CeX MacBook Trade-In: Cash or Voucher, In Store or by Post

Cash or voucher: which should you take from CeX?

Each product on CeX's website shows two trade-in figures. On the MacBook listings we checked, the voucher figure was higher than the cash one. The voucher is spent at CeX, so it is only worth more to you if CeX stocks the thing you want next: a console, a phone, a refurbished laptop. If your next purchase is a new Mac from Apple or anywhere else, a voucher you cannot use there is worth the cash figure at best.

The paperwork differs as well. An exchange membership needs only your name and postcode and lets you sell for vouchers. Selling for cash needs a full membership and one piece of original, current ID from CeX's list, such as a signed passport or a UK photocard driving licence; photocopies and expired documents are refused. In Scotland, CeX asks for both photo ID and proof of address.

In a branch or by post?

In a branch, you hand the MacBook over for testing and staff tell you how long it is likely to take; CeX says the time depends on how busy the store is and how many items are already waiting. The price quoted when you book the machine in is subject to that test and can change with condition and accessories, so bring the charger if you have it. In-store payment options are voucher, cash or bank transfer.

By post, you place a Sell to CeX order online. At checkout you choose what happens to anything CeX rejects: returned free to a mainland UK address, or recycled. For a MacBook, always choose the return. A recycled Mac cannot be recovered if you change your mind, and a machine one buyer turns down may well suit another.

When a Mac specialist suits you better than CeX

CeX sells games, phones, films and electronics alongside computers, and prices across all of them. A Mac-only buyer spends its whole day on one product line, and that shows up in three places. First, faults: we quote faulty Apple Silicon MacBooks instantly, including cracked screens, liquid damage and machines that will not turn on, without asking for photos. The broken MacBook hub shows how each fault is priced.

Second, certainty before you travel or post: our fixed quote arrives by email within 2 working hours, is locked for 14 days, and is the price we pay if the MacBook matches your description. Third, payment is always money, by bank transfer within 24 hours of the Mac passing inspection, with no voucher to spend.

Where CeX wins is immediacy and choice. If you want to walk into a shop and leave with cash, or you want credit for something CeX sells, it can do what a postal buyer cannot. The practical approach is to get our quote first. It is free, arrives within hours and gives you a number to hold CeX's cash offer against at the counter. For musicMagpie as well, see musicMagpie vs CeX vs us.