commercial yes type of site retail registration required for purchases available in english owner rakuten launched 1998 1998 as play.com alexa rank 8 624 february 2015 update 1 current status online rakuten.co.uk is a website owned by rakuten that operates as an online marketplace . the website does not sell any products directly but instead allows third party sellers to sell their products . the website replaced play.com which was originally established in jersey as an online retailer of entertainment products including dvds and music which subsequently expanded its product offering . rakuten purchased play.com in 2011 2 and in 2013 the company switched to its new marketplace format following a change in the law covering tax for companies operating in jersey and selling to consumers on the uk mainland . 3 the play.com website was replaced by rakuten.co.uk on march 23 2015 . contents 1 history 1.1 play.com 1.2 replacement with rakuten 2 references 3 external links history edit play.com edit former play.com logo following its purchase by rakuten play.com was founded in 1998 under the name play247.com but rebranded as play.com in 2000 . play.com originally sold region 1 and 2 dvds only but since expanded its range to include cds and video games and other electronic items . since 2004 it has sold books and electronics in 2006 it started selling personal computers posters and t shirts and in 2007 it started selling hd dvds and blu rays with sister site playusa.com selling region 1 dvds hd dvds and region a blu ray discs and offering sales in a range of currencies . the site s interface has been redesigned on a number of occasions . play.com was ranked second on the november 2006 uk hot shops list compiled by imrg and hitwise . 4 in 2008 play.com started selling drm free mp3s clothing accessories and tickets for events allowing customers to buy and sell tickets . they also held a consumer games show which was open to the public with tickets available through play.com . this event was backed by sony microsoft ubisoft activision and thq among others . 5 on 15 january 2009 a survey published by verdict research found play.com was the uk s second favourite music and video retailer behind first place amazon.co.uk and ahead of the now defunct entertainment retailer zavvi which was third . 6 on 24 february 2009 it was reported that play.com had topped the national consumer satisfaction index 7 8 ahead of amazon.co.uk and itunes . in may 2009 play.com launched a branded visa credit card in partnership with mbna . cardholders received points for purchases made on the website and at other retailers . points could then be redeemed against products bought on the play.com website . 9 10 the playusa.com website was closed down in february 2011 . in september 2011 japan based rakuten purchased play.com for 25 million . 11 since march 2013 play.com has operated solely as an online marketplace where third party retailers sell products with their listings hosted on the website . all retailers on the marketplace have the ability to build a fully branded and customised storefront giving them control of how their products are merchandised . replacement with rakuten edit in october 2014 rakuten launched rakuten.co.uk which replaced play.com completely on 23 march 2015 . rakuten uk to close on june 7 2016 rakuten announced plans for changes in the business in the uk . rakuten.co.uk in its existing format would no longer be available after the end of august 2016 for new purchases . rakuten.co.uk was then relaunched in october 2016 as a portal to earn superpoints from using online shops such as topman hmv and b & q. 12 references edit rakuten.co.uk site info . alexa internet . retrieved 2014 04 01 . wood zoe 22 september 2011 . play.com sold to rakuten of japan for 25m . the guardian . retrieved 22 september 2011 . jersey retailer play.com closes direct retail business . bbc news . retrieved 9 january 2013 . november hitwise imrg hot shops list hitwise.com ; retrieved 12 may 2007 ian ennis 31 january 2008 . play.com live first major uk gaming event . ripten.com . retrieved 27 january 2012 . amazon is uk s third favourite retailer . thebookseller.com . retrieved 15 january 2009 . u.k. consumers most satisfied with play.com . billboard.biz . 24 february 2009 . retrieved 27 january 2012 . ncsi uk . ncsi uk . retrieved 27 january 2012 . credit card . play.com . retrieved 27 january 2012 . play.com offers credit card . pocket lint.com . 20 may 2009 . retrieved 27 january 2012 . play.com bought by japanese firm rakuten for 25m media news . digital spy . 21 september 2011 . retrieved 4 october 2011 . http link.newsletter.rakuten.co.uk public r yufxls4iz0d4hywhnkfcmq mze 19t2auwm4nrq0 5zpq dndovsfzhi1rsk5dlift6a external links edit official website archived version of play247.com circa 2000 v t e rakuten internet services ebates kobo inc. overdrive inc. ozon.ru priceminister rakuten.com rakuten.co.uk rakuten linkshare viber viki wuaki.tv software aquafadas sports tohoku rakuten golden eagles vissel kobe other rakuten institute of technology retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title rakuten.co.uk & oldid 743601420 categories online retailersonline music storescompanies established in 1998internet properties established in 1998online companiesbook websitescompanies of jerseybookshops of the united kingdomcompanies of japanrakuten1998 establishments in jerseyhidden categories articles containing potentially dated statements from february 2015all articles containing potentially dated statementsofficial website different in wikidata and wikipedia navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages cymraegportugu ssimple english edit links this page was last modified on 10 october 2016 at 10 25 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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