Yesterday there seemed to be quite a lot of news going round that the online retailer play.com would be shutting down, one site had even more detail on the situation.
“It's the end of Play.com as we know it.
From March 2013, Play.com will no longer be in the retail business. Instead it will turn into a Marketplace similar to Amazon and eBay where customers will be able to sell their goods. Play.com will then take a percentage of the sale.
When Play.com was sold for £25m to Japanese Company Rakuten, it diminished as an online retailer. Many customers jumped ship and I was one of them, along with the rest of the GamerSpy team.
214 jobs have been lost in total and in my opinion, it's only a matter of time before Play.com is no more!”
Found at: http://www.gamerspy.co.uk/postings/detail/play-com-is-closing-business
While we did email off to play.com for an official response what we go back was short and to the point.
“We are intending to focus our efforts on our successful marketplace which is growing fast. Please rest assured we will continue to provide the great service and choice that you are used to. “
Not commenting on if people would indeed lose their jobs or not, however the BBC seems to confirm that 214 people that work for play.com will indeed lose their jobs. That’s all 147 staff in Jersey and 67 staff in Cambridge and Bristol. You can view the BBC Article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-20953357
So we can expect play.com to come back from its death by becoming a marketplace much like Amazon, it’s not the first time an online retailer has done this but will play.com be able to take on someone like Amazon, I personally don’t think so.