Add your feedback on gadget recycler Cex

Former_MSE_Archna

This is a feedback thread on gadget recycling firm

Cex

Important Note: Cex was previously removed from the Sell Old Mobiles article due to poor feedback from MoneySavers and off for around 18 mths.

Cex says it has substantially improved the process so we have reinstated its inclusion.

As we know it's not been good in the past please share your RECENT experience of Cex with other MoneySavers. Click reply to take part and please share

• When and what you did?
• Was it fast and efficient?
• Did you get your cash promptly?
• Did you have any problems?
• Did it pay what it said it would?

The feedback comes as part of the

Mobilevaluer.com comparison tool

instupituous_2

Must have been fate.

Was bought a Galaxy Tab in November. It has developed serious issues, it will lock up completely and does not respond. It has savage amounts of lag doing normal operations and I haven't even got a huge amount of apps installed. Perhaps 20. Complained to Cex and I almost wish I hadn't. The person in the email said that all smartphones suffer from these issues and that his Hero also suffers from lag and I should have bought a phone with more RAM! I explained to him my RAM usage is not excessive and showed him screen captures to prove it.

Showed him RAM usage with 12 apps open including 3/4 games and just had 60% RAM usage. He then came out with a true gem of a reply and said "smartphones have these sort of issues, just look at apple with their alarm clock issues" I find it difficult to compare poor performance and a phone that crashes whenever it wants to in the same ball park as a simple alarm clock bug! I also mentioned that I had uninstalled my apps and reinstalled one at a time to see if it was a poorly coded app but it didn't solve my problems. If Cex have improved I haven't seen it. I haven't received the offer or a repair or replacement but in reality I'd just like my money back. The way I see it, more than likely it was sold to them with these problems but it didn't manifest itself in the testing process.

Exhortation

Went to CEX at the beginning of December to sell my old Blackberry 9000 because they were offering £115 for an A grade, unlocked phone. Got there for opening time and was seen quickly. Guy told me he'd probably give me £96 as it looked more like a B than an A but that, once checked, it might come back as an A. Went back that lunchtime and was seen by someone else. Guy obviously didn't have a clue as he couldn't even get the phone out of the box! He looked at it, mumbled a few times and then went off "to see his manager". It was obvious at this point that the phone had not been checked over. He came back and offered me £67!!! I politely refused and walked out. When I got home I checked on their website and £67 was the price for a C grade phone locked to Three. I lodged a complaint through their website but only got told that the manager of the shop would investigate. I've heard nothing else since. I subsequently sold the phone to a lad I go to uni with and he's perfectly happy with it. I won't be rushing back to CEX. My advice is to avoid them.

sparky93

As a buyer, bought 2 nokia e71's a few months apart. paid about 90quid each. one boxed and one without. they were locked to 3. I had 3 unlock them foc, and i learnt that they were ex contract and the owners had payed off the term early. grumbling about the reliability of said fones.
Admitedly i to found bugs, but i then found early firmware. flashed updated and all ok. thats when i found the 2nd one there. that was early fw too, so bourght it, and as above, did the same for unlocking. flashed and all ok. so sometimes a bargain can be had.

ioscorpio

I have only used CEX in store and received A grade price, except the last phone I sold, which I think they downgraded to a B as they did not enough time to check it before the store closed. As I lived 13 miles away, I did not want to have to go back. Now they have opened a store in my town, so I won't have that problem again. I have found their offer prices to usually be the best.

bengalknights

Usually i find there prices reasonable when selling to them but would rather ebay the phones as i get more money over ebay.

mobilejunkie

I use them a lot - but only by internet/post. I've had at least one (possibly two) phones that went missing but they almost invariably pay the best prices (by far) and (unlike some others according to the multiple feedback on here) do pay the money they promise (I think I had just on phone where they downgraded it - all the rest were as it said on the tin). I have warned against them some time back after one of these bad experiences, but as long as I assess the risk of lost items in the post and accept or counter them (by paying higher postage costs - which I generally don't!) I am reasonably confident in prompt payment of the price agreed straight into my bank account within a (very) few days.

I do get a lot of contracts and just about always sell the phones before they even arrive. The contract I choose often depends on the CEX buying price of the relevant phone(s), since I also only use cashback schemes and always expect to make the maximum overall profit on top of totally free bundles. It fits in nicely if you know what you're doing and cover yourself.

In summary, given that the prices offered on other sites are almost invariably a lot less than CEX, no site can be responsible for Royal Mails' incompetence and that (in my experience) they pay what is agreed by whatever mthod very promptly I hardly ever search for prices on other sites. Of course, that will change if what I have said changes - and things do change (which is why an updated feedback thread like this is timely!). I do think differentiating the shops from dealing on-line may be important though.

linuxsapien

I wanted to get rid of a couple of gadgets, so a recent trip to Edinburgh I took four with me. 20 minutes prior to visiting the store, I checked the cost of what I would get.

Lets just say they seem to just make up prices as they go along.. I never let them have any of the phones. Upon checking the site after my visit, the price had changed to exactly what they quoted. Suspicious?

Just be prepared for the pungent smell that seems to permeate.. Unfortunately they don’t seem to notice or mind. Perhaps a simple plug-in perfume would help? But then, two of the guys I spoke to had horrific breath also, so I guess its all down to lack of personal hygiene...

I wont be back in.

spanisheyes

Checked the trade-in value of Samsung J700 (£24) and C3050 (£25) this morning, took both mobiles to Liverpool shop today was quoted by female assisant £16 and £12, queried why as on MSE valuer prices above, the reply was those prices are for "New Phones that are unlocked", Thanked assisant for her help, what help!!!, definely not customer friendly staff, basic manners to start with.
Would rather put them in the bin, be warned !!!

Cherez

Be very careful with CEX, I brought an iphone from them, couldn't get it to connect so rang my provider who informed me the phone was blacklisted as a stolen item, you cannot telephone CEX, it all has to be done by e mail now, so I await their response when I take it back to the store tomorrow.

Fiddlestick

nutellajunkie wrote: »

I wanted to get rid of a couple of gadgets, so a recent trip to Edinburgh I took four with me

Just be prepared for the pungent smell that seems to permeate.. Unfortunately they don’t seem to notice or mind. Perhaps a simple plug-in perfume would help? But then, two of the guys I spoke to had horrific breath also, so I guess its all down to lack of personal hygiene...

On the subject of the Edinburgh CEX store, one of the staff members there only has one arm and he is a shining example of what you can do when you put your mind to it and refuse to be held back by a "disability".

He could easily sit back and have a life mooching off the benefits system but instead he goes out and works for a living.

I don't know if he smells or not, but he's a real inspiration :T