Experience with Rakuten.de: The online shop is so serious

Many customers have already had experience with the online retailer Rakuten. The online shop from Bamberg advertises with a large variety of products and low prices. But how serious is the Amazon competitor really? We clarify.

Experience with rakuten - more negative than positive

The Bamberg-based company Rakuten is one of the largest online shops in Germany. Similar to Amazon, you can get pretty much everything your heart desires on Rakuten. The online shop not only advertises with a large selection of products, but also with low prices. The question remains how serious Rakuten is and whether it is easy to order there. Let's put it this way: Opinions differ.

• Rakuten only offers the platform for providers. The company itself does not act as a seller. So Rakuten is a mixture of Amazon and Ebay.
• Rakuten is not a contractual partner when buying on Rakuten.de. Rakuten is only responsible for payment processing. Shipping, revocation and complaints are handled by the respective retailer who offers his product at Rakuten. If something is wrong with a product, the Rakuten dealer should actually be evaluated. However, this is usually not possible.
• In the terms of the contract, Rakuten obliges the individual retailers to handle transactions securely, reliably and free of fraud. Of course, this does not prevent black sheep among traders from making dubious offers.

Only one in five stars on Trustpilot

If you read the reviews on Trustpilot, the following problems arise with Rakuten:

• Customers receive wrong or faulty products.
• The dealer cancels the purchase; shortly afterwards he publishes a direct purchase offer at a higher price.
• The goods reach the customer with a considerable delay or not at all.
• There is no repayment.
• In the event of difficulties, Rakuten usually does not feel addressed and refers directly to the dealer, who is the real problem. In short: Rakuten is not responsible for the problems of its customers.
• Until recently, Rakuten still advertised the “Trusted Shops” sign on its website. In his certificate, which was valid until September 2018, Rakuten was able to collect mostly positive reviews. In the meantime, Rakuten no longer appears to be a member of Trusted Shops.

How to shop safely at Rakuten

• If you find a good deal on Rakuten, you should above all take a closer look at the respective dealer. Under the shopping cart button you will find an indication of which retailer is offering the goods in detail. With a click on the provider name you can find out more about the provider, read the terms and conditions and look in the imprint to see who is behind the dealer.
• The problem: With Rakuten there are no dealer ratings that you can use as a guide.
• Therefore: In case of doubt, you have to look for the provider information in the imprint and see if there is a digital trace on the Internet.
• On Rakuten there are of course many reputable dealers who sell their goods there - but unfortunately not only.
• If you know a provider and you consider it reputable, you can safely order from Rakuten.
• If you do not know a dealer and there is nothing else to find out about him on the Internet, you should be careful. Rakuten has secured itself with its dealer contracts in such a way that the company can deny any responsibility.

Conclusion: It depends on the dealer

• Distrust is particularly appropriate for particularly cheap offers. A small private retailer can never (legally) offer a current smartphone, for example, much cheaper than the large retail chains.
• In short: Rakuten is only as serious as the dealers who offer their products there. And according to reviews, these dealers are unfortunately not all too often.

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