The Rakuten France marketplace ceased operations on September 30, 2026.
With the referral code JA50GFD5 and the referral link below, get €10 off your first Rakuten order over €20!
To take advantage of the Rakuten referral, simply become a member of Club R for free by clicking on the Rakuten referral link or by scanning the QR code on the picture and then add the Rakuten referral code JA50GFD5 to your cart before finalizing your order. You will then receive a €10 discount thanks to the Rakuten referral.
Rakuten is a Japanese e-commerce giant founded in Tokyo in 1997 by Hiroshi Mikitani. In France, the brand became famous through its marketplace, the successor to PriceMinister, which for more than twenty years was a go-to destination for buying and selling new and second-hand products while earning generous cashback.
Launched in 2000, PriceMinister quickly became the leading French website for reselling books, CDs, DVDs and video games between individuals. In 2010, the Rakuten group acquired the French platform, which initially kept its original name before gradually adopting the Rakuten identity, made official in 2018. Over the years, the catalogue expanded far beyond cultural goods to include tech, refurbished smartphones, home appliances, fashion, home and garden, toys and sports equipment, with millions of listings offered by thousands of professional and private sellers.
This pure marketplace model, with no stock of its own, made it easy to compare new and used offers for the same product and to find genuine bargains, especially on books, games and refurbished devices.
Rakuten France’s greatest strength was its free loyalty programme, Club R. Every purchase earned Rakuten Points, a true cashback system that could be spent on future orders, with boosted rates during special promotions. Club R gathered more than ten million members in France, making it one of the most popular loyalty programmes in French e-commerce.
The referral programme completed this system: new customers received a discount on their first order, while referrers were rewarded with points. Transactions were secured through centralised payment, with funds released to the seller only once the buyer had confirmed receipt of the item.
Facing increasingly strong international competition and declining traffic, Rakuten looked for a buyer for its French marketplace in 2026, without success. The group then announced the permanent shutdown of the business. Club R stopped awarding points on 13 August 2026, and the marketplace closed its doors on 30 September 2026: it is no longer possible to buy or sell on the platform, which means the referral programme is no longer active.
Sellers have until 10 November 2026 to withdraw their funds. Buyers are advised to keep their invoices so they can still claim the legal warranties on the products they purchased.
Although the marketplace has disappeared, the Rakuten group is not leaving France altogether. Several of its services continue to operate: Rakuten Kobo, the e-reader and e-book specialist with its Kobo Plus subscription, Rakuten TV for renting and buying films online, Viki for Asian dramas, and the Viber messaging app. The group’s technology centre in Paris is also being maintained.
Worldwide, Rakuten remains a major digital player, active in e-commerce, financial services, telecommunications and entertainment. For anyone looking for an alternative way to buy second-hand or earn cashback, plenty of other referral offers are still available on our website.
Many referral codes are available on Parrainage de qualité: use the Search function or browse the different categories.
