CeX Lives

Hmmm …

You know, I’ve got to admit, I’ve sort of been mulling this over: and hoping I’ll not get into any sort of trouble about it …

But there we go …

At any rate, I’ve got to admit, I’m now starting to happily get settled into my new job.

Which — in case you were wondering — is with a company called CeX.

Pronounced ‘sex’ so you know.

Leads to all sorts of fun when you’re handing out leaflets: can you imagine walking up too any of Brentwood’s monastic community and asking them if they’d like to talk about Sex … ?

The mind boggles: no, really …

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But …

Lets get serious, here, shall we … ?

Yes, I think think I should …

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Do you remember me telling you, a little while back, that I had a job interview to go for … ?

Well, I did …

The company in question was CeX: who’ve been going, now, for something like twenty or so years.

Old for a technology company, when you think about it, but relatively recent compared to many high-strett retailers

And what they do … ?

Or what we do, I should say … ?

Is simple.

We buy and sell second hand electronic kit.

Everything from games — for the Playstation 2, 3 and PSP, Xbox 360, Wii, DS and Game Cube — to films and TV series on DVDs and blu-ray.

To both the consoles, themselves, to TVs and monitors to connect them to, and laptops and desktops, as well.

AND second hand mobile phones, as well, so that you can tell your friends about the bargain you’ve picked up.

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You can imagine my reaction, when I realised that we had some fairly recent model second-hand Macs, can’t you … ?

And just as importantly, from where I’m sitting, still-sealed copies of iWorks ’09, iLife 11 and Microsoft Office 11: For Mac, as well.

Not that I’d be interested in the latter, you should know me better than that by now.

Lets get back on message, shall we … ?

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At any rate, what the company does is buy in second-hand bits of electronic kit.

We check the state of any DVD, Blu-ray and CDs we get in.

We also test any hardware we get, as well.

Say you want to sell us your old mobile phone*, for example. And, incidentally, want to buy one you’ve seen in our window.

You have to join up for membership, for starters. It’s a formality, really, and you need ID, but it means we can offer you cash for your phone, instead of just a credit note.

Once that’s done, we’ll take the phone in for testing: check it’s still capable of holding a battery charge, for one thing, and that it’s capable of making and receiving calls, and what ever else it may do. And that it’s not stolen, as well.

Usually, that can take anything up to an hour or so, depending on how busy the day is.

Once that’s done, we can give you a better idea of the price we can offer you — cash or credit note — which is when you decide that you’d like to either not bother.

Or accept the price we’re offering you.

Once you’ve done that … ? And made sure you’ve signed all the necessary paperwork … ?

That’s when we can start talking about that iPhoneº in the window you’re interested in.

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Now, I’ve got to admit, I’m hoping to come out of the initial trial period well.

And I’mstressing the hope, I should add.

After all, someone my age comes in expensive, going on the minimum wages we get.

So I’m hoping my time-keeping and general reliability counts in my favour, here.

And my customer facing experience, as well, even though it is with-in a different — very different — industry.

After some fifteen years in the licensed trade … ?

The change is challenging.

And all the more fun for that …

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* I’m using a phone as an example, here: the same basic procedure applies to any games consoles, computers or accessories you’d like to trade in.

º Blackberry, Nokia N90, what-have-you …