I have come across some very nice items on Ebay, Stones included.
The prices are ok, but I don't know a thing about taxes, shipping and so on.
How many on this board are familiar with buying on Ebay and how does it work?

It will depend on your country's policy of taxes and fees. I've bought some records on eBay for US$ 50,00 (shipping included) and I had to paid other US$ 50,00 for the taxes and fees when the record arrived here in Brazil.

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Cristiano Radtke
I've bought some records on eBay for US $50.00 (shipping included) and I had to paid other US $50.00 for the taxes and fees when the record arrived here in Brazil.

US $50.00 in "fees" on a US $50.00 purchase? Damn!

I order stuff via eBay all the time and have never paid a nickel for purchases that have come to me from other countries (I live in the USA). I have gotten items from many (MANY) different countries, too: Italy, the UK, France, Japan, Sweden, Germany, Australia, Turkey, etc.

Had taxes to paid with package from amazon.ca to France. Grrr...
I purchased the Grrr superdeluxe and the 5 lps boxset. It was a bargain at this time on Amazon.ca. With the tax, adios bargain, I've paid the same bill as other Amazon. Grrr again.

I think in the UK it's £17 tax on purchases over £50.....(it might have gone up since I last got caught by that)

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MILKYWAY

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Cristiano Radtke
I've bought some records on eBay for US $50.00 (shipping included) and I had to paid other US $50.00 for the taxes and fees when the record arrived here in Brazil.

US $50.00 in "fees" on a US $50.00 purchase? Damn!

I order stuff via eBay all the time and have never paid a nickel for purchases that have come to me from other countries (I live in the USA). I have gotten items from many (MANY) different countries, too: Italy, the UK, France, Japan, Sweden, Germany, Australia, Turkey, etc.

Yep, that was hard, and like connection91 posted above, "it was a bargain. With the tax, adios bargain".

BTW, I've read today this article about a massive cyberattack on eBay, and it would be safer for everybody to change their passwords on eBay.

[gizmodo.com]

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Blueranger
I have come across some very nice items on Ebay, Stones included.
The prices are ok, but I don't know a thing about taxes, shipping and so on.
How many on this board are familiar with buying on Ebay and how does it work?

Well, ebay is a kind of mixed bag. After awhile you'll get used to it. Sometime you can get a bargain. Sometime 'WOOOOOW I WAAANT IIIIITTTT' impulse will make you lose money.

Taxes strongly depend on your country and if the item comes from abroad. Usually, a single CD or LP pass borders without problem. Taxation within the US is a different story I am not familiar with. Guess this depends on the local laws in the particular US State.

Payment - paypal is always a better choice. But certain guys from Germany will ask for bank transfer. In many cases that is funny. Once I bought a CD for 9 Euros including S&H but international bank transfer to Germany caused some 40+ Euros charges. Fortunately we were able to sort things out with the seller.

Shipment is also problem for certain territories. I know sellers do not want to ship to Italy, Russia or South America using regular post, only registered. And current overseas USPS rates make purchases from the US senseless. The item could cost a penny but S&H to Europe will be $12-$15 or more if the guy will claim registered only.

Sure there are a lot of other issues like wrong or incorrect description, overestimated shape/state of LP or CD, stock photos but not images of an actual item used etc. For example, big commercial sellers like estocks provide info based on EAN or barcode. In most cases there is no actual image of an item at all. In the case of old London CDs of the Rolling Stones you can not be sure what particular edition you will get. It could be anything from first German pressing to late French reissue - those editions share the same barcode. You have to work closely with the sellers if you are targeting a particular disc or edition. But this does not work with commercial sellers like estocks or recordsale.de, only with individuals. Sooner or later you will figure out names of reliable sellers.

Bidding tricks are different story. You have to learn yourself. These days a lot of guys are using ebay auction snipers - an application that allow you to bid last second remotely. That is a very useful tool but kind of nasty with respect to other bidders who work old fashion way.