Review for CeX Arndale Manchester - A Wasted 24 Hours and a Damaged Device…read more I regret to say that my recent experience with CeX Arndale Manchester was not only deeply disappointing but also a telling symbol of why this company may not exist in the next 20 years. I handed in a pristine device, expecting a straightforward evaluation, only to have 24 hours of my time wasted, only to be told that my phone was "not sellable." More disturbingly, the device was returned to me with two fresh marks/scratches that were not there before. The damage was done, quite visibly, and the person who returned it to me a female staff member seemed unaware or indifferent to the fact that the device had clearly been mishandled during their assessment process. This kind of carelessness is not just unacceptableit i s corrosive to any customer-facing business. The irony here is tragic: the very company that prides itself on being a marketplace for used electronics seems to be accelerating its own obsolescence by treating both customers and their devices with such disregard. If this is how CeX treats the people it relies on to sustain its inventory, it's no wonder many consumers are moving toward decentralized tech trade-ins and platforms that operate with transparency, speed, and respect. In an age of intelligent automation, blockchain-based transactions, and next-gen peer-to-peer resale models, CeX's archaic and inconsistent service model epitomized by the careless behaviour I witnessed today is writing its own demise. It's no longer just about product margins; it's about trust, precision, and a future-ready approach. On all of these, CeX failed. This experience has left me unhappy and disillusioned, and unless there's a radical shift in professionalism and process, this may well be my last dealing with CeX.

I'm not the biggest fan of CeX, however, this store is okay, it is quite a large store, located…read moreinside the Manchester Arndale, close to TKMaxx and the new Halle Place Dining Quarter. CeX is a second-hand goods chain, of course, that means the products you are buying are used, I do find most of their prices to be a little expensive, especially on newer releases, CeX defends this by saying "They are trying to combine getting the best possible trade-in price and the best possible sales price", but I just think the trade-in price is often too low, and the sale price is often too high, on some newer releases in games/phones, the price can often be the same OR more expensive to buy the game from here, compared to a new version from a different retailer within the shopping entre or Amazon. Although the queuing system could be dealt with better and seems to be a little messy at times, the staff seem friendly enough. They do have some cheap hidden gems here of older games and DVD's which is pretty handy, which is probably the only reason I use this store for now. 3*

I like this Currys PC World location, located on the upper level of the Manchester Arndale, while…read moreit may not be as large as the typical Currys PC World warehouse-style stores, which you typically see in retail parks and standalone stores, it still is a rather good location. They have done well to pack a lot into a store of its' size without making it feel too cramped, they have a nice selection of electronics including TV's, computers and miscellaneous tech. Since the closure of all Carphone Warehouse stores, they have added a small Carphone Warehouse kiosk, from the same parent company into the store. The staff seem friendly enough and able to answer most questions I had for them. I do really like how the store is in the city centre, but with it being a mall location, there are limitations, for example, the product range isn't as large as other stores (It would have made more sense to move into the nearby Clas Ohlson unit which is larger), and parking can be an issue, you don't want to have to carry around a big heavy electronic item around a shopping centre into their overpriced parking, or other car parks nearby. Pretty good Currys PC World store, I do think it would be nice if they had a better selection of more premium and higher-end laptops and similar. 4*

I have ordered a Nest Mini (twice on separate occasions). Due to some problems, both orders were…read morecancelled. However, I still have not received a refund (this was a month ago). I am not from the UK, but have managed to call a few times and I always receive the same answer "tomorrow or the day after". There is no email where one can contact them and the webchat does not cover this situation (I have tried this too). The bank won't return the money unless Currys PC World gives me some proof of the cancelled order, but they cannot be contacted in any way (or I receive the previously mentioned answer).

Argos stores are a dying breed on the UK high-street now, which I have noticed even before the…read morepandemic started, a brand which was once in almost every town of the country, associated with the famous catalogue, in a digital era, gone are the day's, one would walk into an Argos store and browse the huge catalogue, writing down the product number on a tiny paper, now people will most likely order the item ahead online, to pick-up or pay in store. Many Argos concessions are now located inside Sainsbury's stores too, meaning the need for this store is even less. This location isn't too bad, located in the Manchester Arndale, it is located on the Upper Level, close to the inside steps to the Food Court, it is one of the largest Argos stores I've seen and often has most items in-stock, or avaliable to order online within a day or two. I do prefer to pay for the items online, as it can take a while for them to find your item in the warehouse. While the service is average, it can be a little slow even at the checkout. Most items are competitively priced for a high-street store, in some cases they price-match with Amazon, but they are rarely cheaper. 3* - This store is OK, but I can't see it lasting much longer with the company moving towards Argos stores, it wouldn't surprise me if they added a concession in the Sainsbury's at Regent Road, with pick-up points in the conviniance stores around the city.

Argos....oh Argos how we love you. We love the fact that we can go into the shop....open your…read morelittle catalogue and find anything and everythingwe could possibly need. We love the fact the fact that when we have found what we want we type in a little number and it tells it if you have it...which you normally do. We are estactic about the fact we get given a little ticket and then we can park our little bums and just wait for our number to be called. The glee on our faces when you bring our treasure from the never ending hidden storeroom. Argos we love you!

A veritable Alladin's Cave of bizarrely cheap items, Levenshulme Bargain Store is just another…read morecheap bargain tat shop. Just with way more stuff than others. And to be honest, I am a fan of these places. When you need a dustpan and brush for a quid or a pack of batteries, these shops are really useful, quick and very, very cheap. So I can't really complain. I got a 9v adapter from here that would have cost me at least £5 if not closer to £10 in Maplin for just £3. It won't last for ever but it works just fine for now and at £3 it's good enough for me. Like any bargain shop worth its salt, Levenshulme Bargain store stocks slippers, badminton racquets and oversized money saving tins.

I had a Samsung Galaxy S6 edge that wouldn't turn on, so i sent it to that repair shop, i thought…read morethe problem would be the battery, when the phone returned to me, the charging port was damaged and they stole my SIM card tray, i then went to the shop and asked for it back, and when i inserted my SIM card, it only says Emergency Calls Only, i tried 2 different SIM cards and tried them on different phones, they worked on the different phone but not on my S6 Edge, the owner also told me that it was me that broke the charging port when the charger used to plug in before i sent it to repair! When i rang in, they said it could not be fixed! I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE TO GO THERE!

My partner took her HTC 1 phone for repair, the asian male ( the owner ) said yes no problem we can…read morefix it, he took the phone and passed out a receipt. After a week my partner rang for an update on the phone, she was told that it couldn't be fixed, yet previously he said it could. When my partner picked the phone up the owner conveniently took the receipt off her and passed the phone back saying no it can't be fixed, on top of this the phone had been damaged further (the screws were damaged, the battery cover didn't fit back on and an electronic contact had been snapped off rendering the phone useless also the volume key was missing. Me and my partner visited the shop on the 10th April (A.M) to resolve this issue and we were told that ' this phone was never taken to the shop ' and he didn't have a clue what we were on about. This trader has been reported to trading standards and they have given us instructions and advice on resolving this issue. I would just like to add we are a couple in our 40's and don't have a habit of trying to get people in trouble but this is a really disgusting and incompetent way to treat the paying public.

Surely, one day, the combined power of ebay and massive chain stores offering cheaper prices will…read moreput shops like Central Radio will go out of business. Until that day, I'm quite happy that places that exist. You can go in and browse massive flat screen televisions and stereo systems without feeling the pressure from pushy sales assistants and bargain deals staring you in the face. In fact, the chap in Central Radio didn't even offer to help me in my search for some headphones. Was he being rude or just letting me have a look myself and consider my options? I'm going to quite happily go for the latter, if I needed help I would have asked. There isn't the most stock ever in Central Radio. They only really had one pair of headphones at around £10, everything seemed like a much more serious investment at around £30. Central Radio is definitely the shop to visit if you want to spend some time really investigating and discussing your technology options.

My father makes me laugh. Whenever he talks about Maplin, he says, 'You don't want to talk to the…read moreguys on the floor. You want to talk to the ones they keep in the back, they're the experts.' I have to say, whenever I've gone into Maplin when one of the men in my life has been in there, I've always stood by for a good twenty minutes while they engage the assistants in a very technical conversation. Last time I experienced this I was sceptical as I listened, thinking, those questions are way too specific for a sales assistant. How wrong I was. Out came incomprehensible jargon about wattage and cables and warmth and flange. Some of that may have been made up. Oh mercy me. This guy was only a blooming expert. So it's safe to say that Maplin employ people who know what they're talking about. Similarly, ages ago my father was buying some kind of cable that would... do something with the computer and the TV. Again, the guy spoke another language, one my dear dad perfectly understood. The one beef I do have with Maplin is that things seem a tad unnecessarily expensive in there, when it comes to things like adapters for European plug sockets and the like. But as well as a range of intricate electrical goods, fusers, gender changers (gender changers?), they do sell fun stuff, such as electronic gifts for kids and computer table accessories. It's a great little standby that exists in our very own delightful Regent Retail Park, and is a great place to pop in if that essential cable, scart lead or something else electronic isn't available in your average supermarket. The staff are particularly helpful, as I've demonstrated, and the shop is laid out simply and cleanly, making it easy to navigate. As for those experts in the back, well, I do wonder why they keep them there. Perhaps there's a fine line between flash sales assistant and fully-fledged nerd in the world of Maplin (see also, Apple Stores)...

Is there anything better than listening to Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong croon 'A Foggy Day' or…read more'They Can't Take That Away From Me?' The only thing I can think of is listening to Ella and Louis on a Bang & Olufsen stereo. I don't have the bling to buy one myself but I have a couple of friends that own B&O stereos and the sound is A*M*A*Z*I*N*G. If I had a spare five to nine hundred pounds in my pocket, I'd be in the shop right now, trying to decide which system to buy. As it is, I'm enjoying the crackles of my dad's old Technics deck spinning a worn out copy of Ella & Louis on vinyl. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma91kie8G3A

There's nothing better than tuning yourself to the crisp, bassful, and surrounded sound that comes…read morefrom the Bang & Olufsen headphones plugged to your ipod! Luckily I was gifted this one on my birthday by my dearest parents. B&O can just blow your mind off! This store is more than Awesome and starry eyes can describe! If you're a techno-freak and love just being around steroes and some thumping sounds, this place has it all to captivate you thoroughly! I personally couldn't go ahead and just buy one of the gems in here, but if you're looking at sprucing up your place with some noise, and have the bling to ka-ching! B&O, is your stop!

I went to Audio-T in search for a new pair of Hi-Fi speakers…read more I called a day earlier to specify what I was looking for and the setup I currently have. When I turned up the next day everything was installed in their acoustic room. I took a few CDs with me that I know are well recorded and represent the range of my tastes...and a little extra to push the buggers as well ;-) Great experience, I spent about 1.5 hours in the room, trying it on at all volumes, when I wanted other speakers they only obliged to swap and left me to make my own mind up...offering advice when solicited. They are obviously salesmen, a shop has to survive, but they do not seem to play the customer for the sake of it. They have a great range of gear and you can try it all so spend the time you need doing your research then go speak to these guys.

From the owner: Audio T is a specialist Hi-Fi retailer and offers you a range of premium two channel stereo and…read moremulti-channel home cinema products. We love music and film and are passionate about sound quality.