thetao

Probably like many people here, I received a few Amazon gift cards as Christmas presents. Three of the items near the top of my wants list are DVD's from Europe. I know it can't be done...Amazon's Gift Card FAQ page (http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=682500011) says explicitly

"Amazon.com Gift Card claim codes cannot be redeemed on Amazon's international sites, including Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, and Amazon.co.uk."

but I'm wondering why. It isn't as if they're strangers to currency conversion. Maybe it's simply an IT infrastructure issue they've never broached? Anybody care to speculate?

PhantomStranger

The international Amazons are independently run and operated. Aside from corporate ownership, they share little in common. I believe it's partly done for tax purposes this way. It does appear that Amazon and its Canadian brother have some sort of non-compete agreement.