Add your feedback on gadget recycler Cex

Earthworm

I attempted to sell a brand new Galaxy S II, unopened, to CEX. I thought this would be easy:

Waited in a queue behind around 6 people all looking to sell phones. At the time didn't really notice the fact that nobody was actually making a sale. 15 mins passed and it was my turn. They took I've look at the phone and stated... "We are not buying at the moment, we have too many phones so we are only selling". It was only 15 minutes but a simple sign stating that they currently aren't buying phones would have saved the hassle of waiting.

I was also puzzled by how a company who's market is buying and selling handsets would choose to cut off one half of that market completely... Not even considering the phones that would make them the biggest profit (GSII was quite new at the time).

mikegahan

Looking at the selling price of phones on CEX, they are so expensive I am surprised anyone buys them, hence they cannot afford to buy in stock

m8ee

The best prices quoted online from other providers for a near-four year old iphone 3g 16gb was £48.

Took it to the CEX store in Leeds, where the preliminary indication was £95. It would have been pretty clear to them that I would have happily accepted this figure.

However, when I popped back an hour later after they'd tested the phone, was told it had been graded 'B' and so they gave me the slightly higher figure of £107.

(The phone had been heavily used in the last four years-or-so but lived in a protective case ...the only visible wear was around the headset socket and sync/charging slot.)

They wanted the power plug and charging cable (but not the headset). Although it still works fine, the cable that came with the iphone was clearly frayed and not acceptable to CEX.

However, I did have a genuine Apple, virtually unused cable that came with an ipad to offer up instead. That WAS acceptable.

This has been my first experience of dealing with CEX.

foreversomeday

Hi all, I work at Cex and just thought I'd come on to clear up a couple of things I've read on here which seem to be misunderstandings.

Firstly the grading system is really not as it says on the website. As employees we're told to grade phones and ipods as follows:

A grade = absolutely mint condition. Preferably never used at all but if it has been used, no scratches or marks on the item itself, must have a box (and must be the correct box for the item) and all accessories which originally came with the item. Headphones must be unused or they're not counted (who wants second hand headphones?)

B grade = missed out on A grade by one or two points. Might have e.g. headphones well used or missing, some very slight wear and tear on the item, but anything like a deep scratch, multiple scratches or drop marks will be an automatic C. If it misses out on two points (e.g. minor scratches AND missing headphones) then it's a C. Any third party accessories such as a charger will give you a C, usually.

C grade = anything else. TBH the majority of stock that comes in are C grades, especially ipod touches which scratch just by looking at them. The state of a C grade is going to vary massively from something that's in general good nick to something that's totally battered. And keeping your phone or ipod in a case doesn't always mean it will be in good enough condition to avoid the C grade. Phones still get wear and tear, it's unavoidable.

We're told to reject immediately anything that's got wet (moisture indicator is red or pink), has cracks (unfortunately including iphone 3s which crack very commonly) has dust or other marks under the screen, any dead pixels etc, or has heavy scratching on the screen. With cracked phones it's still worth asking for a price as sometimes the repair costs are small compared to the price CeX pay. Also, a couple of the blackberry models often fail due to compression damage to the screen, this is when you tilt the phone when it's on a white screen and you can see a "shadow" on it. This seems to happen even if you've been very careful with the phone but more likely if it's been carried around in a pocket and bashed around etc.

If your item gets rejected or graded lower than you expect you can ask to be shown the fault or reason why it was downgraded.

The grading is similar for consoles, to get a boxed price it needs to be mint with no scratches, although "extra" accessories generally get bought in separately. "Unboxed" means "mint without box", TBH I don't know why they bother having this grade, we rarely ever have cause to grade something Unboxed. Most consoles (especially handhelds) are Discounted which means there are scratches or marks on the unit itself. Also, anything like a mario kart game with the wheel or guitar hero set etc, unless you have the large cardboard box or case it originally came in the game and the accessory will be bought in separately.

WRT downloadable content/digital copies, because most D/C exists in the form of a one use code if the item is unsealed then we have no choice but to assume it has been used, there's no way of checking without actually using the code! So all DVDs, Blu rays and games are sold as "No D/C" even if the D/C is present and unused. Occasionally new games will have both a "sealed" and "unsealed" code on the system but this isn't always the case.

Some of the stores are franchises so staffing, policies etc will vary slightly from store to store and the online branch is a different kettle of fish entirely, but we have had complaints etc passed on to the store from the wecare email, so they do get through at least some of the time.

My tip is if you buy anything high value insist on using your membership card, this ties your account details to the order so that they can track it if you lose the receipt. If you do lose your receipt be calm and polite and explain the problem, try to remember as much detail about the transaction as you can (date, other items bought with, anything traded in). Also, if you ever pay with a voucher and only use part of the value on the voucher, ask to scan your membership card too. The "change" will print out on a second voucher but without a membership card present on the order it comes up as "Customer: unspecified" and again makes it really hard to trace in the event that you lose the voucher and need to get it reprinted. It does say on the voucher itself to treat it as cash as they can't be replaced but if you go back to the issuing store and are calm and polite (but insistent!) and explain the situation giving as much information as you can remember you might get lucky.

Generally that's good advice - if you are calm and polite but persistent and have as much information as you can remember without jumping around making ridiculous threats (of course the store's policies are legal... otherwise they wouldn't be nationwide policies!) then usually you'll find that people are more willing to help out. Of course you might be unlucky to find a store which has an unwilling manager or someone who's having a bad day, but generally they don't want to drive custom away.

blackeberg

After reading some of the stories on here I wasn't quite sure what to expect but my first go at trading in anything more valuable than a DVD went well. My 4th Gen iPod Touch has fallen into disuse since I got an iPad. As I work with students who might benefit from using tablets for education I decided to try trading it in towards a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7" as I need to keep up with Android as well.

Things didn't start too well. Whilst it was well used there were just a few minor blemishes on the back of the Touch and the screen was perfect. I was hoping for Grade B but was told that it was probably a C (I had the original packaging and accessories including unused headphones). The store I went to had also just sold the grade A tablet I was hoping to buy. Then things got better. A quick call to a partner store established that they could transfer one by the next morning. When I returned they had graded the Touch as a B even though I'd already indicated that I was happy to accept the exchange value for C grade. So for the sum of £30 I've upgraded from a two year old Touch that is about to be superseded by the 5th generation and got a good quality and much newer Android tablet to try out. I wasn't sure exactly what I'd get for the grade A price but as far as I can tell it's completely unused as all of the original protective stickers are still in place. I also got a good exchange price for my old DVDs.

bracken_hill

Having read some reviews I was apprehensive about selling my two iPhone 3Gs to CeX, but since they consistently came out top for the price they pay I thought I would risk it.

How sorry I am! Their gameplan seems to be to quote a decent price for goods, then downgrade them massively when they check them. I went from just shy of £250 in total for an A grade phone and a B grade phone, to £22 and £29 when they were both graded "F - not working".

This knocked around £100 off each phone, and CeX reason was that one did not charge correctly, and the WiFi did not work on the other - complete nonsense as I can demonstate now I have had them returned!

I should also add that the process took 7 weeks to complete from initial offer to having my phones returned - a littel more than the "1 week" they quote on their website!

I feel CeX rely on people not bothering with the hassle of getting their items returned after massive downgrades (and probably thinking CeX are correct and other vendors may tell them the same thing) - but please stand up for yourself!

They also have a sneaky clause that if tehy dont hear from you within 5 days of their valuation, they proceed! So if its too late and you have sent them something, keep a close eye on your account.

kaz21

Don't even bother with CEX.

I just sent them my Nokia E75 which I know worls perfectly well as I have been using it just for my music since I got my new phone and then for the past 6 months let my boyfriend borrow it as his main phone when he broke his iphone.

It took them 2 weeks to tell me they had downgraded it to F NOT WORKING £9 because of a "crackling speaker in call"

Erm fair enough this "may" be true but I can't say either of us ever noticed this so I can't say (I will be checking when I get it returned)!!!! But even if true this doesn't exactly downgrade it to NOT WORKING seeing as my boyfriend has been using it perfectly happily for the last few months!!! Clearly they would be selling it as a working phone!!!

I wouldn't even bother... yes the prices they offer are high but they will likely downgrade you to a ridiculously low price for some poor excuse and it will take them ages to do so too. Just go for the highest price you get from one of the phone recycling sites where it is much more likely to be honoured and will be dealt with far more efficiently and fairly than these scam artists.

mobilejunkie

I've used their internet site many times and not had any problems, always getting far more (apart from about 2 occasions) than any other site. Slow, yes - but also the most for me. I do now sell on Ebay though - mainly because CEX stopped sending out pre-paid envelopes.

JoRoDo

Just been down to the Portsmouth branch. Took an immaculate 20 month old HTC Desire in for exchange. The phone is unmarked (been in a protective rubber case and under a screensaver since day one), boxed with all accessories including charger & cable, unused earphones, spare rubber earbuds in a sealed bag and all the manuals/paperwork, etc. even the box still looks new...

CEX website said £83 for exchange if mint (or £62 cash).
In the store they said "no cash today" so I indicated that I was happy with exchange (I even asked him to keep a copy of Dishonoured on Xbox360 as I was planning to buy it as part of the exchange).
1 hour later I'm told that it was grade C due to scratches and only £58 exchange. When they pointed out one small (and she really had to look to find it) "scratch" on the back I wiped it off with my finger. She then said it was because it was missing some parts (at which point I opened the box and showed her that all accessories within).:mad:

In the end they wouldn't budge so I asked for it back. As I said at the counter, I might as well have kicked it around the streets instead for all the difference it would have made to the value..!

Here's the thing, CEX...
You would have been quids in:-

You would have sold the phone for £125 (according to your website).
I would have spent my £83 exchange in your store.

So ultimately you would have made £125 profit.

Good business sense there..? Not really because I'm so hacked off with my experience in your store I won't be back. The phone goes on ebay instead.

bobster999

When and what you did?

sold my iphone 4 in store, september 15th. took it in store to see if they'd buy it. was told they'd buy it for £187 which was the highest price anywhere. went back after 30 mins testing and was given the full amount.

also took my iphone 5 there 3 weeks ago to sell it as it was the highest price again. Was told to comeback after 30 mins so they could test it. went back and was given £613. got to catch the shops early so they have enough money in the safes though.

Was it fast and efficient?

yes

Did you get your cash promptly?

yes, after they tested my phone for 30 mins. a quick walk about town or a sit in a pub solved the wait.

Did you have any problems?

none at all

Did it pay what it said it would?

definitely. you're told beforehand what the price will be.


personally, i would never send them anything in the post though. that goes for any recycling company and not just CEX.