# Gamoba (2012 – 2013)

- URL: https://girisimcikafasi.com/en/startup-graveyard/gamoba/
- Sector: E-commerce
- Country: Turkey
- Total funding: unknown
- Cause of closure: Lost to competitors

## What did it do?

Gamoba was a games and electronics shop launched in autumn 2012 that billed itself as Turkey's first entertainment-focused vertical e-commerce site. Alongside PC games, it sold games for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo platforms, console and computer accessories, and tablets. Behind it were the founders of Markafoni, the Istanbul-based fashion e-commerce company, and Emir Aral, owner of the games distributor Aral.

## Why did it shut down?

No official statement on Gamoba's closure was found in the sources; Turkishtime wrote that the site closed in November 2013, while Habertürk wrote that it managed to stay open for little more than a year. In a comparison by Sosyalmedya.co at launch, games such as PES 2013, FIFA 13 and Call of Duty were more expensive on Gamoba than on D&R and Hepsiburada, or the same price. This suggests that, in a price-sensitive games market, the site could not offer a clear advantage over the big general e-commerce players; this is an interpretation. Goboti, a T-shirt site in which Markafoni's founders were also partners, had closed in November 2013 too, because there was no certainty that further investment would pay off.

## The story

Gamoba was a venture that brought well-known names from the Turkish internet sector together in the games market. According to a CNN Türk report in November 2012, the site was founded as a partnership between Akinon, an investment company whose partners included Markafoni founders Sina Afra, Tolga Tatari and Ahmet Emre Sarı; Emir Aral, owner of Aral, one of Turkey's largest games and electronics distributors; and Krombera, the investment company of Hakan Baş and Alper Afşin Özdemir. The project was led by general manager N. Onur Atahan.

The site went live in beta in October 2012 and officially launched in November. It offered a wide product range, from PC games to PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo games, and from console accessories to tablets. According to Sosyalmedya.co's launch report, the site also had games for 1 TL and 10 TL, and sales of downloadable products and special promotions were planned. The comparison in the same report, however, was telling: popular games such as PES 2013, FIFA 13 and Call of Duty were more expensive on Gamoba than on D&R and Hepsiburada, or the same price.

Gamoba did not live long. According to a list of failed start-ups compiled by Turkishtime, the site closed in November 2013; Habertürk also wrote that the site managed to stay open for little more than a year. No detailed statement on the closure can be found in the sources. That same month Goboti, a designer T-shirt site in which Markafoni's founders were also partners, had closed as well; Nevzat Aydın, one of that site's founders, had said they could not be sure further investment would pay off.

Gamoba's short story shows that a strong founding team and distributor backing may not be enough on their own in a category where you compete with general e-commerce giants on price.

## Lessons

- If you open a vertical store, you must offer a clear edge over general e-commerce sites in price, selection or service.
- A distributor partnership secures supply, but on its own it does not bring customers to your site.
- Strong founders running several experiments at once may shut down the one with weak returns quickly; accept that from the start.

## Sources

- [PC and Console Games Sales Platform Gamoba Launches](https://sosyalmedya.co/gamoba/)
- [Entertainment-focused e-commerce site Gamoba launches](https://www.cnnturk.com/2012/teknoloji/internet/11/14/eglence.odakli.e.ticaret.sitesi.gamoba.acildi/684544.0/index.html)
- [50 failed start-ups and 50 lessons from their mistakes (30–50)](https://turkishtimedergi.com/dijital-girisim/%EF%BB%BF-50-basarisiz-startup-ve-hatalarindan-cikarilacak-50-ders-30-50/)
- [Turkish e-commerce sites that closed before Markafoni! Why did online shopping sites close?](https://www.haberturk.com/ekonomi/teknoloji/haber/1517700-markafoniden-once-kapanan-turk-e-ticaret-siteleri/)