A rug like this is difficult to say. The thing to understand is there are many things involved with a "retail price." Before reading what is here written below, I think the most important thing to mention that
a retail price should a function of the purchasing price. There are accepted wholesale prices in the business within reputable rug dealers.
For whatever numerous reasons, there are outliers like these auction rugs on eBay. These rugs could be from black market trades which had been transported out of rug producing countries undocumented. They may have been a part of a larger shipment of rugs which had been water damaged, or even rugs from an insurance claim of some sort. Also, there might be production problems with such a type of rug.
Most importantly, I can almost guarantee this rug is not vegetable dye. When a seller makes the claim that cannot be substantiated or is probably not true, that should raise suspicion.
The other thing is they don't show the entire rug which could mean a lopsided design, although half shots seem to be typical for this seller. Although they say it's a hand knotted rug and in perfect condition with no signs of wear,
this doesn't mean the rug has even sheering or has good quality wool. You also have to consider the source. Often these eBay prices can be considered the retail price, because many of these goods would not be acceptable from the standpoint of a formal Oriental Rug "retail showroom". Many of these goods are specifically made for and marketed towards the nominal goods crowd on venues such as eBay because it's so often that there's little problems which arise within the first months window of being able to return a rug or leave feedback. While the rugs may hold up great for several months, if you are the rug store on the corner of your local town, you can be sure customers would be knocking on your door 3 months later questioning the quality. Also these rugs which have been markered and painted almost never will be seen in a showroom setting. It's completely possible to buy a NR rug off ebay and sell it for twice what you paid, but something needs to facilitate the sale in addition to the product itself. This is where you offer the service, the story and the romance and any other notable information on the rugs which the eBay sellers originally stripped out to give you a "lower price." In all honesty, if I ever purchased a rug off eBay, even if it were the best deal I don't think I could feel comfortable selling it for 2 fold what I purchased it. There's something to be said about an established repore with an importer or exporter. There's more accountability, more reliability and you know where the goods are coming from. Almost anyone can click buy it now or bid on eBay, you know what I mean? But there's a reason these goods are accessible at such a "bargain." These eBay goods, you never know where they're coming from: The colors might not even be Mordant. There's little to no accountability when dealing with these larger liquidators online. While you may be able to get a good deal every so often, more often than not you won't be getting the product you should for the money, although it is possible.
Just to give you a story of a good friend of mine: I know one long time importer who had a problem with one of his people in India when he received a shipment of rugs. The importer in America realized after a customer had purchased and used the rug in home for about 6 weeks that the rug had too hard of a wash which weakened the wool pile, and the whole shipment was declared defective. The Indian exporter was informed, and said to the importer he would buy the goods back at the price he paid in the interest of maintaining future business. He had no idea that the rugs were defective until after hearing back from the importer! The moral of the story was that the rugs were then purchased back by the weaver, and then sold off to liquidation companies for "a song." These were junk rugs that no one should really pay more than $5 a foot for, but that's what they would sell for on eBay just going by the look... But who could consciously resell this carpet with this information? These rugs often show up on NR eBay and are seconds goods or have imperfections or quality shortcomings that detract from the utility. What happens with that after it arrives at you door is your business, but it's important to know these painted rugs with wear, and some of these commercial looking rugs are a risky purchase. If you want to make the purchase, it's definitely worth a try. It's best to purchase rugs from known importers who place emphasis on the customer service - try testing them. Buy one rug for a fair amount, and see what they say if you complain about a pull in it or something petty. See how they handle it: The best way to judge a company is by how they treat you
after you have received an item.
On the other hand, this could just be a collection of carpets which had been purchased from someone who has gone bankrupt and purchased at a very low price. The most important thing if you want to have eBay be a source for purchases is to consider the purchase price. There are some stores you know you're paying close to retail. In these cases, you shouldn't mark up the item very much.
In the case of this rug, I would research the past sale prices of comparable rugs. if you buy it it for something around $500 shipped to your door, I wouldn't flip it for more than $1000, and this I would guess could be considered a fair retail price.
Take a look at this one which is similar, it didn't even sell for $200