something I don't understand

Maybe someone can help me out here.

So Saint Etienne apparently "want a Top 40" hit with their new single 'Method of Modern Love' - which is fab and, with the right push, probably could do it. Maybe, I don't know...the last single was apparently somewhere around 167 according to Wikipedia, so maybe not.

Anyways.

To help further their cause, they limited each physical format to 1500 copies. OK, physical sales aren't really where it's at anymore as much as it pains me to admit that. However, they've then limited sales of the physical formats to UK residents only. That's where I'm lost.

It was never my understanding that records sold in the UK but shipping to non-UK addresses didn't count towards the charts. I know that vendors have to participate in order for their sales to count towards the charts - which by itself kind of makes the charts seem silly as it's not really capturing every sale, but that's neither here nor there - and that there are legalities that make downloads unavailable outside their country of origin. Fine, I get it. However, how does me living in the US not count if I bought it from a participating vendor?

It's frustrating as I'm still totally a format whore and want to support bands I like who continue to put out physical formats for us stuck in the '90s to collect. As I've said before, I'm not even a huge Saint Etienne fan - I own exactly one album, "Sound of Water" - but a pairing with Richard X for an incredible slice of electro pop makes me want to support them. And they're telling me I can't as they reach for the Top 40. Silly, silly Saint Etienne.

Yes, there will be an "export version at some point", but why are they putting themselves through extra costs to make a fourth [and possibly fifth] physical format when the first three should work just fine.

Can someone please explain this to me? No one else I've asked seems to know either.