You’ve started your rug-buying adventure, and you’re already in trouble. There are many rugs, and you don’t know what you want. The good news is that we’re here to help! We’ve scoured the country for the top 4 Australian rug stores, giving you a list of the best places to buy a rug. We’ve got you covered, from antique Persian carpets to contemporary Italian designs. These top rug stores will meet all your requirements if you’re looking for quality rugs.
How do you know if your rug store is getting the best value for money when buying rugs online?
Whether you’re looking for cheap or luxury rugs, here’s where to find the best quality Aussie rugs at the best prices. We’ve made it easy to shop online at the top Australian rug stores by listing the best places to buy rugs online.
Bright Cloud Living
Bright Cloud Living is a recent player in the furniture and homeware market. Bright Cloud Living is a natural diversification for its parent company; Bright Intellect Pty Ltd. Bright Intellect Pty Ltd acquired a rundown newsagency, Marketfair Newsagency, in 2010. Marketfair Newsagency became the go-to place for the residents of Campbelltown. These customers can find high-quality, beautiful gifts and home decors at Marketfair Newsagency.
Bright Intellect Pty Ltd expanded into home furniture in early 2021.
So Bright Cloud Living offers high-quality furniture and home decor. You can get Aussie rugs from Bright Cloud Living.
Customer Service: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Bright Cloud Living responds to customer queries within 24 hours. Bright Cloud Living works with suppliers and freight companies to resolve issues quickly.
Product Quality: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars
Bright Cloud Living stocks the same items as Zanui. So, you can be sure the quality of the products is of a high standard.
Shipping: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Bright Cloud Living offers free shipping to metropolitan locations for most items. You can get free delivery even if your rug is an extra-large size rug. Remote areas or large bulk items attract extra charges.
Returns & Refund: 3.5 out of 5.0 stars
Bright Cloud Living has a 30-day return policy on some products. As usual, personal and hygiene items are not eligible for return. There is a 30% restocking fee.
Cheapest Rugs Online
Cheapest Rugs Online is a new player in the affordable Aussie rugs market. Starting in 2018, Cheapest Rugs Online caters for customers who want to buy cheap budget rugs.
Customer Service: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Cheapest Rugs Online has one of the best customer services in the cheap rugs market. They will reply within 24 hours of any queries. Of course, during busy periods like Christmas, it could take up to 7 days for a reply.
Product Quality: 3.5 out of 5.0 stars
Cheapest Rugs Online sells cheap rugs but not inferior in quality for the price range. Customer reviews agreed that the quality of their cheap rugs is the same as what describes on their website. Of course, there will always be some defective items. So, make sure your rugs do not have an unintended odour or discoloured patches. Yet, computer screens display colours not true to life. You may not get the same shade of colour on your screen.
Shipping: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Cheapest Rugs Online offer free delivery to all metropolitan except Darwin. So, if you are out in the country or regional areas, you will need to pay the freight base on weight, dimension and distance/location.
Cheapest Rugs Only uses reputable freight companies like Hunter Express, Couriers Please, Allied Express and Aramex. They have reliable drivers or freight on-forwarders. So, rest assured that you will get your order. The deliveries are via road-express services out of Sydney. So, if you are in Sydney, you can expect to receive your order within 2-4 days. Or, you can expect to receive your order in 7-14 days if you are from Perth or Darwin.
Returns & Refund: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars
Cheapest Rugs Online has a 30-day return policy. So, even if you change your mind, you can still get your refund. They charge a small restocking fee of 10% of the item’s value.
Zanui
Despite being new to the online world, Zanui has strong backing from its parent company Marlin Management Services 2 Pty Ltd.
Marlin Management Services 2 Pty Ltd has 23 companies in the corporate family with an estimated turnover of $300 million.
The corporate family has a total of 350 staff Australia-wide. So, you have peace of mind that the company will be around to help you for years to come.
Zanui sells the full range of furniture and home decor, including Aussie rugs.
Customer Service: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars
Zanui’s customer service is one of the top few best in the homeware industry. Zanui has plenty of great reviews on review sites and social media. Zanui quickly resolve issues when they are within Zanui’s control. For delivery issues, Zanui can only work within the framework of the freight companies. So, give Zanui a bit of time to resolve delivery issues.
Zanui’s order processing system is very efficient. So, cancellation of processed orders may not always be possible. Thus, make sure you check before you press that submit button.
Product Quality: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars
Most of the products have gone through rigorous quality checks. So, you can be sure that the products are of high quality. So, they will last for years, even after the warranty has expired. Keep in mind that this does not mean you don’t have to take care of the items. For example, one customer complained that a stool they bought broke after nine days of usage. It is a metal seat. The accompanying photograph shows evidence of misuse. Unfortunately, this does not cover by any warranties in Australia.
Some customers complain that the items ordered and delivered are not the same. Usually, the colour is the main issue. Your computer’s setting may display colours differently from reality. Thus, it is out of Zanui’s control. Regardless, it hurts customer reviews for Zanui.
Shipping: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Zanui’s order processing system is efficient; they can despatch your order within 24 hours.
The quick processing system could create issues when you want to cancel. The warehouse may have started the picking process; thus too late to cancel.
Zanui offers free shipping to metropolitan locations on small items. Remote areas or large bulk items attract extra charges. So, you don’t expect to get better than this.
Returns & Refund: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Zanui has a 30-day return policy on some products. As usual, personal and hygiene items are not eligible for return. Only 5% restocking fee, which is excellent.
Rugs Direct
Rugs Direct is a veteran in the Aussie rugs online market. Rugs Direct is still operating since August 2011, so they must have done something right. Most of their Aussie rugs are at the lower end in price and quality. So, you can find an everyday use rug for your home. But, you have limited choice for more luxurious high-end rugs at Rugs Direct.
Customer Service: 3.5 out of 5.0 stars
Most customers get a response to their queries and issues within 24 hours. But, there have been reports where customers don’t get any answers for weeks. Rugs Direct can improve a lot on responding to queries.
Product Quality: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
The quality of the rugs you get is appropriate to the money you pay for them. Rugs Direct get plenty of complaints about the rugs from their customers. Yet, the issue is not on Rugs Direct’s side. The real problem is customers’ expectation is too high for the amount of money they paid for the rugs. Also, buying rugs online is not the same as buying from a retail store where you can see and feel them.
Shipping: 3.5 out of 5.0 stars
You get free shipping to metropolitan areas for orders over $99.
The delivery schedule is the same as other retailers, 2 to 4 days for eastern seaboard deliveries. Yet, their website noted that some deliveries might take up to 8 weeks. We can not think of any reason for such a long delivery timeframe. We can only believe that the order could be coming from overseas, e.g. China.
Returns & Refund: 3.5 out of 5.0 stars
Rugs Direct has a 30-day return policy. So, even if you change your mind, you can still get your refund. They do charge a small restocking fee of $19 per item. That’s a small amount to pay for a change of mind.
Caution When Order From These Aussie Rugs Stores
Make sure you think before ordering from one of these stores below.
AU Rugs
AU Rugs is a US-based entity that ships worldwide. They don’t have any locations in Australia. So, don’t expect quick delivery of your order.
You do not have the same consumer protection if the entity is overseas. International shipping for return items will be pretty expensive.
Customer reviews on AU Rugs are not that great, with two main areas of complaint:
- Quality is not up to standard for the prices paid
- Delivery time is slow for the apparent reason that the rugs are from oversea.
AU Rugs is not Aussie rugs.
The Australian AU Rugs
The Australian AU Rugs use the same name as the (US) AU Rugs store. The Australian AU Rugs store is piggybacking on the web traffic of the (US) AU Rugs store. Most people searching for Aussie rugs can find the Australian AU Rugs from the Google search engine.
The Australian company may have an Intellectual Property case soon.
We cannot identify the business entity behind the Australian AU Rugs. They don’t have a physical location. You can only contact them via the contact form on their website.
This store doesn’t score well on our trustworthiness scale.
RUGSRUGSRUGS Australia
We cannot verify the legal entity behind RUGSRUGSRUGS. So, they score zero on our trustworthiness scale. The last update on their website was two years ago. There has been no update on their social media pages in the previous 12 months. So, order your Aussie rugs at your own risk.
Online Marketplaces
Online marketplaces are online stores where many sellers can advertise their products. Examples of online marketplaces are eBay, Amazon, Catch and OzSale.
They have standard advertising, selling, shipping, and returns procedures.
But, you will always get one or two sellers not doing the right thing.
Make sure you do your homework first before purchasing from these online marketplaces.
Methods Of Research
We use the following sites to research on company and business activities:
- Australia Business Register
- Australian Securities & Investments Commission
- Dun & Badstreet Business Directory
We use the following sites for research on customer reviews
We also use the individual store’s review pages. However, we put very low weight on the review on these pages.