Sometimes someone just needs to look at a problem in our industry and do something to help solve it. Mage Games, a new peer-to-peer website is aiming to connect game collectors so they can sell and trade their games as well as provide a one-stop shop for business owners to connect with more customers. Fusion spoke to Gio, the service founder, about what customers can expect.
He begins by explaining that this project has been born from being a “game enthusiast since I got my first console as a kid, the Master System II. Then Mega Drive, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Playstation, I’ve always been more of a Sega and Sony fan. Only recently I’ve started getting into Nintendo, thanks to the Switch, and have a lot to catch up with! A NES, a GameCube and a N64 have been the latest additions to my personal collection.”
The service has only just launched and Gio explains that “it’s a peer-to-peer marketplace for video games and consoles in the UK. Think of an Airbnb or eBay type of site that is specifically tailored to the gaming community, with all the bespoke features you might wish for.”
Gio continues by stating “we wanted to create a marketplace community where all the games are listed (both retro and new), properly categorised, with their images, condition characteristics, all sorts of filters, proper user profiles, etc. That would be amazing. Of course, we’re very far from that at the moment, but that’s the long-term dream.”
It started out as an idea between three gaming friends. “Mike, Jono and I wanted to do something meaningful together. We share a passion for video games and believe that the available options for trading them are kind of broken. We’ve struggled with how painful buying (and selling) games can be.
“Annoying auctions, online purchases that feel like ‘roulette’, since you don’t get to see the condition of the game you’re buying, the difficulty of snapping things on Facebook groups. We’ve been there and want to make it easier. It shouldn’t be so painful, it should be fun! We want to take the best of CEX, eBay or Facebook groups and make it all work.”
The process is also simple as Gio tells us that “Any gamer or trader can come on Mage Games and list their games or consoles for sale, for free, and generally manage their stock from the site. We’re encouraging sellers to take good pictures and to be very transparent about the condition of the items.”
“Once you receive an order from a buyer, it’s a case of shipping it quickly and with adequate packaging. You pay a small commission on what you actually sell. We’re also putting a lot of effort into the seller profiles (or “storefronts” as we like to call them too), so buyers can easily see your details, listings, ratings & reviews.”
He explains that there is protection for buyers as well. “As a buyer, you can purchase games from one or multiple sellers in just a few clicks. When you make a purchase, your funds are held by the platform until you confirm that you’ve received the games and everything is okay. If there are problems we, as the marketplace, step in following our buyer and seller protection policy.”
Gio is also keen to point out the challenges in trying to make a project like this successful. “Something we had to heavily iterate through during the pre-beta phase was the image upload for game listings, based on the feedback we got from sellers. If you’ve taken 20 pictures of Panzer Dragoon Saga to make sure the condition is super clear to anyone interested, we need those images to upload pretty instantly in one go.”
“We also allow you to do that from your phone via QR code, even if you’re on your desktop. There are many cool features like that where we’re trying real hard to get right, from a technical development and usability standpoint.”
“Then, there is the fact that we’re new and that it’ll take time for people to get to know about us and to trust the site. We’re doing this one step at a time. Shaping the platform based on how the community is using it and their feedback is our top priority. Only by doing so, we’ll be able to create an amazing buying and selling experience.”
It’s early days but Gio and his team are eager to provide a great service to buyers and sellers. “We have a strong desire to help independent sellers and local shops sell more online and manage their stock and collections. We think their passion is essential to the industry and to preserve the history of video games.”
“We’ve only been open to the public for a few days, but so far the feedback has been really positive. Customers like the clean look and the quick and easy navigation. They’ve also helped us find and fix a few glitches, which is great!”
And when asked about plans for the future and how the service may change Gio explains that “Mage will be what customers want it to be, as we continuously improve the platform. Users have already asked for a mobile app, e-commerce integrations, the ability to sell game bundles… The list keeps growing!”
Thank you Gio for speaking with Fusion and best of luck with Mage Games.
