Used to work at CEX, was literally informed of this in a team meeting. And we were told to simply not address it if a customer called us out on it. smh
Not sure how the laws are exactly there in the UK, but in the it is illegal for just the Nintendo logo alone. Every Nintendo game in the US with the exception of a handful like some old Tengen games, has an Official Nintendo Seal of Quality. Copying that portion of the artwork could be considered a false respresntation of the product for sale. They have no right to claim a product's quality on Nintendo's behalf.
I tried to buy a rare ps2 game from cex and they tried to sell at full price of over £60.00 with no manual, scanned cover and a dvd case, when I could purchase on ebay for 100% full experience. Caveat emptor. Cex can be good but be careful.
Hi Pomelo, just thought I'd add my 2 cents as an ex-employee for CeX. This is definitely an issue and as I've wondered around the stores, I have noticed this myself and whilst not overly bothered about it with your typical games, I do think it is outrageous that they would do such a thing with classics with such a high price tag. They should indeed make a very generic version and sell it as disc only as it'd be better for both parties. I say I don't see much a problem with your standard 360, PS3, PS4 and Xbox One games though due to the fact that if you had really saw the condition of some of the game cases, you definitely wouldn't have bought them in the first place so this is definitely better than a damaged copy of the original IMO. As well as this, with a lot of games, there are many of the same to choose from so it isn't really an issue. This however is more of a problem of the sales assistants due to the fact that some stores are so lenient with the conditions they accept and aren't as strict as other stores. You also had mentioned that some stores operate differently, this is due to the fact that many CeX's are franchised stores which are much stricter on what they take in. I've also found out that if you have bought one of these games without knowing, in some stores, if you make enough of a fuss about it, they'll just refund you back to how you had originally paid. This isn't in every store however, it is with some. It is definitely something worth knowing. As a company, CeX are very bad once you know the ins and outs of it. The pay is minimum wage, the prices are sky high (you can get half of the stuff brand new for the same price (there are some very good deals mind you)) and the way you're treated varies from store to store. They're definitely in it to make the maximum amount of money possible and in the process, they screw their staff and their customers over. I wish you the best of luck with your complaint! Anyway, I'm open to a discussion so if you have anything further, feel free to ask.
Actually CeX closed their doors in the US back in January, which is unfortunate for me as a consumer, however as an ex-employee, I say good riddance. CeX was a cancer of an employer and treated their employees terribly.
Here in Newcastle it’s even worse. They put a thin bit of paper in with a really low quality casual print inside of a flimsy plastic case. They really need to stop, its so irritating when I find a game that I’ve always wanted in my collection there but it doesn’t have a good and genuine case.
I complained once and they gave me some bull about them being allowed to do it, then when I tried to trade in a game that they had printed (and it even had CEX printed on the inside of the sleeve) they wouldn't take it
I think your argument is probably correct but citing a US case as legal precedent for UK shops potentially breaking UK law is wrong. US cases are not a precedent in UK law.
I used to really like using CEX back in the day but their prices are crap now even used PS4 games are more expensive than what I can get new from Amazon, since they hopped on the retro games bandwagon a few years ago they have helped contribute to the over inflation of retro games in the UK. They also look for anyway possible to screw you over a trade in to pay you as little as Possible. As for this case you should certainly contact BBC Watchdog because it's illegal especially using the wrong PEGI ratings for some games.
yo, ex employee here, can almost guarantee that no sleeves are printed off because they're "damaged", it's always because the actual case for the software has been lost (customer's move things around on the shop floor all the time, or steal the cases thinking there's discs inside). If a staff member was trying to sell a game/movie/whatever and they couldn't find the case, they'd just order one (provided the sale value of the media with the missing case actually made it worthwhile). CeX till systems have a feature that lets you take an item off stock and auto-request a printed media sleeve to be sent out, the disc is put to one side and in a week or so the postman brings in all the printed sleeves and the items are put back on stock. There's always an excess of blank cases in stores so staff just put the sleeves in whatever case most resembles the old one (PS Vita and DS/3DS cases are used interchangeably in this instance lol). Idk on the legality of printing anything off but as a rule I don't think CeX really care about legality in anything they do. I think CeX try and avoid the issue entirely because on the receipts or labels on the cases they never explicitly state that the customer is buying anything more than the software- but that doesn't excuse that some company prints off trademarked stuff and posts them out to stores. IMO CeX should just take the loss and take games off stock if any original case is lost on the shop floor, but upper management don't accept losing out on the profits so this method was created. It's only been in use about 18 months or so (companywide) but some stores might have been doing it themselves for years. p.s. as a rule, in my store we never sent out anything with a printed sleeve on an e-commerce order or whenever we sold one in store we made it clear to the customer before buying it that the sleeve wasn't genuine. But we had a relatively small number of printed sleeves compared to other stores, so I don't know if they followed the same practices.
> we never sent out anything with a printed sleeve on an e-commerce order [...] But we had a relatively small number of printed sleeves compared to other stores, so I don't know if they followed the same practices. I got a few DVD's through the site with the fake covers, so it seems like some stores weren't following your practices.
I have games what don't have covers so I made copies of them. But at the back of the game cover you have a barcode in that space I put reproduce copy that way I've covered myself.
i went to my shelf after i watched it and found that 12 game cube games where fake covered i paid full price for a fake game covered game and half the time the games didint work
Cex are also doing this with DVD's - found a copy of Londons Burning Series 10 in a local shop last week and the sleeve didn't look right compared to a series one copy they also had - sure enough the inside was white and there was the CEX logo .They were asking 22 quid for it - the series one by the way was £6 with a genuine inlay.
Thanks for this Mr Pomelo. I noticed a while back when I was in Glasgow for the PlayExpo that CeX had a tonne of printed PS2 inlays. They were all black and white prints and were not discounted from a version that would be genuine. I never noticed it in my local stores. Rest assured after this video I have checked my whole collection as I've lost track of the stuff I've got from CeX. Luckily I've not been stung. Shame for the people that have. Again, thanks for the heads up. Will be checking every time now
It's frustrating as I've often picked up a game that I've been looking for and then had to put it back once realising it's a fake case. But the blatancy of it staggers me and how they're convinced it's okay to do. There's a reason other stores use their own generic cases... and it's called copyright law.
Pomelo Pictures you're right and it does need to stop. If they get away with what's to stop other retailers doing the same thing. Would be a nightmare. The boxed/mint situation is frustrating. Many a time I've made the drive to a random CeX to splash out on a mint game only to find the box being damaged etc. Keep us updated on the case with Trading Standards, be interesting to hear their stance on this
It’s very cheeky of them. It’s also really disappointing when you make a trip to one of their store because you see a rare game in stock only to find it’s effectively a disc only copy. The line in your vid that worried me most is the bit about them replacing ‘damaged’ copies. How damaged? Because a slightly damaged copy of a rare game will always be more valuable than a pristine reproduction.
I go to the cex store at huddersfield and did an experiment with a freind. We bought a brand new iPhone 6. We unwrapped the box and took it in, I must remind everyone we didn't take anything off the iPhone, left the screen cover on. Anyway long story short the guy at the counter takes it out starts looking at it as anyone who has sold a phone there knows. We won't go into details but he says its a grade c .to which i replied it was brand new and hasn't been used and asked if he could show me a random grade c iPhone , but he wouldn't. My point is whether phones, games, or consoles I'm just fed up of getting ripped off. Games by the way mafia 3 ps4 cex £12.99 sainsburys brand new £7.99 . Gta v cex £32.99 sainsburys brand new £24.99 .honestly I could go on . Keep up the good work.
I hear you, Tony. Some of the stores over here just do not give a crap about poor service and/or rip-off prices for decades. It pisses me off to the core mate.
They've been doing this for years. There is no sticker indicating as much either. I almost bought a few games but I have quite a good eye for such things.
Thank you for the heads up. As a long time gamer and collector this pisses me off. And I'll keep that in mind when I go to any retro store in the future. Great to see ya back always enjoy your videos.
I saw a video from CEX explaining this and the game companies send them the image files to use, sometimes they get games with damaged sleeves or missing sleeves so to be able to sell them games they need to print off a fresh sleeve for the game 😂 people getting triggered over a legal practice.
This is a fantastic video. I was in the Birmingham store myself a couple of months ago and saw two reprinted Gamecube labels. I must admit I didn’t look any further or at any other console as I thought it was a one off and had also never seen it in the Solihull store
found you from top hat gaming man. This whole situation is wrong on so many levels. People like us will always catch fakes, but the average consumer has no clue which is why they think they can get away with this. Gamestop in the states is known for not including the original case or manual with the majority of anything you order online. Its more of a luck of the draw which is why many dont buy from them online anymore. Also they have had high dollar retro carts with switched boards and repro labels. All kinds of stuff gets through the trade in because most people are not pro's on fakes. I think cex needs stop this practice or maybe tell major publishers about this and maybe they can send a letter to them to stop infringing on the copyright.
They now refuse to buy games without cases. I took some games to sell to them last week in their store in Street, Somerset and they refused to buy them without the cases. This is good as it hopefully means they have stopped this nonsense
I remember when CEX was just 1 store here in Birmingham's town centre down the ramp you had to know it was there and it had an underground gritty feel in there, now there's one on most high streets and the Birmingham store moved over the road and always has a piss smell as you walk in there. I too hate not getting the manual, always have. I bought saints row 2 from cex last week and it had the manual, cant complain, but i bought saints row 1 from Game, and no manual, and Game feels the need to seal the case with a crappy sticker. Had no idea cex were printing covers, that is NOT acceptable and they now need a fine. I do like CEX, they are my favourite game store but its good you haven't let this slide
Wow was that Birmingham store really the first CeX? I remember going there quite often in 2000-2002, had to go into the store then down another set of stairs to the phone/computer section. If it really was the first store then its kind of mad how a shit hole dump like that could grow into a huge international franchise.
I have caught a few fake cover items all around CeX stores but the most I have seen over time is the Edmonton Green Store in North London. Mainly with blu rays but seen it with dvd’s so far.
In Polish CEX stores it's hard to find printed cases. They don't print covers. I've seen one but someone must have brought game with fake cover. I hope this "trend" won't came to us.
It’s funny because I’m from Ireland and we do have Cex too but I have bought a few GameCube games and they have NO cex print I went in the shop and found none like this bit weird tbh
I remember when Blockbusters (R.I.P) in the USA did something simile by photocopying the Instruction booklets for the NES games back in the 80's. But that was for the game they rented out, because people tend to lose or damage the booklets. They had to make their own booklets by hand, because Nintendo threatened to sue them for breach of copyright.
Nintendo wanted rentals dead so they were looking for any excuse to kill the market. Legally because there renting the game issuing a photocopy of the manual is fair use but Blockbuster was not big enough then to fight that battle.
Jeez, how many times have they done this? I saw some printed ones a few months ago and asked an employee and they said they have to do it because people come and steal the covers? Also, other things I have noticed is they sell DVDs that are "not for re-sale or rental" or "not to be sold individually", as in from a box set.
I noticed this practice spring up a year ago . CEX are sly , they will try get away with reprinting sleeves as long as they can. These big companies don’t care one iota about preservation. Well done for putting your time into highlighting this.
It was a way to normalize pricing because soo many people complained about game buybacks receiving very little for a missing manual, case or cover art.
Buyer's assume they are buying original game cases. Let the buyer decide what they want. This is of a great concern if you are a collector of authentic products. I had a similar issue with regards to a gaming steelbook from another seller. I would buy a steelbook then the original game with it's original case only to find that the game case had no disc in it. I received a game code in a case, this was very disappointing as I wanted an original disc to site into my game steelbook. Nothing on the advertising literature stated that there was no disc and it would be a code only. I feel for customers when this type of thing goes on.
when this happens and i dont notice and buy it i take the fake cover out but with dvds this really annoys me i want(where possible) nice looking spines on my dvds as i like them on display(games i tend not to have on display as much)
In One of the CEX Wolverhampton stores there is a copy of Forza Horizon 3 (Xbox One) and it was priced as £30 but the box had a purple GAME Sticker for £35 and they still charged me £35 -_-
this is why i gave up buying games from CEX online as ive paid extra for a mint quality game only to have a really poor box to turn up in the post, same with buying a dreamcast there mint quality version was the most yellow dreamcast you've ever seen! so i always buy from in store now too
Pretty sure trading standards in UK wouldn't stand for it if there's a case to answer. They've come down on pirated DVD 's and games at car boot sales in recent years. It's similar circumstances . It's not just copyright laws at question there's potentially a counterfeit goods infringement case too
this happened too me but from using the cex website .. i bought a BLU RAY . and it didnt have the cover it was a reprint .. i argued with them that the cover was missing and in the end they send me a new copy of the blu ray .. and compensated me with 5 pound voucher .. .. it took me months of going in and demanding them do something about it .. they just wanted me too return it but i refused .. as it was a hard too get blu ray as it was so i kept it and made them sort it out .. so they do this for blu rays too .. and i have seen quite a few reprints .. the blu rays i have seen with replacement covers didnt have the cex on the inside of them just printed on basic paper .. (btw i collect blu rays thats why i kicked up a fuss most people dont really care unless there collectors and i think thats what they bet on while doing this)
6:26 nooo they don’t, I’ve found damaged covers before (water damaged covers) the sort that would make you put them back and think again before buying.
Impressed by your communication skills, vocabulary and clearly educated argument. You are voicing the irritation for what I'm supposing are the silent majority who let these matters slip since they either can't be bothered or don't have time to wait in etc. You have my support and agreement in not just this but the overall attitude with which I'm faced in general in dealing with CEX. If they were a sole trader in one store in my town I could let it slip, but be it franchised or company, they are a huge countrywide store and it is just simply not acceptable as a trading standard to try to cut corners and play the percentage game regarding those who have time to challenge them. Don't stand for it folks. The more who pull them on it, the more everyone benefits from improved fair practice.
Good observation and they do reduce the value when we cash in media without covers manuals cases double standards rather. Further they value stuff in a very strange way the buying price and selling price are usually quite far far away.
This is a absolute disgrace, and this has come from the top and had thought put into it. People know some retro games make big money and these lot Cex are literally conning the customer as the difference in price between a boxed game and say just the cart is huge! I know some game boxes go for more than the cart/disk. They must be named and shamed as much as possible and court proceedings brought.
I love CEX and I don’t care at all about this but I keep buying DVDS with black and white covers on the disc itself but I want to know if that means it’s a fake disc or it’s just a different type of disc
Reprinted covers from game have been a somewhat recent development that has been approved to more stores. Usually for my store that would be limited to reprinting tattered or stolen game cases. With PS2 and GameCube being the closest to retro that a reprint would be created for. I had never seen it as anything illicit before, usually just a replacement case for a next-gen title that's gone walkabout. I do think a generic cex-branded label would probably be legally safer but there is no quality grading for non-retro titles so would be impossible to differentiate between the 2 in the company so wouldn't likely improve the collector experience. However any fudged cases with graded-retro is likely a buy-in error or some employee trying to avoid having to pay out of pocket because they hit the wrong button and aren't something that is supposed to be allowed - however every store is unique and can have their own wildly varying standards.
I see your point .maybe if the print art was in black and white and user manuals were printed the same way and the price reflected in the same way IE £10 cheaper.then I can see retro gaming. So retro player would have a choice
Why do CeX scam i saw the pokemon for ds they just print it for nothing i took a picture but they never respond they flagged my comment and kicked me out of CeX for nothing absolutly disgusted
hopefully this gets them to stop printing covers. you should show Nintendo that a big chain is violating their copyrights. Nintendo is quick to protect their copyrights. this is a good reminder to check everything before you buy an item. i don't live in the UK but thanks for the warning.
They have a bad business practice in my mind as I've herd people took pics of the virtual download codes on the blue ray and dvd movies where this is possible because the staff leave the card with the code inside the case so people can cash in the code and when I mentioned it to a member of staff they just said that it's only the disk that is valuable, in my mind, it doesn't take two minutes to put the code card with disk and when it is sold, a member of staff saying the code may not work
@Pomelo Pictures I know you have done a follow up and I have just seen THGM's Video - I will say teh same here as I have said there - Reprints aside, CEX ARE BREAKING THE LAW BY NOT DECLARING WHICH ITEMS ARE REPRODUCTION CASES - UNDER TRADING STANDARDS LAWS, ALL ITEMS SOLD MUST BE AS DESCRIBED - AS THEY ARE SELLING REPRODUCTION CASES AS ORIGINALS, THEY ARE IN VERY CLEAR BREACH OF TRADING STANDARDS LAWS! REPRODUCTIONS OF ANY FORM, BE IT A CASE MANUAL OR ACTUAL PHYSICAL ITEM MUST BE DECLARED EITHER IN STORE OR UPON PURCHASE! THIS IS LAW!!!! I honestly hope that this information helps your case....
The Stamp on the reverse IS STILL a Breach of the law, Though CEX may try to use this as an excuse to get out of trouble - Reproductions MUST BE DISPLAYED!! IT HAS TO BE VISIBLE TO A CONSUMER TO MAKE AN INFORMED CHOICE! Again, That is LAW according to Trading Standards... The Only reason CEX has not been caught before is people DO NOT KNOW THEY HAVE TO DISPLAY IT IS A REPRO!
Poundland are one opf many companies who actually get around teh law properly and maybe who CEX are trying to copy... DVD's are Poundland are often sold under their REPLAY Label...They are all REFURBISHED DISCS, That also means they are under license to provide new cases and Box Art - BUT They are REPACKAGED AND SOLD UNDER THE REPLAY LABEL - YOU KNOW THEY ARE REFURBISHED DISCS and you are NOT BEING SOLD THEM AT RETAIL VALUE - YOU are being sold them at A POUND! Simple as, There is no Question - Even if CEX had the permission to print the box arts, they are STILL BREAKING THE LAW! Selling Repros at Retail Value is a FRAUD!
Damn, Not even finished watching your video yet - But I honestly hope you find this information Useful... I would also contact Consumer Champ Martin Lewis as he will conform 100% that what CEX is doing is a CLEAR LEGAL BREACH... :(
Its not a clear legal breach, as you the consumer can clearly see a reprint from an original cover 'A person is guilty of forgery if he makes a false instrument, with the intention that he or another shall use it to induce somebody to accept it as genuine, and by reason of so accepting it to do or not to do some act to his own or any other person’s prejudice.' what you can say is cex should advise all buyers that the said item is a reprint and then allow you to make a choice, also have CEX refused to take them in as trades?
Interesting, their definition of 'mint' being that it just comes with instructions! When I sold various boxed N64 games to them last year they argued that the white card inlay was showing very slight signs of aging (i.e. going off white) and they marked the price down, even though the outer box and manual were in perfect condition. Their term mint, should apply to bother seller and purchaser!
Eventually every game they sell in cex will have reprinted artwork, game artwork is only printed on photo paper which is easily damaged. There will be a point in time when physical media will no longer be manufactured, and their business will collapse. If they think they can maintain their business by only selling computer hardware and phones, it's not gonna happen.
I don’t get the issue with this, or why it’s illegal. The games are second hand so are sold as seen. People steal the empty cases so it’s better than just not being able to sell the games at all.
i have used Cex for ages ever since i had a ps1 now im at a ps4 and i bought the 20th annually ps4 and never got anything wrong by the games the cases or the console itself
Thank you for making this info public. As you say, using this practice to artificially inflate prices to those of genuine complete copies, is a *very* shady practice! A small 'flash' indicating "replacement/reproduction", along with less of a price hike may be more legally and ethically acceptable.....?
I guess you can argue whether ethics comes into business. As GAME will charge you the same for a used Wii U game (for example) whether it has the box or not - but legally speaking - in terms of indicating whether it's genuine or not, you're right.
We have. If he chooses to cover then that's great, we want to open up the debate to more RUclipsrs - but I believe CEX have now ceased operating in the US so I don't know if it's within his interest for the show.
It's good to see you back and creating content. It sucks that you're no longer going to be part of the YPP. I'm sure you'll be able to rejoin if you keep up with content. I saw some of this going on in the Liverpool store with some of the PS2 games. I don't buy much from CEX, but did think it was a little cheeky. Good luck with your dealings with trading standards and let's hope justice prevails.
Thanks. I was in the Liverpool store in January (and also the Birkenhead store) and saw a few reprinted cases - but already had more than enough content for this video.
I don't see anything wrong with them printing out artwork for games they get traded in that didn't have a case. I mean would you rather just have a disc and no box? You're paying for the game not the box. So with your logic they should charge different prices for games that come with a book should be more then ones without. Also the US stores the CEX stores i've been to when they get a game that was traded in without a box they print a gamestop style artowrk where its just text with there logo. So the laws are most likly different in the UK then the US.
What's wrong is that it's illegal. As you say, if they want to sell a game in a box, they need to create something generic - not illegally reproduce something using assets to which they have no legal rights.
Pomelo Pictures think they should do what GameStop does have game stop logo with generic characters and the name of the game it would stop their legal issues
no that not true some people who what to play the odd game here and there sure that fine they will only spend a few bob. But to a game collectors who spent good money on a retro game and found out that is not complete they would be pissed as it would be cheaper on ebay as its considered lose with out the cover art and the price should be reflected as such. Take for example you bought an expensive car with you thought you got a great deal on then you try to sell it one day and find out a part of it is not authentic and you can only get a fraction for what you bought it for you would be pissed wouldn't you so it that same thing video game collectors don't want some crappy reprint cover as it not authentic and looks bad knowing it not real and well as the resale value.
The difference between a disc only and boxed is usually like half price, way more in some cases. This is VERY shady then.. I wonder if they will pay full price for games with their own boxes? I rather doubt it for some reason! If they charge like £1 extra for the repo box and cover then OK, but it should be made very clear and customers told about this. It's a shame as CEX used to be the bomb.
yeah that all fine but if you buy a expensive game and it turns out the box or cover is printed and you try to sell it down the road you wont make anything near what you bought it for.
Used to work at CEX, was literally informed of this in a team meeting. And we were told to simply not address it if a customer called us out on it. smh
So what happens if I sell fake rare games cartridge will they know if it's fake or not
Thanks for being honest this is so dodgy!!!! Specially for a main high street store
So you were a cex worker?
@@saulgoodman9188 well obviously
Top Hat Gaming Man brought me here. We've all got your back on this.
your Metroid II poster isn't straight
Not gonna lie, that distracted the hell out of me
it is a reprint.
its straight, you just have to turn your head. lol.
Graham R But then the dude and bricks aren't straight.....
It's to give effect like it was hanged up on a brick wall, as if you looked outside pretty much no posters are straight.
these cases with the cex logo on the back of the cover are starting to appear in other preowned shops
I saw one but it said
Reprinted label
Not sure how the laws are exactly there in the UK, but in the it is illegal for just the Nintendo logo alone.
Every Nintendo game in the US with the exception of a handful like some old Tengen games, has an Official Nintendo Seal of Quality.
Copying that portion of the artwork could be considered a false respresntation of the product for sale. They have no right to claim a product's quality on Nintendo's behalf.
I tried to buy a rare ps2 game from cex and they tried to sell at full price of over £60.00 with no manual, scanned cover and a dvd case, when I could purchase on ebay for 100% full experience. Caveat emptor. Cex can be good but be careful.
£20 for pokemon diamond…. fuck i wish i could time travel.
Hi Pomelo, just thought I'd add my 2 cents as an ex-employee for CeX.
This is definitely an issue and as I've wondered around the stores, I have noticed this myself and whilst not overly bothered about it with your typical games, I do think it is outrageous that they would do such a thing with classics with such a high price tag. They should indeed make a very generic version and sell it as disc only as it'd be better for both parties.
I say I don't see much a problem with your standard 360, PS3, PS4 and Xbox One games though due to the fact that if you had really saw the condition of some of the game cases, you definitely wouldn't have bought them in the first place so this is definitely better than a damaged copy of the original IMO. As well as this, with a lot of games, there are many of the same to choose from so it isn't really an issue. This however is more of a problem of the sales assistants due to the fact that some stores are so lenient with the conditions they accept and aren't as strict as other stores.
You also had mentioned that some stores operate differently, this is due to the fact that many CeX's are franchised stores which are much stricter on what they take in.
I've also found out that if you have bought one of these games without knowing, in some stores, if you make enough of a fuss about it, they'll just refund you back to how you had originally paid. This isn't in every store however, it is with some. It is definitely something worth knowing.
As a company, CeX are very bad once you know the ins and outs of it. The pay is minimum wage, the prices are sky high (you can get half of the stuff brand new for the same price (there are some very good deals mind you)) and the way you're treated varies from store to store. They're definitely in it to make the maximum amount of money possible and in the process, they screw their staff and their customers over.
I wish you the best of luck with your complaint!
Anyway, I'm open to a discussion so if you have anything further, feel free to ask.
'and whilst not overly bothered about it with your typical games'. Printing counterfeit cases should be bothersome for any game, with respect.
I was in cex, and they said to a customer, we don't buy in games with reprinted covers, but we buy in games with covers reprinted by cex.
Actually CeX closed their doors in the US back in January, which is unfortunate for me as a consumer, however as an ex-employee, I say good riddance. CeX was a cancer of an employer and treated their employees terribly.
Here in Newcastle it’s even worse. They put a thin bit of paper in with a really low quality casual print inside of a flimsy plastic case.
They really need to stop, its so irritating when I find a game that I’ve always wanted in my collection there but it doesn’t have a good and genuine case.
I complained once and they gave me some bull about them being allowed to do it, then when I tried to trade in a game that they had printed (and it even had CEX printed on the inside of the sleeve) they wouldn't take it
My friend works in the Stourbridge store he said that they get boxes of popular modern games inserts and blank cases in bulk
I think your argument is probably correct but citing a US case as legal precedent for UK shops potentially breaking UK law is wrong. US cases are not a precedent in UK law.
I used to really like using CEX back in the day but their prices are crap now even used PS4 games are more expensive than what I can get new from Amazon, since they hopped on the retro games bandwagon a few years ago they have helped contribute to the over inflation of retro games in the UK. They also look for anyway possible to screw you over a trade in to pay you as little as Possible. As for this case you should certainly contact BBC Watchdog because it's illegal especially using the wrong PEGI ratings for some games.
This doesn't work with all games I got a reprinted cover for a Pokemon Y game but my street fighter 7 game has a normal cover
are the thats entertainments stores still a thing the store in wrexham closed
Checked a few in Bath and they had a fair few fake covers. All printed on the inside with the CEX logo
yo, ex employee here, can almost guarantee that no sleeves are printed off because they're "damaged", it's always because the actual case for the software has been lost (customer's move things around on the shop floor all the time, or steal the cases thinking there's discs inside). If a staff member was trying to sell a game/movie/whatever and they couldn't find the case, they'd just order one (provided the sale value of the media with the missing case actually made it worthwhile). CeX till systems have a feature that lets you take an item off stock and auto-request a printed media sleeve to be sent out, the disc is put to one side and in a week or so the postman brings in all the printed sleeves and the items are put back on stock. There's always an excess of blank cases in stores so staff just put the sleeves in whatever case most resembles the old one (PS Vita and DS/3DS cases are used interchangeably in this instance lol). Idk on the legality of printing anything off but as a rule I don't think CeX really care about legality in anything they do. I think CeX try and avoid the issue entirely because on the receipts or labels on the cases they never explicitly state that the customer is buying anything more than the software- but that doesn't excuse that some company prints off trademarked stuff and posts them out to stores. IMO CeX should just take the loss and take games off stock if any original case is lost on the shop floor, but upper management don't accept losing out on the profits so this method was created. It's only been in use about 18 months or so (companywide) but some stores might have been doing it themselves for years.
p.s. as a rule, in my store we never sent out anything with a printed sleeve on an e-commerce order or whenever we sold one in store we made it clear to the customer before buying it that the sleeve wasn't genuine. But we had a relatively small number of printed sleeves compared to other stores, so I don't know if they followed the same practices.
> we never sent out anything with a printed sleeve on an e-commerce order [...] But we had a relatively small number of printed sleeves compared to other stores, so I don't know if they followed the same practices.
I got a few DVD's through the site with the fake covers, so it seems like some stores weren't following your practices.
I have games what don't have covers so I made copies of them.
But at the back of the game cover you have a barcode in that space I put reproduce copy that way I've covered myself.
i went to my shelf after i watched it and found that 12 game cube games where fake covered
i paid full price for a fake game covered game and half the time the games didint work
Cex are also doing this with DVD's - found a copy of Londons Burning Series 10 in a local shop last week and the sleeve didn't look right compared to a series one copy they also had - sure enough the inside was white and there was the CEX logo .They were asking 22 quid for it - the series one by the way was £6 with a genuine inlay.
As long as the disk works who gives a shit
Thanks for this Mr Pomelo. I noticed a while back when I was in Glasgow for the PlayExpo that CeX had a tonne of printed PS2 inlays. They were all black and white prints and were not discounted from a version that would be genuine. I never noticed it in my local stores. Rest assured after this video I have checked my whole collection as I've lost track of the stuff I've got from CeX. Luckily I've not been stung. Shame for the people that have. Again, thanks for the heads up. Will be checking every time now
It's frustrating as I've often picked up a game that I've been looking for and then had to put it back once realising it's a fake case. But the blatancy of it staggers me and how they're convinced it's okay to do. There's a reason other stores use their own generic cases... and it's called copyright law.
Pomelo Pictures you're right and it does need to stop. If they get away with what's to stop other retailers doing the same thing. Would be a nightmare. The boxed/mint situation is frustrating. Many a time I've made the drive to a random CeX to splash out on a mint game only to find the box being damaged etc. Keep us updated on the case with Trading Standards, be interesting to hear their stance on this
It’s very cheeky of them. It’s also really disappointing when you make a trip to one of their store because you see a rare game in stock only to find it’s effectively a disc only copy. The line in your vid that worried me most is the bit about them replacing ‘damaged’ copies. How damaged? Because a slightly damaged copy of a rare game will always be more valuable than a pristine reproduction.
Good point. I don't have an answer for that.
I go to the cex store at huddersfield and did an experiment with a freind. We bought a brand new iPhone 6. We unwrapped the box and took it in, I must remind everyone we didn't take anything off the iPhone, left the screen cover on. Anyway long story short the guy at the counter takes it out starts looking at it as anyone who has sold a phone there knows. We won't go into details but he says its a grade c .to which i replied it was brand new and hasn't been used and asked if he could show me a random grade c iPhone , but he wouldn't. My point is whether phones, games, or consoles I'm just fed up of getting ripped off. Games by the way mafia 3 ps4 cex £12.99 sainsburys brand new £7.99 . Gta v cex £32.99 sainsburys brand new £24.99 .honestly I could go on . Keep up the good work.
I hear you, Tony. Some of the stores over here just do not give a crap about poor service and/or rip-off prices for decades. It pisses me off to the core mate.
They've been doing this for years. There is no sticker indicating as much either. I almost bought a few games but I have quite a good eye for such things.
SufamiDan I've only really noticed it ramp up recently but I've been keeping my eye on it for a while.
@@PomeloRetro've been to cex lots of times and I loved it
Please please please keep fighting this. There are too many people who don't give a shit and are happy to get ripped off.
The funny thing is now in Newcastle if it’s re printed it will say reprinted cover on the front of the case so they care now
i bought zelda the phantom hourglass and when i noticed the cex logo, i asked and they said the same thing
Well done, glad you've told trading standards. This is disgusting for collectors. I will not be going there again.
has it been reported to trading standards
So does cex check all they're retro games to verify if they're real or reproduction?
Thank you for the heads up. As a long time gamer and collector this pisses me off. And I'll keep that in mind when I go to any retro store in the future. Great to see ya back always enjoy your videos.
To do this video did you go to Wrexham since there is a cex there and there used to be a that's entertainment there but it closed I sew month ago
It's bad for collectors also. when i collect games, i want an authentic cover, having a CEX reprint, takes the originality out of it, and the value.
Thanks for this!!! Needs to be addressed
everywhere
I want a court case and a massive fine for this blatant act of robbery!
sunsbookishgamesx why
*B E G O N E T H O T*
I saw a video from CEX explaining this and the game companies send them the image files to use, sometimes they get games with damaged sleeves or missing sleeves so to be able to sell them games they need to print off a fresh sleeve for the game 😂 people getting triggered over a legal practice.
This is a fantastic video. I was in the Birmingham store myself a couple of months ago and saw two reprinted Gamecube labels. I must admit I didn’t look any further or at any other console as I thought it was a one off and had also never seen it in the Solihull store
This is a well made video, Very informative backed with evidence. You should do more "Investigation" type videos.
found you from top hat gaming man. This whole situation is wrong on so many levels. People like us will always catch fakes, but the average consumer has no clue which is why they think they can get away with this.
Gamestop in the states is known for not including the original case or manual with the majority of anything you order online. Its more of a luck of the draw which is why many dont buy from them online anymore. Also they have had high dollar retro carts with switched boards and repro labels. All kinds of stuff gets through the trade in because most people are not pro's on fakes.
I think cex needs stop this practice or maybe tell major publishers about this and maybe they can send a letter to them to stop infringing on the copyright.
We're on it. There's also a follow up to this video (link in description) but we're staying on it for sure.
They now refuse to buy games without cases. I took some games to sell to them last week in their store in Street, Somerset and they refused to buy them without the cases. This is good as it hopefully means they have stopped this nonsense
I remember when CEX was just 1 store here in Birmingham's town centre down the ramp you had to know it was there and it had an underground gritty feel in there, now there's one on most high streets and the Birmingham store moved over the road and always has a piss smell as you walk in there. I too hate not getting the manual, always have. I bought saints row 2 from cex last week and it had the manual, cant complain, but i bought saints row 1 from Game, and no manual, and Game feels the need to seal the case with a crappy sticker.
Had no idea cex were printing covers, that is NOT acceptable and they now need a fine. I do like CEX, they are my favourite game store but its good you haven't let this slide
Sterling20073 i remember when the shop was down a ramp omg, used to make me feel well cool going down there to buy ps2 games lmao
Wow was that Birmingham store really the first CeX? I remember going there quite often in 2000-2002, had to go into the store then down another set of stairs to the phone/computer section. If it really was the first store then its kind of mad how a shit hole dump like that could grow into a huge international franchise.
The first CeX was opened on Whitfield Street in London, near Tottenham Court Road, though the Birmingham branch was the first one outside London.
I have caught a few fake cover items all around CeX stores but the most I have seen over time is the Edmonton Green Store in North London. Mainly with blu rays but seen it with dvd’s so far.
In Polish CEX stores it's hard to find printed cases. They don't print covers. I've seen one but someone must have brought game with fake cover. I hope this "trend" won't came to us.
It’s funny because I’m from Ireland and we do have Cex too but I have bought a few GameCube games and they have NO cex print I went in the shop and found none like this bit weird tbh
I remember when Blockbusters (R.I.P) in the USA did something simile by photocopying the Instruction booklets for the NES games back in the 80's. But that was for the game they rented out, because people tend to lose or damage the booklets. They had to make their own booklets by hand, because Nintendo threatened to sue them for breach of copyright.
Nintendo wanted rentals dead so they were looking for any excuse to kill the market. Legally because there renting the game issuing a photocopy of the manual is fair use but Blockbuster was not big enough then to fight that battle.
Jeez, how many times have they done this? I saw some printed ones a few months ago and asked an employee and they said they have to do it because people come and steal the covers?
Also, other things I have noticed is they sell DVDs that are "not for re-sale or rental" or "not to be sold individually", as in from a box set.
I noticed this practice spring up a year ago . CEX are sly , they will try get away with reprinting sleeves as long as they can. These big companies don’t care one iota about preservation. Well done for putting your time into highlighting this.
It was a way to normalize pricing because soo many people complained about game buybacks receiving very little for a missing manual, case or cover art.
I was told by a shopkeeper at CEX that they wouldn't sell me a game without the original case. LIARS!
Buyer's assume they are buying original game cases. Let the buyer decide what they want. This is of a great concern if you are a collector of authentic products. I had a similar issue with regards to a gaming steelbook from another seller. I would buy a steelbook then the original game with it's original case only to find that the game case had no disc in it. I received a game code in a case, this was very disappointing as I wanted an original disc to site into my game steelbook. Nothing on the advertising literature stated that there was no disc and it would be a code only. I feel for customers when this type of thing goes on.
when this happens and i dont notice and buy it i take the fake cover out but with dvds this really annoys me i want(where possible) nice looking spines on my dvds as i like them on display(games i tend not to have on display as much)
Great video. I shared with a couple of retro gaming groups on FB and was quite shocked at the response I got.
In One of the CEX Wolverhampton stores there is a copy of Forza Horizon 3 (Xbox One) and it was priced as £30 but the box had a purple GAME Sticker for £35 and they still charged me £35 -_-
this is why i gave up buying games from CEX online as ive paid extra for a mint quality game only to have a really poor box to turn up in the post, same with buying a dreamcast there mint quality version was the most yellow dreamcast you've ever seen! so i always buy from in store now too
Cex are in Australia as well and this will stop me from going to those store at all, glad they aren’t near me
I ordered Sonic 3 from CEX, and the sleeve was a bit ripped so maybe they've stopped, either that or i got lucky again
Pretty sure trading standards in UK wouldn't stand for it if there's a case to answer. They've come down on pirated DVD 's and games at car boot sales in recent years. It's similar circumstances .
It's not just copyright laws at question there's potentially a counterfeit goods infringement case too
this happened too me but from using the cex website .. i bought a BLU RAY . and it didnt have the cover it was a reprint .. i argued with them that the cover was missing and in the end they send me a new copy of the blu ray .. and compensated me with 5 pound voucher .. .. it took me months of going in and demanding them do something about it .. they just wanted me too return it but i refused .. as it was a hard too get blu ray as it was so i kept it and made them sort it out .. so they do this for blu rays too .. and i have seen quite a few reprints .. the blu rays i have seen with replacement covers didnt have the cex on the inside of them just printed on basic paper .. (btw i collect blu rays thats why i kicked up a fuss most people dont really care unless there collectors and i think thats what they bet on while doing this)
Are you from around Birmingham?
No - but I have family there.
Pomelo Pictures my local store is the merry hill one you talked about I’ll have to check the games I got
I don’t use them anymore as a result of this. Also never had a decent online order from them, always battered and missing manuals.
But hey, you got the game, most times in good condition!
Not to mention the fact that never say on the front that its a printed case/fake case is misleading advertisment
6:26 nooo they don’t, I’ve found damaged covers before (water damaged covers) the sort that would make you put them back and think again before buying.
Impressed by your communication skills, vocabulary and clearly educated argument. You are voicing the irritation for what I'm supposing are the silent majority who let these matters slip since they either can't be bothered or don't have time to wait in etc. You have my support and agreement in not just this but the overall attitude with which I'm faced in general in dealing with CEX. If they were a sole trader in one store in my town I could let it slip, but be it franchised or company, they are a huge countrywide store and it is just simply not acceptable as a trading standard to try to cut corners and play the percentage game regarding those who have time to challenge them. Don't stand for it folks. The more who pull them on it, the more everyone benefits from improved fair practice.
Good observation and they do reduce the value when we cash in media without covers manuals cases double standards rather. Further they value stuff in a very strange way the buying price and selling price are usually quite far far away.
Just checked a game I bought over 5 years ago and surprise, surprise, it has been printed by CEX..
I think that if someone brought a game without its case I think you would need to do something in order for that game to sell
yeah but the covers are pretty obviously copied though, weither it's a crime or not 95% could tell it's a photocopy, up to you if you buy it.
Good vid. Although I do like CeX, I'm not blind to its flaws.
I've seen them selling pirated discs and sometimes they sell rental copies
This is a absolute disgrace, and this has come from the top and had thought put into it. People know some retro games make big money and these lot Cex are literally conning the customer as the difference in price between a boxed game and say just the cart is huge! I know some game boxes go for more than the cart/disk. They must be named and shamed as much as possible and court proceedings brought.
Hats off, really good video and a Commend you for your efforts.
This video was made well over a year ago....they are still doing it.
I love CEX and I don’t care at all about this but I keep buying DVDS with black and white covers on the disc itself but I want to know if that means it’s a fake disc or it’s just a different type of disc
Reprinted covers from game have been a somewhat recent development that has been approved to more stores. Usually for my store that would be limited to reprinting tattered or stolen game cases. With PS2 and GameCube being the closest to retro that a reprint would be created for. I had never seen it as anything illicit before, usually just a replacement case for a next-gen title that's gone walkabout. I do think a generic cex-branded label would probably be legally safer but there is no quality grading for non-retro titles so would be impossible to differentiate between the 2 in the company so wouldn't likely improve the collector experience. However any fudged cases with graded-retro is likely a buy-in error or some employee trying to avoid having to pay out of pocket because they hit the wrong button and aren't something that is supposed to be allowed - however every store is unique and can have their own wildly varying standards.
Does it really matter? This is just my opinion but I have got a shelf where I show my DS and 3DS Game cases and i don't really care
I see your point .maybe if the print art was in black and white and user manuals were printed the same way and the price reflected in the same way IE £10 cheaper.then I can see retro gaming. So retro player would have a choice
Why do CeX scam i saw the pokemon for ds they just print it for nothing i took a picture but they never respond they flagged my comment and kicked me out of CeX for nothing absolutly disgusted
hopefully this gets them to stop printing covers. you should show Nintendo that a big chain is violating their copyrights. Nintendo is quick to protect their copyrights. this is a good reminder to check everything before you buy an item. i don't live in the UK but thanks for the warning.
lucky collector I'm sure there's stores everywhere that try it.
They have a bad business practice in my mind as I've herd people took pics of the virtual download codes on the blue ray and dvd movies where this is possible because the staff leave the card with the code inside the case so people can cash in the code and when I mentioned it to a member of staff they just said that it's only the disk that is valuable, in my mind, it doesn't take two minutes to put the code card with disk and when it is sold, a member of staff saying the code may not work
@Pomelo Pictures I know you have done a follow up and I have just seen THGM's Video - I will say teh same here as I have said there - Reprints aside, CEX ARE BREAKING THE LAW BY NOT DECLARING WHICH ITEMS ARE REPRODUCTION CASES - UNDER TRADING STANDARDS LAWS, ALL ITEMS SOLD MUST BE AS DESCRIBED - AS THEY ARE SELLING REPRODUCTION CASES AS ORIGINALS, THEY ARE IN VERY CLEAR BREACH OF TRADING STANDARDS LAWS!
REPRODUCTIONS OF ANY FORM, BE IT A CASE MANUAL OR ACTUAL PHYSICAL ITEM MUST BE DECLARED EITHER IN STORE OR UPON PURCHASE! THIS IS LAW!!!!
I honestly hope that this information helps your case....
The Stamp on the reverse IS STILL a Breach of the law, Though CEX may try to use this as an excuse to get out of trouble - Reproductions MUST BE DISPLAYED!! IT HAS TO BE VISIBLE TO A CONSUMER TO MAKE AN INFORMED CHOICE! Again, That is LAW according to Trading Standards... The Only reason CEX has not been caught before is people DO NOT KNOW THEY HAVE TO DISPLAY IT IS A REPRO!
Poundland are one opf many companies who actually get around teh law properly and maybe who CEX are trying to copy...
DVD's are Poundland are often sold under their REPLAY Label...They are all REFURBISHED DISCS, That also means they are under license to provide new cases and Box Art - BUT They are REPACKAGED AND SOLD UNDER THE REPLAY LABEL - YOU KNOW THEY ARE REFURBISHED DISCS and you are NOT BEING SOLD THEM AT RETAIL VALUE - YOU are being sold them at A POUND!
Simple as, There is no Question - Even if CEX had the permission to print the box arts, they are STILL BREAKING THE LAW! Selling Repros at Retail Value is a FRAUD!
Damn, Not even finished watching your video yet - But I honestly hope you find this information Useful... I would also contact Consumer Champ Martin Lewis as he will conform 100% that what CEX is doing is a CLEAR LEGAL BREACH... :(
Thanks for the info.
Its not a clear legal breach, as you the consumer can clearly see a reprint from an original cover 'A person is guilty of forgery if he makes a false instrument, with the intention that he or another shall use it to induce somebody to accept it as genuine, and by reason of so accepting it to do or not to do some act to his own or any other person’s prejudice.' what you can say is cex should advise all buyers that the said item is a reprint and then allow you to make a choice, also have CEX refused to take them in as trades?
Interesting, their definition of 'mint' being that it just comes with instructions! When I sold various boxed N64 games to them last year they argued that the white card inlay was showing very slight signs of aging (i.e. going off white) and they marked the price down, even though the outer box and manual were in perfect condition. Their term mint, should apply to bother seller and purchaser!
I remember buying a game from CEX and though it was English the text on the back was Spanish. I bet that was a printed fake too.
I literally have one with a black and white print-out cover. But it’s in ok condition.
Eventually every game they sell in cex will have reprinted artwork, game artwork is only printed on photo paper which is easily damaged. There will be a point in time when physical media will no longer be manufactured, and their business will collapse. If they think they can maintain their business by only selling computer hardware and phones, it's not gonna happen.
I don’t get the issue with this, or why it’s illegal. The games are second hand so are sold as seen. People steal the empty cases so it’s better than just not being able to sell the games at all.
i have used Cex for ages ever since i had a ps1 now im at a ps4 and i bought the 20th annually ps4 and never got anything wrong by the games the cases or the console itself
I noticed this year's ago. Honestly I don't use them that much anymore.
Why is this an issue? For last gen games that ain't gonna be worth anything in the future would you be bothered?
This is also happening with current gen and pricey collector's items.
Tophat Gaming brought the channel to my attention. Great video. And you have yourself a new subscriber. Enjoying the other content as well.
Nice to have you.
Thank you for making this info public. As you say, using this practice to artificially inflate prices to those of genuine complete copies, is a *very* shady practice! A small 'flash' indicating "replacement/reproduction", along with less of a price hike may be more legally and ethically acceptable.....?
I guess you can argue whether ethics comes into business. As GAME will charge you the same for a used Wii U game (for example) whether it has the box or not - but legally speaking - in terms of indicating whether it's genuine or not, you're right.
I think you might want to give Nintendo a heads up, they can't be happy about it especially with newer games they're still selling.
We're on it.
Ha good old Nintendo will stop anyone :)
This seems like something Pat the NES Punk might want to cover on Scumbag Seller of the Week. Have you contacted him?
We have. If he chooses to cover then that's great, we want to open up the debate to more RUclipsrs - but I believe CEX have now ceased operating in the US so I don't know if it's within his interest for the show.
It's good to see you back and creating content. It sucks that you're no longer going to be part of the YPP. I'm sure you'll be able to rejoin if you keep up with content.
I saw some of this going on in the Liverpool store with some of the PS2 games. I don't buy much from CEX, but did think it was a little cheeky.
Good luck with your dealings with trading standards and let's hope justice prevails.
Thanks. I was in the Liverpool store in January (and also the Birkenhead store) and saw a few reprinted cases - but already had more than enough content for this video.
Does it matter as the games are legit? Everyone gets a playable game which is what they want.
I don't see anything wrong with them printing out artwork for games they get traded in that didn't have a case. I mean would you rather just have a disc and no box? You're paying for the game not the box. So with your logic they should charge different prices for games that come with a book should be more then ones without. Also the US stores the CEX stores i've been to when they get a game that was traded in without a box they print a gamestop style artowrk where its just text with there logo. So the laws are most likly different in the UK then the US.
What's wrong is that it's illegal. As you say, if they want to sell a game in a box, they need to create something generic - not illegally reproduce something using assets to which they have no legal rights.
Pomelo Pictures think they should do what GameStop does have game stop logo with generic characters and the name of the game it would stop their legal issues
no that not true some people who what to play the odd game here and there sure that fine they will only spend a few bob. But to a game collectors who spent good money on a retro game and found out that is not complete they would be pissed as it would be cheaper on ebay as its considered lose with out the cover art and the price should be reflected as such. Take for example you bought an expensive car with you thought you got a great deal on then you try to sell it one day and find out a part of it is not authentic and you can only get a fraction for what you bought it for you would be pissed wouldn't you so it that same thing video game collectors don't want some crappy reprint cover as it not authentic and looks bad knowing it not real and well as the resale value.
Government agencies don't really care, but Nintendo like suing people. You should talk to them.
If cex reprints covers, everyone will think it's ok to reprint covers.
The difference between a disc only and boxed is usually like half price, way more in some cases. This is VERY shady then.. I wonder if they will pay full price for games with their own boxes? I rather doubt it for some reason! If they charge like £1 extra for the repo box and cover then OK, but it should be made very clear and customers told about this. It's a shame as CEX used to be the bomb.
when i buy a game i dont look at the case i play the game
do you now, you need to lock your head up quick fast in a heart beat. always check the box
yeah that all fine but if you buy a expensive game and it turns out the box or cover is printed and you try to sell it down the road you wont make anything near what you bought it for.
Oisin Osborne all games lose its value if you not happy with it take it back got 14 days :)
I've got no problem with that - as long as the store selling you the items is upfront and honest.