Will Amazon India ship to Bhutan?

Amazon Hyderabad

Amazon is the leader of online retail: About 1 in 5 Internet users has visited an Amazon website in June 2011. It currently runs its retail operations in seven countries: The U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Japan, the U.K. and China. Amazon also has presence in India, but it is currently limited to research and development (see photo).

But now Amazon is eyeing India as a retail market. A huge warehouse is being set up in Mumbai, and people are being hired in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Challenges are plenty, from unreliable post (Amazon will probably have to rely on courier services) to payment issues (cash-on-delivery will be available, as credit cards are not an option for many Indians).

Will Bhutanese be able to order directly from www.Amazon.in? Prepaid Indian debit cards are already available with banks in Bhutan. However, we're such a tiny market, that I will be (pleasantly!) surprised if shipping to Bhutan is on Amazon's radar. For the time being, we'll just have to sit on our hands and wait.

(Note: Amazon.com ships media items, such as books, CDs and DVDs, to Bhutan. See here.)