Tokyo, December 4, 2014 – Rakuten Auction, Inc. today announced the signing of a business partnership agreement with Proto Corporation, owner and operator of car portal website Goo-net, on the provision of used vehicle information.
This partnership is designed to foster mutual business growth by linking the data of the Goo-net car portal site with the Rakuten Auction website. Rakuten Auction will host a Goo-net page on its website containing Goo-net’s used car listings, and show Goo-net’s used car listings in its product search results, thereby increasing the used car listings available to Rakuten Auction users. Proto Corporation aims to increase the number of enquiries by providing Goo-net vehicle listings to Rakuten Auction users. The data tie-up is planned be launched in February 2015, with some 60,000 listings to be added to Rakuten Auction.
The listings to be provided to Rakuten Auction will be exclusively used vehicles that have received “Goo Appraisal,” with their condition evaluated by a third party, the Japan Automobile Appraisal Association (JAAA). Information about the condition of the vehicles as evaluated by expert appraisers will also be available from Rakuten Auction.
Rakuten Auction and Proto Corporation will continue to strengthen this partnership in the future, with the aim of further business growth for each company.
About Rakuten Auction
Rakuten Auction is a comprehensive flea market auction site that was jointly financed by Rakuten, Inc. and NTT DoCoMo, Inc. It allows users to easily and safely make transactions through Rakuten Anshin Payment Service, which allows transactions to be carried out between individuals anonymously. Another characteristic feature is that there are no registration fees, monthly usage fees, or item listing fees. Those people who post the winning bid are awarded Rakuten Super Points according to the monetary value of the bid.
Overview of Rakuten Auction
Corporate name: Rakuten Auction, Inc.
Representative: President Toru Funaki
Headquarters: Shinagawa Seaside Rakuten Tower, 4-12-3 Higashi Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
Established: December 2005
Business: Online auctions
URL: http://auction.rakuten.co.jp/
About Proto Corporation
Proto Corporation offers a car information service focused primarily on the car listing portal Goo-net and the well-known Goo car magazine as well as a lifestyle information service on culture, leisure, recycling and more. Proto Corporation provides services for used vehicles that began in 2006 in the Goo car magazine and the Goo-net car portal site. It has appraised over 1 million vehicles since then and is highly endorsed by consumers.
Overview of Proto Corporation
Corporate name: Proto Corporation
Representative: President Kenji Kamiya
Headquarters: Proto Aoi building, 1-23-14, Aoi, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture
Founded: October 1977
Established: June 1979
Business: A car information service, particularly related to new and used cars, parts and accessories, and lifestyle information service
URL: http://www.proto-g.co.jp/