An Amazon gift card from another country: what you can do

Amazon runs a separate store per country, each with its own currency: Amazon.com in dollars, Amazon.com.mx in pesos, Amazon.es and Amazon.de in euros, Amazon.co.uk in pounds. A gift card is credit for the store that sold it, and Amazon doesn't move balances between them.

The store's address is usually printed on the card, and it's in the email if it was an e-gift card. That's the card's country, whatever country you live in.

Amazon.com ships many products abroad. You can sign in to Amazon.com, add the card there and buy items that say they ship to your country. Shipping and import charges are shown at checkout, so check the total before you pay: on small orders they can eat a big part of the card.

A friend or relative in that country can use it at full value. If they can send you something back, even better.

If shipping doesn't make sense, sell the card. Pick the card's own country (Amazon.com is the United States, even if you live in Mexico) and the price shows in that currency before you share the code. You can be paid in your own currency by PayPal or a bank transfer.

• Don't add the card to your account first. Once it's redeemed, it can't be sold.
• Keep the email or receipt, in case we need to confirm where it was bought.