Have you noticed recently all those adverts on TV offering to buy your gold if you send it to them?…read moreApparently the value of gold has soared in the last year or so and everyone is cashing in their sovereigns and hoops. I came to May's to do that, and got a rather reasonable £60 for something I never would have worn again. If you're really desperate, you can pawn something you DO want back on the premise that they'll loan you the amount it's worth. They'll keep the item for up to 7 months, although I don't like the idea of not being able to keep up with the repayments (plus their interest) and losing that cherished heirloom forever... There's loads of great deals on second hand and new jewellery too, with diamond rings starting as little as £50 and continuing upwards of £2,000 but when I look at some pieces I can't help wondering whether the previous owners were unlucky or willing sellers.

I've shopped with Mays for over 20 years and have always received great service from the staff!…read more Their prices are really competitive and they offer great prices when pawning items too. Highly recommend to everyone I know!

Cash Generator is a big chain of used goods buying and selling retailers in the UK, this branch is…read morethe chain's only store in Manchester city centre (as I recall), located in the Northern Quarter, just a stone's throw away from Piccadilly Gardens and the Morrisons. I really don't like this store however which is a shame, I'd even class it down a level from CeX from the entire experience, the latter who have a branch nearby in Manchester Arndale and are the only similar store I'm aware of so throughout this review, I feel the need for comparison is in order. The prices Cash Generator give for items I'd say are nowhere near acceptable or even competitive, while CeX tends to buy items, Cash Generators seems to be more like a branded payday loan company, and they often offer a buyback of your goods. Most recently, I went into the store to trade in my old airpods and I was offered £50, this is compared to CeX who offer between 84-100 pounds, and around £100 can also be fair for resell value on online retailers such as eBay, so offering such a low price I found to be insulting by the less than friendly staff. The store its-self doesn't seem to be really inviting or well maintained and in its' own sense is quite poor, the only good thing about it is the location and in this case location alone doesn't save this poor store which does everything wrong: higher than average pricing, insulting (poor and low) offers for buying used goods in a store which feels old, dirty and just far from the place to be. 1*

I cannot explain the boyf's love of Cash Generator. I just can't. Every damn time we happen to be…read moreanywhere near the Northern Quarter, he drags me to "Cash Converters" (he love sit, but gets its name wrong every time), then spends a good twenty minutes looking at everything on offer (apart from the tellies, which I would have thought would be of most interest) before leaving without getting anything. I think he's looking for CDJs, to be honest, but given they retail at about £3k, I really doubt he'll find any here. What he did find, one day, though, was a VCR for his 'rents, for £6. Let me explain the boyf's 'rents to you. They are lovely people who dote on their only son, and spend a ridiculous amount of money on him. However, they never seem to want to spend anything on themselves. Hence they are still using a telly that is older than the boyf himself, and may indeed pre-date the discovery of television itself. Said relic only works when run through a VCR, or something. The boyf explained the particulars; I wondered if there was any nutritional gain in fur after finding a cat hair in my mouth. Anyway, to cut a long story short, their ancient telly broke, and the boyf 'fixed' it by buying them some other ancient relic from Cash Generator. Where was I? I've gotten confused. Hmmm. OK, we'll do a nice little summary here for all those who might have gotten bored when I started talking about old tellies. In short, CG sells pretty much everything you probably don't need, and does a decent line in tellies too. Don't expect to fiond professional-grade DJ equipment here, but don't be put off; there are always bits and bobs that might come in handy for the aspiring bedroom DJ. Oh, and once, I saw a Hannah Montana karaeoke machine here. It was only £12. Where else can you pick up a VCR, a broken turntable and a piece of pink, Disney branded, jailbait merch whilst also offloading your old DVD player and turning your GOLD into CASH, as they say?

This is a sweet little jewellers that it had never occured to me to go inside until recently. I…read morewent with my mother as she had decided to sell some old, gold chains while the price was still high. And she preferred to do it locally rather than for some jacked up website. So whilst she sorted out the nitty gritty financial details with the proprietor, myself and some old biddies (for these are the customers it seems of The Village Jewellers) browsed the sensible, elegant pieces on display. I overheard one old lady talking about which bracelet she would get for her grand-daughter and hopefully the one she picked out wouldn't be flung to the back of a drawer. Most of the silver and pendants in here are too delicate to be 'fashion' and would get lost in most young outfits. But for ze older lady, as I shall put it, there is much to love here. Nothing extravagant, no giant chokers or anything crazy - just good craftsmanship and the tender loving care of the owners.

From the owner: At Donnells Jewellers & Pawnbrokers, our experienced jewellers can help you find the perfect piece…read morefor any occasion. We also buy old jewellery and repair broken items.

I have never quite understood Cash Converters. I suppose they are a good idea for people who are…read morestruggling for some money and that. But I just don't think they are worth it. I went in once with a brand new Sony camera that I paid £200 pound for. I only had it a few weeks so did not need it anymore and they offered me £45.00!! I walked straight out of there. But then I got random strangers saying I will buy it! I did not like that aspect of it. You do get a few weirdos in there who are after anything or want to sell everything. Its very weird indeed! But if you do want to sell stuff then you can do here if you want. They cash cheques too. Have a look at their website.