The best kind of CEX shop!!! (CeX (Computer Exchange))

Member Name: valve90210

Product:	CeX (Computer Exchange)
Date:	06/01/09 (246 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great range of items, some real bargains to be had

Disadvantages: Some newer items are a little pricey when compared to buying new.

I first stumbled across the CEX name while browsing around copmuter games forums trying to find some good bargain games for my Wii. Someone mentioned CEX as a great place to find good value games and dvds. I'd never heard of them so I asked what it was and was told it's a chain of shops that sell secondhand games, dvds etc etc.

I did a quick google search and found that there was a CEX store in a town fairly near me, so the next weekend, I dragged my girlfriend along to the town and found the shop. We spent about a hour looking round at the games and (for the majority of the time) the DVDs. With some pretty decent films from about £1.50 upwards we were instant fans of the shop. I can't remember if I actually purchased anything on that visit but on later visits to the town, I have purchased several dvds.

Recently a CEX shop has opened in my local town, much to my delight, and whilst off work for the Christmas break, we went to have a good look round.

The window display is enough to draw in any gaming/computing/gadgety type person, with games consoles, laptops Ipods etc etc all sitting there with tempting good prices on them.

On entering the shop, it feels a little shoddy and cheap inside as there is no carpeting nor nice lighting, it's bright and basic but this really doesn't matter as it's not the type of place where the shopping experience is part of the charm, this place is great because of what they sell!!!

In my local store there is a huge amount of mobile phones of all different kinds, including Iphones and some of the latest models from Sony Ericsson, Nokia etc etc. Now, I'm not really up on the latest phones nor the pricing so I can't really comment on how good the prices are but they seem quite reasonable to me.

There is also a huge amount of iPods and similar mp3 players which again seem to be well priced.

Along with these items there are also a handful of laptops, monitors, cameras, video projectors etc etc, all of which can be demonstrated if you so desire. Dotted around the place there are lots of stickers saying that all electrical items come with a 12 month guarantee, which will serve well to reassure people about buying goods which are second hand.

The remainder of downstairs (which is really the majority of the level) is filled with second hand games, ranging from older consoles like the gmae cube to the latest and greatest, the PS3, Xbox360 and the Wii. They seem to be quite well priced though some of the newer games which I have seen in there, I would say are a little too pricey as you could buy the game brnad new for only a few quid more. Older games are where the real bargains can be found!

The Upper level is where the music and DVDs are found, and the area I have spent the most time (and in fact money) There is a huge array of dvds, more than you would find in most high street dvd shops infact, and there are some real bargains to be had. Again, some of the newer dvds are a little too pricy (for example I saw Hell BOy 2 for £14, later that day I saw it for £14.99 in (I think) HMV and having looked online I can get it £12.99) However, again, the older dvds can be total bargains.

The other weekend, I purchased Shoot-em Up (a great fun and inventive popcorn movie), Munich (great film), Planet Terror (brilliant fun film) and Letters from Iwo Jima (another fantastic film) for a total of £15!!! Even buying online This would have cost over £20 for these films, and I would have had to wait to get them through the post.

This shop is likely to become my favourite shop in the whole town seeing as the only other place to buy dvds in the town is HMV with their hugely inflated prices! We used to have an MVC which was brilliant but sadly went under, then there was a Silverscreen which was also good but went under, then cam Fopp which was pretty good but also went under, so I am hoping CEX will be able to stay around because I love being able to pick up dvds for decent prices and be able to have them straight away. As much as I enjoy shopping online I do love to be able to buy something and then be able to watch it straight away!!!

The other things I really like about this shop, are:

1) You never know what they will have in stock which actually makes it quite exciting to go there are you might just find a great bargain, or something you'd never expect to find there.

2) It's quite a good indicator of how good a film/game is, for example the other day I was browsing the dvds and spotted Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silversurfer and wondered about gettting it, then I noticed that on the shelf above there were more copies of it... not just 2 or 3 but about 12 copies!!! This immediately made me think "hmmm, if so many people have traded this is, it must be pretty bad!!!" And I left it well alone.


As someone who doesn't like to part with possessions, I have never tried the exchange part of the shops existence but I have read a little about it. From what I gather, you can either trade items in for cash or exchange vouchers which can only be used in CEX shops. If you opt for the cash you will get a lower value. For example, I lookedon their website at the prices for Guitar hero 3 for the Wii. If you were trtade in for cash, they would give you £33, if you trade in for an exchange voucher they give you £41, so it's really worth your while to go with the vouchers if you are someone who buys games/dvds a lot.

So far I have not had a problem with any of the dvds I have purchased but I am fairly certain that if I did have a problem I would be able to go back to the store for a refund or replacement, after all, these are second hand items and if the store didn't deal well with faults people simply wouldn't buy from them!

Overall, it's a great place for games/dvds etc etc, and one that I will be frequenting and most likely spending far too much money in!!! I would heartily recommend them.

Summary: A great place, my new favourite shop in town.