hinkitetsu

Katana is okay too Lex, budget is mostly constrained by what I believe I can talk my way out of with my wife, so wish me luck on that :D As I said TH would be ideal but I could settle for H or Kicho. @Rawa, imports from outside EU are taxed 10%, between member states I think it does not apply. Indeed buyers here are taxed too through ITP, which varies depending on the region. This applies even to ebay scraps, but it's only enforced on named items such as houses and vehicles.

I think once the item is within EU only sellers are taxed. Honestly I've considered a drive to look at it, pick it up if not too far away. If source is outside EU, tariffs may vary. I did get an item through surface postal service from Japan in the past for close to nothing, I may have gotten lucky though. I'm ready to compromise on some of the requirements as I agree ticking all the boxes would blew the budget.

Fellow nihonto enthusiasts, after a long search in online auctions and Japanese websites I reach out to you because there always seems to be something (pictures, paper authenticity, seller reputation, price...) that looks off-putting to me. Hopefully I´m not being unreasonable and we can close a deal here. I´m looking at a wide range of options, I want a blade that´s in good condition, papered (ideally TH), with koshirae (nice looking tsuba) and fittings (ideally gold inlayed). I have no specific constraints regarding the school/smith, but I do tend to favor Midare over Suguha (could settle for both). For a late Muromachi katana, I expect it to be signed and dated. If it's Kamakura-Nanboku I also consider suriage and mumei pieces. Buying from EU, budget is up to 4K€ (shipping, taxes, customs included).