[mjn]

That's not true in the EU across the board. If you're buying by mail-order, and the seller is above a certain size (small sellers exempt to reduce the compliance burden), they have to assess VAT based on the shipping address. For example, when I order from Amazon.co.uk to Denmark, Amazon charges me Denmark's VAT rates (which are higher and don't exempt books, alas).

[tehwalrus]

interesting! I was basing my knowledge here on having paid "German VAT" on a smartphone from amazon.de (they had it slightly cheaper and much earlier than anyone in the UK.) Maybe I got confused, but I was sure at the time it was a different %age. Maybe I was above the threshold.