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iPod touch Why apple won't release Itune in some country

S

super michael

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 1, 2011
190
10
I don't get this, why does Apple refuse to release Itune cards to Gibraltar? The problem is, the apple shop said I either need to buy Itune cards from ebay or get someone that lives in UK to send it to Gibraltar.

How on earth can a Apple shop recommend ebay.

I just don't get it.

Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft sell card to use on online, but Apple refuse to bring Itune to Gibraltar.

I want to buy apps from Itune for when I get a Ipod touch 32GB 4th gen.

For those curious, Gibraltar apple store is called Newton, which is www.newton.gi
 
Last edited:
super michael said:
I don't get this, why does Apple refuse to release Itune cards to Gibraltar? The problem is, the apple shop said I either need to buy Itune cards from ebay or get someone that lives in UK to send it to Gibraltar.

How on earth can a Apple shop recommend ebay.

I just don't get it.

Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft sell card to use on online, but Apple refuse to bring Itune to Gibraltar.

I want to buy apps from Itune for when I get a Ipod touch 32GB 4th gen.

For those curious, Gibraltar apple store is called Newton, which is www.newton.gi
Click to expand...

You can google how to open an account in a different country without a credit card, eg...USA and I would recommend this site...
http://www.pcgamesupply.com/

...they are reliable and quick in my opinion. Hope this helps.
 
@super michael: did you try different shops? In my region (Netherlands/Belgium) these iTunes cards are sold in a lot of music shops and kiosks. Maybe a relative can get cards from the UK or Spain? The only other option I can think of is to setup a PayPal account. The iTunes Store doesn't accept any debit-cards of European banks.

Don't try eBay! Most iTunes cards sold on eBay are fake ones.
 
The WHY is a really simple question to answer: Gibraltar is a very small state which is not only worth less to Apple than they would spend setting up all of its servers to handle a Gibraltar iTunes but more importantly Apple cannot be bothered to haggle with the local record label rights holders for such a small market - its just not worth it. What is curious however is why Apple doesn't simply include Gibraltar in with the UK iTunes site being a British foreign territory however I suspect this may have something to do with political tensions this could create with Spain. Spain is an awfully big market to piss off compared to the gains to be had by offering iTunes to the 30,000 residents of Gibraltar.
 
Powerbooky said:
@super michael: did you try different shops? In my region (Netherlands/Belgium) these iTunes cards are sold in a lot of music shops and kiosks. Maybe a relative can get cards from the UK or Spain? The only other option I can think of is to setup a PayPal account. The iTunes Store doesn't accept any debit-cards of European banks.

Don't try eBay! Most iTunes cards sold on eBay are fake ones.
Click to expand...

No shop in Gibraltar sell Itune store card, I check in all the shops in Gibraltar. The only place I can get Itune store card is going to Spain which is like a 10 minutes drive, but the problem is the Spanish € Itune cards are not compatible with the UK Itune store.

Gibraltar is a small place, so not many shops to check.
 
Perhaps you could ask some of the UK retailers in Gibraltar like Marks and Spencer which does sell iTunes cards in the UK why they do not carry those. iTunes cards are always worth having as they are the easiest way to get a discount on apps. Currently, many shops are discounting the £25 cards - usually at £5 off their face value.

If the UK iTunes store works in Gibraltar then it is more an issue of economics than legalities or politics.
 
This is an easy fix. go online to visa or Mastercards website and buy a prepaid CREDIT card with cash on it(any amount) and have it mailed to you, then use that to sign up for an iTunes account.
 
thepowerofnone said:
The WHY is a really simple question to answer: Gibraltar is a very small state which is not only worth less to Apple than they would spend setting up all of its servers to handle a Gibraltar iTunes but more importantly Apple cannot be bothered to haggle with the local record label rights holders for such a small market - its just not worth it. What is curious however is why Apple doesn't simply include Gibraltar in with the UK iTunes site being a British foreign territory however I suspect this may have something to do with political tensions this could create with Spain. Spain is an awfully big market to piss off compared to the gains to be had by offering iTunes to the 30,000 residents of Gibraltar.
Click to expand...

Exactly

From the perspective of a company, it makes absolutely no sense developing a system and contracts for a country with a low population and only a percentage of them would even use iTunes. Companies want profit and they cannot cater to the few are not part of the large pool of consumers.

It's like making a 1TB flashdrive, sure a few people will be satisfied but the research and development needed to produce the flashdrive outweigh the revenue that it would be bringing in.
 
weckart said:
Perhaps you could ask some of the UK retailers in Gibraltar like Marks and Spencer which does sell iTunes cards in the UK why they do not carry those. iTunes cards are always worth having as they are the easiest way to get a discount on apps. Currently, many shops are discounting the £25 cards - usually at £5 off their face value.

If the UK iTunes store works in Gibraltar then it is more an issue of economics than legalities or politics.
Click to expand...

Nope, I called marks and spencer but they don't bring or sell Itune store cards, only the UK marks and spencer do that.

I have to check for a Pre-debit card then.

As far as I am aware the economics in Gibraltar is fine, so I doubt because of that. The problem is Apple doesn't allow Gibraltar to receive Itune cards, they don't give authorization to sell in shops in Gibraltar.
 
BlizzardBolt said:
Exactly

From the perspective of a company, it makes absolutely no sense developing a system and contracts for a country with a low population and only a percentage of them would even use iTunes. Companies want profit and they cannot cater to the few are not part of the large pool of consumers.

It's like making a 1TB flashdrive, sure a few people will be satisfied but the research and development needed to produce the flashdrive outweigh the revenue that it would be bringing in.
Click to expand...

Ok, but here the strange thing, sure Gibraltar is a small place, but why does Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony sell their store cards in Gibraltar?

In game shop those store cards for Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Sell good. People buy those a lot and there is no issue buying them.

While Apple doesn't allow Gibraltar to receive Itune store card. In Gibraltar we even have to use a fake post code just to register to UK Itune store, which I did.

It seems there something weird with Apple and Gibraltar.
 
Buy iTunes gift cards (or just the codes) on eBay.

BTW is the iTunes.app for unsupported countries a different version? Because I don't have the music downloads tab even when using a US iTunes account, however I can access the music store on the PC version.
 
Chinese people in China just got the ability to use their local currency for their iTunes store. Sadly there is a long way to go to Gibraltar ;)
 
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