Nigerian gaming e-commerce site TopDownDeals believes it is filling a vacuum by providing a platform for gamers in the country to purchase offerings from international providers who have overlooked the vast opportunities in Africa and Nigeria in particular.
Oluseye Faleye, founder of TopDownDeals.com.ng, told HumanIPO Nigeria is filled with millions of passionate gamers, and his site seeks to provide them with a wide variety of video games at low prices.
“I remember growing up in Lagos and playing only three games for years because there was either no place to purchase new games or the games were very expensive. Although the access to video gaming products in Nigeria has improved since then, they are still very expensive and limited in stores. Therefore, it was a no-brainer that TopDownDeals would be focused on the video game niche,” he said.
Faleye said the platform, launched in April 2013, has achieved significant success in a short period, but there was still a long way to go and the company strives to improve with every order.
“The patronage received at TopDownDeals.com.ng has grown every month. We have many return customers that purchase games from us and new customers shopping with us through referrals. Most importantly, our patronage increased with the addition of used gaming products earlier this year,” he said.
“Many customers cannot afford the brand new consoles and games, so we added used PlayStation 3 (PS3) games starting at NGN1,500 (US$9), plus Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles. In February, we did a promotion selling used Xbox 360s for NGN15,000 (US$90), which was a hit. We sold all 25 used Xbox 360 consoles in less than a week.”
Falaye said the site is also set to launch its Video Gamer rental service in Lagos next month, allowing gamers to rent over 200 different PS3 gaming titles.
“Just like Gamefly.com in the United States, customers will pay a one-time membership fee and be able to rent the games and only pay for round-trip shipping,” he said.
“The gaming rental service has always been an expansion goal for TopDownDeals since day one. We just waited for the right moment to implement it. We know gamers want to try a wide variety of games but don’t have the budget to purchase them all. So we are giving them the opportunity to be able to play limitless games.”
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