I wonder if CEX shops are like charity shops. Everyone says you find the best charity shop clothes in like Kensington and Chelsea, where rich people go to drop off their fancy clothes. I wonder if there’s a CEX that has a shit ton of rare and exciting games. Or if they’re all a little bit like TK Maxx where you just have to buckle in and flick through, hoping to come across a gem. 😅
I remember the GAME in Oxford Street was the pinnacle for finding brand new PlayStation games second hand, as it was where all the PS office employees came to trade in their monthly free games they didn’t want. 🤫
If something bad ever happens to me it'll be this one hahaha, got all sorts knocking about over here. If I had the means (and a decent camera) I'd probably visit every CEX and rank them for a YouTube video; whenever I order something that's more on the rare/expensive side it always seems to come from the North.
I've sort of always been a retro gamer and stuck with the PS2/GameCube/Xbox until 2009 and playing these consoles that late was AMAZING for cheap games. GAME used to have 3 for 2 deals on PS2 games, it was so cheap that I had about 200 PS2 games at one point
Interesting thing about CEX and the pronunciation which I learned through Spotify adverts - the C is said with an S sound, so now imagine saying it out loud 🤣
These kind of shops are great. Though they do remind me of when I had to sell my older consoles like the Master System, Mega Drive and Saturn to get the next generation. When you're a child, saving pocket money only got you so far, so you had to also sell your real estate. I now really regret having to do that, so now all my older consoles are packed up under my bed, never to be sold. You never know when you'll want to play them again.
It was great to read about your shopping trip though, much more fun than when I usually go shopping!
I still haven't worked up the testicular fortitude to say it as you're supposed to haha
I relate to this paragraph so much: my old Pikachu N64, my gnarled GameCube controller, my first DS... no other choice as a kid (and with the logistics of a long distance move) but damn, some of the things I owned are worth a lot of money now: too much to justify rebuying with my current income.
I can assure you, my regular nips up to Asda aren't quite this good either
I had a gem of a retro game/movie shop in my college town. We'd walk down to it during lunch breaks, go through all the shelves and always find something new or special. They'd let you try anything you wanted before buying, even plugging in a console to one of the TVs so you could test a game. It's where I got almost every Gamecube game I ever played, my DS and 3DS, and more gifts than I can remember.
Covid effectively killed off small-medium business on the British high street so I don't know of any other retro shops besides CEX which is a crying shame, as much as I enjoy the chain.
Try before you by should be the norm, I miss the little kiosks in the 2000's where they had the 360, Wii or PS3 running for you to give them a whirl
I worked at a CEX for about six months. We had some pretty cool stuff come through, some stuff I grabbed for myself even. However, the manager was an dead set, no holds bared, card carrying wombat buggerer. A more horrible person you're likely never to meet.
He was as useless at his job as a glass door on a dunny as well. He'd constantly stuff things up and try to blame it on others. He broke a PS3 we had bought in (I saw him do it) and then bailed up the youngest staff member and told him off, trying to put the blame on him. I stood up for the kid and this toss pot threatened to fire me until I said "lets see what the union has to say about it."
While he would give me a wide birth after that, he kept harassing young/ newer staff. We reported him a few times to head office, even spoke to one of their reps face to face. Guess what was done. Absolutely bugger all.
I'm sure not every store had a manager like that, but the fact that the head office did nothing really left a sour taste in my mouth. Won't shop there at all now.
It's funny you mention bad CEX managers because infamously, all CEX shops were removed from The Getaway: Black Monday on the PS2 because the manager of a CEX pilfered a copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga that a top developer had asked to be reserved for himself
They run a franchise model which I imagine explains the variation so much
Speaking of pilfering, due to said managers attitude SO much was nicked from that store. If people had their eye on something, they'd just take it because fuck him. They'd put it down as damaged or lost which would reflect badly on the manager as he's responsible for the stuff on its way between stores. And I don't mean just the odd DVD or game, but at least one person flogged aa PS4, another a VR headset.
Thanks for taking us on a little shopping trip. Most weekends we end up in one of the three CEX near us as there is always something different to look at. 😅 such a shame there aren’t more shops nowadays but I hope this one stays. My local one was so nice when I traded in a lot of stuff a few years ago including camera equipment. It’s a nice place to sell in and shop in. 🎉
From what I understand they're doing brilliant financially (good enough to sponsor a Formula 1 team this season) but heartily agree more variety is better. I had a friend who bought camera equipment from CEX and said it was good and I have very rarely been sold faulty goods, I think they check the items over quite well.
Yeah they seemed to care although like you mentioned about the yellow dream cast, some things could do with cleaning a bit more 😅 I hadn’t see that they were sponsoring F1. I’m sure I’ll notice it soon. My other half watches as a hobby. I don’t pay that much attention 😂 as a kid I was into it when it was the M Schuhmacher era
I spent a month studying music in London some 5 years ago and paid a visit to a CEX store. Terrific stuff, came back with both Master System Sonic games for 2 bucks each.
Thanks for taking us on a little shopping trip. Most weekends we end up in one of the three CEX near us as there is always something different to look at. 😅 such a shame there aren’t more shops nowadays but I hope this one stays. My local one was so nice when I traded in a lot of stuff a few years ago including camera equipment. It’s a nice place to sell in and shop in. 🎉
I wonder if CEX shops are like charity shops. Everyone says you find the best charity shop clothes in like Kensington and Chelsea, where rich people go to drop off their fancy clothes. I wonder if there’s a CEX that has a shit ton of rare and exciting games. Or if they’re all a little bit like TK Maxx where you just have to buckle in and flick through, hoping to come across a gem. 😅
I remember the GAME in Oxford Street was the pinnacle for finding brand new PlayStation games second hand, as it was where all the PS office employees came to trade in their monthly free games they didn’t want. 🤫
If something bad ever happens to me it'll be this one hahaha, got all sorts knocking about over here. If I had the means (and a decent camera) I'd probably visit every CEX and rank them for a YouTube video; whenever I order something that's more on the rare/expensive side it always seems to come from the North.
I've sort of always been a retro gamer and stuck with the PS2/GameCube/Xbox until 2009 and playing these consoles that late was AMAZING for cheap games. GAME used to have 3 for 2 deals on PS2 games, it was so cheap that I had about 200 PS2 games at one point
That’s an interesting question! I’ll have to have a little explore 😅
Interesting thing about CEX and the pronunciation which I learned through Spotify adverts - the C is said with an S sound, so now imagine saying it out loud 🤣
These kind of shops are great. Though they do remind me of when I had to sell my older consoles like the Master System, Mega Drive and Saturn to get the next generation. When you're a child, saving pocket money only got you so far, so you had to also sell your real estate. I now really regret having to do that, so now all my older consoles are packed up under my bed, never to be sold. You never know when you'll want to play them again.
It was great to read about your shopping trip though, much more fun than when I usually go shopping!
I still haven't worked up the testicular fortitude to say it as you're supposed to haha
I relate to this paragraph so much: my old Pikachu N64, my gnarled GameCube controller, my first DS... no other choice as a kid (and with the logistics of a long distance move) but damn, some of the things I owned are worth a lot of money now: too much to justify rebuying with my current income.
I can assure you, my regular nips up to Asda aren't quite this good either
I had a gem of a retro game/movie shop in my college town. We'd walk down to it during lunch breaks, go through all the shelves and always find something new or special. They'd let you try anything you wanted before buying, even plugging in a console to one of the TVs so you could test a game. It's where I got almost every Gamecube game I ever played, my DS and 3DS, and more gifts than I can remember.
Covid effectively killed off small-medium business on the British high street so I don't know of any other retro shops besides CEX which is a crying shame, as much as I enjoy the chain.
Try before you by should be the norm, I miss the little kiosks in the 2000's where they had the 360, Wii or PS3 running for you to give them a whirl
I worked at a CEX for about six months. We had some pretty cool stuff come through, some stuff I grabbed for myself even. However, the manager was an dead set, no holds bared, card carrying wombat buggerer. A more horrible person you're likely never to meet.
He was as useless at his job as a glass door on a dunny as well. He'd constantly stuff things up and try to blame it on others. He broke a PS3 we had bought in (I saw him do it) and then bailed up the youngest staff member and told him off, trying to put the blame on him. I stood up for the kid and this toss pot threatened to fire me until I said "lets see what the union has to say about it."
While he would give me a wide birth after that, he kept harassing young/ newer staff. We reported him a few times to head office, even spoke to one of their reps face to face. Guess what was done. Absolutely bugger all.
I'm sure not every store had a manager like that, but the fact that the head office did nothing really left a sour taste in my mouth. Won't shop there at all now.
It's funny you mention bad CEX managers because infamously, all CEX shops were removed from The Getaway: Black Monday on the PS2 because the manager of a CEX pilfered a copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga that a top developer had asked to be reserved for himself
They run a franchise model which I imagine explains the variation so much
Speaking of pilfering, due to said managers attitude SO much was nicked from that store. If people had their eye on something, they'd just take it because fuck him. They'd put it down as damaged or lost which would reflect badly on the manager as he's responsible for the stuff on its way between stores. And I don't mean just the odd DVD or game, but at least one person flogged aa PS4, another a VR headset.
I see nothing wrong with this haha
Thanks for taking us on a little shopping trip. Most weekends we end up in one of the three CEX near us as there is always something different to look at. 😅 such a shame there aren’t more shops nowadays but I hope this one stays. My local one was so nice when I traded in a lot of stuff a few years ago including camera equipment. It’s a nice place to sell in and shop in. 🎉
No worries! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
From what I understand they're doing brilliant financially (good enough to sponsor a Formula 1 team this season) but heartily agree more variety is better. I had a friend who bought camera equipment from CEX and said it was good and I have very rarely been sold faulty goods, I think they check the items over quite well.
Yeah they seemed to care although like you mentioned about the yellow dream cast, some things could do with cleaning a bit more 😅 I hadn’t see that they were sponsoring F1. I’m sure I’ll notice it soon. My other half watches as a hobby. I don’t pay that much attention 😂 as a kid I was into it when it was the M Schuhmacher era
I spent a month studying music in London some 5 years ago and paid a visit to a CEX store. Terrific stuff, came back with both Master System Sonic games for 2 bucks each.
Thanks for taking us on a little shopping trip. Most weekends we end up in one of the three CEX near us as there is always something different to look at. 😅 such a shame there aren’t more shops nowadays but I hope this one stays. My local one was so nice when I traded in a lot of stuff a few years ago including camera equipment. It’s a nice place to sell in and shop in. 🎉