There is no more special souvenir from a trip abroad than an incredible piece of artwork, but it can be risky to make a major purchase when you don’t know the market you’re dealing with all that well.

To help get you over the hurdle of fear, here are some hacks to make purchasing valuable art abroad a little less nerve-wracking:

1. Do your homework:

If you think you may want to acquire art on a trip, do some research before you go. Find reputable galleries to deal with. An art acquisition is not something you want to rush into, especially uninformed. If you’re at a reputable art fair like Art Basel, you can be fairly certain that your purchase is legitimate. If you really love a find and you fear it will be gone if you wait, having the next steps lined up make it easy to make a fast decision.

2. Get a second opinion:
If you’re looking at investing a significant amount of money in a piece of art while traveling, it can’t hurt to have an independent appraiser on speed dial before you go. Most experts should be able to give you a fairly reasonable appraisal of a piece if you can send over high-quality digital images; and any reputable gallery should not take offence with your desire to have a piece evaluated by an unbiased outsider.

3. Pre-insure:
If you think that you may acquire art while on the go, check with your insurance policy to see if the art will be covered by your existing policy or if you need to add more coverage before you leave for your trip. It can be tricky to deal with coverage issues once you’re abroad.

4. Know Your Shipping Options:
Most art purchased abroad will be sent to you by plane, after being carefully packed for travel, but if you buy a heavier item like a sculpture, it will likely go by boat, it will take longer for the piece to reach you, but your shipping costs should be significantly lower.

5. Lastly, check with your customs department:
Art can have various applicable taxes, also at different levels of government. Knowing what your State and Federal taxes are can also influence your decision to purchase. It’s important to know ahead of time to avoid an unexpected hefty tax bill.