Is there anything better than CeX? (CeX (Computer Exchange))

Member Name: RunnyHunnyBee

Product:	CeX (Computer Exchange)
Date:	09/09/09 (263 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great bargains and good trade-in prices

Disadvantages: Quality not always good

I first discovered CeX when I was hoping to make a bit of money by trading in a few old video games that I no longer wanted. I was planning on gathering them together and taking them along to my local video game store, when I stumbled across a very useful review about one of these stores. It was advising people that if they wanted to get a better deal they should try CeX, as it tends to offer better cash and trade-in prices.

A Google search took me to the CeX website, and I quickly discovered the location of my nearest store. There isn't one in my own town, which is probably why I had never heard of it, but a 20 minute trip down the motorway to the next big town would take me to the nearest store. This seemed worthwhile, as I had gathered quite a few bits together to trade-in.

Having explored the website fairly thoroughly, I had discovered that it isn't just video games that CeX deal in, but a range of other products too, including DVDs, CDs, cameras, mobile phones, MP3 players and other electrical goods.


**How it works**

Basically you just take your goods along to the store, walk up to the counter, and when it is your turn, you hand over the goods. Initially, with discs, all the barcodes will be scanned by the person behind the counter and two total values will be quoted at the end; a cash value and an exchange value. The exchange value will always be higher than the cash value, but you need to bear in mind that this reflects the fact that their prices are quite high compared to some other sources for second hand goods. If you choose exchange, you receive a voucher for that value, which you can either use in the store there and then, or you can take it away with you and use it another time. It does expire after 12 months however. If you choose cash, then obviously that is what you will receive. You then wait while they examine the goods. Any electrical goods such as cameras, phones, or MP3 players will be graded based on condition and whether the original box/accessories are included, and this is done before a price is quoted. With DVDs, game discs etc, this is done after the price has been quoted, so it is a good idea to make sure you don't take any heavily scratched discs as they will be rejected at this stage, thereby altering the price.


**Membership**

Whilst anyone can walk into the store and purchase goods, if you want to sell to CeX or trade something in you need to become a member. I found this to be a very quick and easy process, taking no longer than 3-4 minutes. It is free to join, and all I had to do was provide a form of photo ID (I used my driving license), answer a few quick questions, and the guy behind the counter handed me a credit card sized membership card with a barcode on it which he asked me to sign and keep. I was told I would need to bring this with me any time in the future when I wanted to sell something to them or trade something in.


**Store layout**

Before I arrived at CeX for the first time, I was expecting to find some sort of disorganised indoor market, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found quite the opposite.
On the ground floor, electrical goods such as phones, cameras, games consoles and MP3 players were neatly displayed in glass cabinets. All the video games were displayed along the walls in alphabetical order, in their own sections according to format. The same was true of the DVDs upstairs, with feature films along the walls in alphabetical order. Boxsets were in a section in the middle of the room, again alphabetically, as were the CDs.


**Prices**

The prices do fluctuate at CeX, so it is worth having a quick look online before you go. Generally, new release DVDs and games don't tend to be much cheaper than they would be in the shops brand new. Obviously, this is because they are more in demand, and people are quite happy to trade in a few old dvds/games to get a new release. Mobile phones are usually priced quite high, but this also means that you can get a good price for your old phones (much better than the prices offered by those companies that send you a jiffy bag). Older DVDs can be picked up for £2-£3 on average ( but sometimes 50p!), and they will offer approximately 30p cash or 80p exchange for these. New DVDs are usually priced between £10-12, and if you are selling them you will be offered around £7 cash or £9 exchange. There have been a number of occasions when I have bought a dvd on eBay, watched it, and then sold it to CeX for double the price!

Prices at CeX soar at Christmas, so this is definitely the best time to sell to them. Last year I found that the average price I was getting for old dvds was £2-4 each.


**Staff**

I have found the staff to be very friendly and helpful, but I have also found that their opinions differ greatly in terms of quality. On two separate occasions I have sold mobile phones to CeX. One was brand new, had been out of the box a couple of times, but was bought as a cheap, basic spare phone, and ended up never being used. So it was 'as new'. The other was quite worn, with light cosmetic damage and a few missing accessories. Both were rated as condition 'B' by different staff members.
Similarly, I have bought DVDs and games that have been so scratched they wouldn't even play, whilst others I have tried to trade-in have been rejected for a few light scratches.


**My opinion**

My experiences of CeX have mostly been good, although there has been the odd occasion when I have felt that I should have gone elsewhere. These have mainly been related to poor quality purchases. They do offer a 12 month warranty on all of the goods, but I am not very likely to travel 20 miles to return a dodgy DVD that I only paid £4 for, and by the time I pay another visit I am not likely to still have the receipt.

The other problem I have had is, if you have a whole load of stuff to sell in one go, you don't get to see the individual prices you are receiving for the items until the transaction is complete. They hand you a receipt with your cash, and it's only then that you learn you have received 10p for a DVD you were expecting to get £3 for, due to their prices changing.

All in all though, I will continue to use CeX, but will make sure I check the prices on the website before I make the journey, and if I am exchanging or selling more expensive electrical items, I will make sure I do this in a separate transaction so that I know what price I am getting.
I will continue to get my DVDs there, despite it being a bit hit and miss, as you really can pick up some good bargains. I will just try to remember to keep my receipts from now on!

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