It has to be something unusual hard to get or of a very high quality. Like beauty collectability is in the eye of the beholder. To some having every Roxette cd ever released in every format with every different cover from each country would form the basis of a collection - to others a good mix of music styles and genres forms a collection to offer music for each occassion. The key then is that you enjoy your CD collection - your cd's are not being collected in the hope that in 50 years time you can flog them off and make a huge profit with them!

Sometimes you can beat your local release date for a title if you import one from another country ie: British artists usually release in Britain first and US artists release in the US first. You may also pick up something unusual - there was a band that was huge in Ireland but almost unheard of in the rest of the world - now they are internationally renowned (The Corrs!) and one of there early Irish releases would be extremely rare now!

One point on importing Cd's check that you are buying an english language version of the CD - many bands remix a track or two in the language of the country of release - France is a good example as French radio stations are legally required to play a percentage of French language songs - hearing a popular song in another language is pretty cool - try the French radio station Vibration - they have a streaming broadcast and links to French shops if you can understand French!

Different countries often have slightly different releases - perhaps the cover design is changed or maybe there is a bonus track or two or a video clip, sometimes other types of memorabilia is included like T shirts, Posters, booklets, CD rom content, stickers cards and such. So when you want a CD you need to see which version you would enjoy the most. It also pays to shop around - our shopping links give suggestions as to the cheapest places on the NET to import CD's from you may have to pay your local import tax or duty before the import is delivered to you if it's declared value is over a certain amount.

Sometimes a run of covers is misprinted perhaps one colour of ink runs out or there is a spelling mistake or mis cut on the insert - these are not usually put on display in shops or even sold from online shops so if a limited run of misprint is your thing you need to ask the man in the shop, email the store concerned - try emailing the returns department. With this type of exclusivity I would prefer to see what I am buying so I would stick to the local shops.

Small local bands often release CD's and you need to buy these direct from the band. Keep an eye for posters stuck on lamp-posts and walls etc to find out venues - give them a listen - buy them a pint afterwards and ask about their CD's. Another way to find these limited prints is to ask at record companies that offer limited runs of CD's and they may have a catalogue you could browse.

Simple point - don't pay extra to import a version that only has a video clip extra if you don't like or use videoclips! Why buy a box set - paying extra to get a T - Shirt that you will not use! Collecting is fun - it's not about boasting to your mates over a pint.

Check the quality of the Disk - some people try to pass of scratched and damaged CD's a genuine seller will not mind you making that a condition of the sale!

Don't pay too much either - it's very easy to this when you get carried away. Do some research before you bid to make sure that you can't buy it new and online at a lower price. Here's a top tip - check the closing time of a lot - DO NOT BID UNTIL THE END! Synchronise your watch with the time on the auction site and put a bid in a few seconds before the end - people will not have a chance to beat your bid.

The trick is to open a few bid pages for the same item - put a different amount on each one up to the limit you want to pay and you can submit 2 or 3 bids that way in the closing seconds just in case anyone has been watching and waiting like you. I also helps if your closing bid is an odd amount people work in whole numbers 75.00, 45.00, 10.00 etc make it an original bid - use 75.01, 45.63 or 10.21 - peoples bids may be beaten by just a few pence using this tactic. I beleive that this technique is known as siniping and you can even get software to help you to do it automatically submitting bids in the closing seconds of a lot!