Goodbye Play.com
Discussion
Not surprising at all. When they first came into being, they were one of the best online retailers for DVDs, especially US Region 1 titles that you simply couldn't get in the UK anywhere else, plus they were consistently the cheapest on the market for them and everything was sent recorded.
They then ditched the recorded delivery for everything except high value goods which - although profitable for them in the short term, as items went missing or people realised they could scam them for multiples of the same item by saying "it never got here", it surely must have ate into their bottom line.
Couple that with a total lack of any kind of customer service, prices going up and other people coming into the market cheaper - well, the writing was on the wall.
Can safely say I won't mourn the loss of play.com as a retailer, although hearing that 4-500 people are dole-bound is not a nice thing at all.
They then ditched the recorded delivery for everything except high value goods which - although profitable for them in the short term, as items went missing or people realised they could scam them for multiples of the same item by saying "it never got here", it surely must have ate into their bottom line.
Couple that with a total lack of any kind of customer service, prices going up and other people coming into the market cheaper - well, the writing was on the wall.
Can safely say I won't mourn the loss of play.com as a retailer, although hearing that 4-500 people are dole-bound is not a nice thing at all.
Play.com were bought by Rakuten some time ago the far east version of Amazon/ebay they turnover about 5 billion and one of the first things they changed was the future online direction of play.com this is just that part of the strategy to bring play.com in line with the overall trading style of the Rakuten group.
ks, I've been using them for years 
Wills2 said:
Play.com were bought by Rakuten some time ago
This is when I think it started getting worse.The site itself is an absolute mess, blurring the lines between Play themselves and traders. Others may disagree, but that's been my experience with it.
When they first arrived on the scene, I used them for absolutely everything. They offered clear pricing with P&P included, and for a long time I just never looked elsewhere.
The major negative to this will be that Amazon will no longer pricematch automatically against Play when their prices are lower.
Mr Happy said:
Not surprising at all. When they first came into being, they were one of the best online retailers for DVDs, especially US Region 1 titles that you simply couldn't get in the UK anywhere else, plus they were consistently the cheapest on the market for them and everything was sent recorded.
They then ditched the recorded delivery for everything except high value goods which - although profitable for them in the short term, as items went missing or people realised they could scam them for multiples of the same item by saying "it never got here", it surely must have ate into their bottom line.
Couple that with a total lack of any kind of customer service, prices going up and other people coming into the market cheaper - well, the writing was on the wall.
Can safely say I won't mourn the loss of play.com as a retailer, although hearing that 4-500 people are dole-bound is not a nice thing at all.
Agreed.They then ditched the recorded delivery for everything except high value goods which - although profitable for them in the short term, as items went missing or people realised they could scam them for multiples of the same item by saying "it never got here", it surely must have ate into their bottom line.
Couple that with a total lack of any kind of customer service, prices going up and other people coming into the market cheaper - well, the writing was on the wall.
Can safely say I won't mourn the loss of play.com as a retailer, although hearing that 4-500 people are dole-bound is not a nice thing at all.
Terrible customer service and now regularly beaten on price.
jammy_basturd said:
Also, wasn't Play quite profitable because it was based in Jersey for tax reasons? A tax loophole that's now been closed?
Yes. Items under a certain price were Vat avoidable. Low Value Consignment Relief. Hence being based in Jersey and sending one item at a time.It came into effect last March.
Pulse said:
Wills2 said:
Play.com were bought by Rakuten some time ago
This is when I think it started getting worse.The site itself is an absolute mess, blurring the lines between Play themselves and traders. Others may disagree, but that's been my experience with it.
When they first arrived on the scene, I used them for absolutely everything. They offered clear pricing with P&P included, and for a long time I just never looked elsewhere.
Eric Mc said:
jammy_basturd said:
Also, wasn't Play quite profitable because it was based in Jersey for tax reasons? A tax loophole that's now been closed?
Yes - it was part of their strategy.Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff