Just some anecdotal evidence to confirm the OP. One of my e-mail aliases, apparently the one I had set up for Buy.com (I did not pause to check), started receiving e-mails from this "Rakuten." I blacklisted the sender instantly.
The new name is abysmal.
Buy.com was already the shady back-alley version of Amazon, a domain I ventured into only when the price offered was notably better than its more above-board cousin. I don't mean to say Buy is a nefarious company, but rather my own admittedly ill-conceived notion of Buy was not (and is not) good. For all I know, they are a completely honest operation.
But with the new new name, I just instinctively and instantly turned off communication with the firm. Call it what you will, but an Asian-sounding name nudges the needle too far toward the greatest source of spam my aliases see. I have been trained by history. And my blacklist trigger finger is ready.
The new name is abysmal.
Buy.com was already the shady back-alley version of Amazon, a domain I ventured into only when the price offered was notably better than its more above-board cousin. I don't mean to say Buy is a nefarious company, but rather my own admittedly ill-conceived notion of Buy was not (and is not) good. For all I know, they are a completely honest operation.
But with the new new name, I just instinctively and instantly turned off communication with the firm. Call it what you will, but an Asian-sounding name nudges the needle too far toward the greatest source of spam my aliases see. I have been trained by history. And my blacklist trigger finger is ready.