a bit different than that. This is my hail Mary play to get out of debt and I absolutely must get the most out of them in quickest amount of time. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I need to know the following about each of the rugs so I can represent them accurately:
Origin: (One is signed Qum, and I assume all the others are from there as well)
Date range i which the rug was made: (I am not sure if I recall correctly, but I believe the Afghani dealer said they were made in the 80's)
Foundation: Cotton (confirm)
Pile: 100% Silk (confirm)
Translation of the signature panel:
Weaver or family:
Any significant cultural or historical information about the weaver or family:
Industry standardized description (i.e. colors and styles and motifs):
Anything specific that is likely to make this rug more valuable:
High estimate:
Current market value (i.e. on eBay):

It makes me sad that I have to part with such beautiful works of art, but it is what it is.

I have a lot of high res images located at http://www.inappropriateutensil.com/rugs

The rugs are nice, but not the top quality qum. They are silk pile on silk warp (not cotton as the afghani dealer said). 1980`s or early 1990`s. This quality is rather difficult to sell on ebay for a realistic value. If you want to sell fast, you will loose a lot of money. Selling rugs needs time. If you contact a few reputated dealers near the area the rugs are located you might have a good chance to sell them better than on ebay.

100$ per written appraisal made by a certified appraiser is more than fair.