Do you have any carpet left over from the original installation? If yes then perhaps the areas could be patched. I assume the new owners will be putting a bed in the same location so it will probably not be noticeable or have any foot traffic. Another idea is to patch it with the carpet from a closet and replace the closet with a another carpet of similar pile height.

You can probably find a good deal on a carpet at a box store. If you the padding was good quality it probably does not need to be replaced. Padding is about $3-4 per square yard. It is not a big savings in cost.

Your real estate agent probably is urging you to put in new carpet (I know ours have) on the theory that you'll get dinged for the stained carpet on an offer for the house.

But I would suggest that your buyers might have a preference other than white, and that maybe instead of replacing otherwise-nice carpet with some coarse-feeling cheap stuff from your local carpet place/box store, you leave it as it is.

That way your buyers can choose to put their bed where you had yours and enjoy nice carpet -- especially if it's the only place in the room the bed really fits -- or not. Or they can choose a color more suitable to their lifestyle than beige. Or choose some other material completely.

I'm going to guess those stains not the only mark on the house (after all, people lived there, even if they were careful). And I'd feel better as a buyer knowing that I could put in what I wanted without tossing a brand-new floor covering or having to live with it till it wore out.

I wouldn't replace it. Set aside a discount for replacing the carpet. The buyer may put in hardwood or some other floor covering.

I had thought about the closet carpet solution; that might be something to look into. Actually our agent doesn't want us to do anything, but the one consistent feedback we have gotten is that the house is pristine. I am devastated by this one flaw. Also most likely a new owner would not place the bed where I did. I had our bed, which amazingly was only a double size, but antique and a foot longer than normal, against the short wall. The other wall is sized perfectly for a king sized bed. We had a sofa against that wall. So the bottom line is the "stained hole" will show.

If the same carpet is in a closet you may be able to steal some from there to patch the larger room, then put something compatible in the closet.

Has anyone out there ever done a patch? How much should that cost? At what point would it not be a financially good tradeoff? For example, I will need at least four "holes" repaired and would then need to recarpet the closet which would be at least 12 square yards.