Buying Vintage Ludwig Bass Drums

[JakeF]

So, I'm after a new bass drum. I'm an alright player - not amazing mind you, and I absolutely love Ludwig bass drums. However I'm in Australia, so anything worth buying here is ridiculously expensive. My plan is to buy a vintage (most likely 70s) bass drum from America via eBay and ship it over here.

Now I'm certainly not an expert on the subject, so - are there any pitfalls I should watch out for? Anything to steer clear of?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.