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Downtown Crossing electronics store sues to get its license back
By adamg on Thu, 03/29/2012 - 7:27am
A Winter Street store that buys and sells used electronics and DVDs is suing Boston Police to get back its license, revoked this week after a Jan. 31 raid.
Boston Police revoked CeX's license to buy and sell second-hand goods on Tuesday. The store promptly filed suit in Suffolk Superior Court; the city promptly requested the suit be transferred to federal court.
In its suit, CeX denies dealing in stolen goods but said that in any case, it was denied due process by a "kangaroo court" hearing at Boston Police headquarters and that the search warrant used to conduct the raid was hardly justification for revoking a valid business license, without which it cannot stay open.
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Comments
CeX sells
That's how you pronounce the name, right?
Or is it italian, like Chex?
Mmm chex mix!
CEX must be the Queen of Denial
I work around the corner and pop in to look at Ps3 games once in a while. Now much like any street smart person who is in the city daily and grew up here I know a scumbag when I see one.
Most people can spot a homeless person, a drug addict or any generic "shady" looking character on site. Now when I see these people on the street trying to sell various cameras, Ipods and laptops for very little money I have to assume that they stole them.
When I see the same people on line at CEX "fencing" the same goods and leaving with cash on a daily basis one would have to assume that they are selling these questionable goods at CEX and the people who work there are either blind or stupid.
However the employees are the cliche of a bunch of hairy hipster dudes so in fact they may be stupid.
Hairiness = stupidity?
What a smart thing to infer. You must be, like, so smart.
Amazing
I didn't think it was possible to fit this many labels and stereotypes into one comment.
yep
it is quite amazing.
eeka, have you ever been
eeka, have you ever been there? His description is pretty spot on. Pointing out stereotypes isn't a hate crime, or insensitive -- it's reality.
it's about time!!!
suffolk pawn has been around 50 60 years they ask questions.. i phone.. do you have the box it came in... sales reciept... general appearance of person selling..
have your laptop bottom engraved w important info. years and years ago bpd had "a police list of stolen goods". this place is a joke..
druggies paradise to sell their shit. for all we know the cds were boosted too!
i hear theyre based in london.. the uk is supposed to have high stanards via the crown.. does this shit go on in london, too?
im sure some poor people have seen or looked for their stolen swag in there! HEY THATS MINE! they dont have a leg to stand on. goodbye and good riddance, CEX
There is some checking...
They take down your ID for anything you sell, and if you sell electronics they'll check it against stolen serial numbers. But I do agree - the guys who come in with 4-5 phones to sell - something is fishy.
But face it - almost no one keeps boxes, and not many keep receipts...
These days, you have your iPhone receipt
Apple will e-mail you your receipt from the store floor as you're purchasing it. Unless you're the mayor's aide, you'll still have a copy of your e-mail receipt at all times.
I don't usually keep boxes and receipts for anything
once the warranty has expired. Do you?
Gmail is Great mail
It's not that I keep the receipt...it's that by default I don't throw it away any more if it's in my e-mail. I can search my Gmail and pull up stuff like my old receipts and things from years ago out of my Gmail archive.
And as far as keeping old product boxes...uh, no comment. :)
Hmmm, someone named Cappy that works in DTX
go back to Yelp jackass!
Due process is still important!
The police should not have the power to summarily revoke someone's business license. That should happen only after a criminal trial and conviction.
Stereotyping thieves
Have you ever seen a junky? They don't wear bow ties and sock garters usually. Thieves in many situations rend to look like thieves. And hipsters or freaks or just 20 something minimum age workers probably care less. Holier than thou?
Junkie
Thief
There is a difference
Street thieves and street druggies have a different look than Rush and Bernie. And race doesn't really have anything to do with it.
Rush wasn't selling stolen goods to pawn shops, and Bernie wasn't stealing wallets from pocketbooks from people in Panera Bread.
Go to Mass Most Wanted and you can see there is a pattern there of what constitutes a "street" theif.
One Question
How do you distinguish street junkies and thieves from the general street population?
Probably no easier than spotting them in the professional population. Street junkies and street thieves look like street people. Professional junkies and thieves look like professional people.
There is no official thief or junkie corps uniform. Unless somebody shoots up or steals in front of you, you can't know for sure.
There is a way to tell.
Many junkies on withdrawal can have a look about them. They twitch, look around, go in and out of stores, and do their crimes ( theft crimes) in areas they usually don't hang around in.
Your street people that aren't druggies are more stable because they simply don't use addictive drugs. They tend to stay in one area, are known to the police, are usually older. Non druggie street people will also look more like street people. Many junkies will also try to wear 'regular' clothing so they can go into stores like the gap without getting spotted by security right away. A closer look might reveal the twich, homemade tattoos on the neck or face ( another sign of a street junkie), or facial marks from meth or other inhalants.
Stereotypes? Sure, but an astute cop or person can pick these guys out of a crowd, especially if it is a cop assigned to an area where the street people tend to stay in one area.
Yep
Or when they ask if they can borrow your brand new Android 4G phone to make a call ... and get a bit agitated when you hand them two quarters and point them to the nearby pay phone.
These are all behavioral markers of substance abuse, absolutely. But clothing or appearance alone isn't enough to pick them out. Not every ratty looking person is an addict or thief, and not every conventionally dressed person is a non-addict or non-thief.
Chelsea Ingalls, and the well dressed gent who swiped the purse of my husband's coworker at Clink last week come to mind.
Absolutely
Plus, "street" junkies usually don't live on "the street" while "street" people usually do.
I mean, they are kind of two different groups to be honest. They really don't even look alike the more I think about it.
Oh no!
As a gamer/movie-er, I thought this place was great. Their used games are always significantly cheaper than at GameSchlock's a couple doors down, and the staff isn't trying to upsell you with stupid crap and reservations.
I hope for the best, but unfortunately am expecting the worst. :(
My one question: if they shutter, what happens to all their stuff?
Used Games are bad for you.
The used game market has caused more game developers to close up shop than any other factor (well providing they were not releasing crappy games as well).
While this is mostly a console problem, and normally I laugh at console users... since most games are now multi-platform the phenom of buying and selling used games hurt all game players.
Most games can be registered once and once only. Once the key has been used by someone you are likely to have issues trying to register or download additional content.
Ah but they're cheaper one might say... Times are hard yes, but games are a luxury item. If you can't afford a new game you can't afford any game. Get a new or second job if you make so little instead of wasting your time. And don't be such a cheapskate. Most games range only from $5-60 new (depending on whether a big budget, mainstream title or indie release). That is virtually the same price they have been since 1981, unchanged for inflation. So there is not even an economic excuse for buying used games.
Anyhow it wasn't the games that shutdown CeX it was their practice for buying devices from shady looking people, no questions asked. That's the sort of place that would knock $5 off the buyback price for a bloodstain on a phone but still buy it. Even without a legitimate outlet for stolen goods there will still be fences, but every little bit helps. I don't want to have to hide the fact that I have a Droid phone every time I take the subway because thieves can just get off at Park Street and readily sell it 5 minutes after robbing me.
Are you against used books, records, furniture, and cars too?
I don't see what's so special about games that they should not be resold like anything else that you own and no longer want.
I thought he might be referring to this
http://penny-arcade.com/2010/08/25
Cappy right - Swirly way wrong
Just came from lunch in Downtown. I saw heroin addicts doing drug deals, many homeless and actually saw someone getting arrested for shoplifting. Guess what? None of them looked like Bernie or Rush.
I'm willing to bet just based on looks Swirly you wouldn't invite any of them out to dinner.
Scumbags who look like scumbags exist! That isn't stereotyping. That's street smarts. Know what shady is?
Cappy. I agree completely with your assessment of CEX. Oh and it seems like the law did too.
What a brave little anon you are
You actually left your comfy suburban bubble and *gasp* CAME DOWNTOWN FOR LUNCH!
Not only did you do that, you asked a couple of junkies to share their drugs with you - how else would you know what sorts of drugs they had! I'm sure they were pleased to sell to you when you noticed their vending operation (a couple of black guys doing fancy handshakes MUST be a drug deal in your world!) and said so!
I gotta hand it to you, brave little anon: I've worked downtown in a couple of different decades and I've never gotten a junky to share with me!
Quick - you better make up a good "T stabbing" story for all your terrified friends before you get back home, too.
Nice try sweetie. Problem is
Nice try sweetie. Problem is I live here. You must exist in a constant state of blindness. Why don't you spend a few minutes outside area A police station and see who keeps getting arrested. Maybe even learn what a heroin addict or oxy fiend looks like. Must be wonderful to have a rose colored helmet on all the time.
PS. I'm a black individual. Racist card can be put back in deck. In fact these junkies were white folks.
where do they get the list?
of serial numbers? due process is important... dtx is a hole and somewhat slummy... it opened around 1973 and was nice. its a shame..
im almost 58 yrs old.. i remember the xmas display at then jordan marsh co. with sal. army in full uniform playing xmas carols..
paramount theater was bright and glorious.. the prince (then's gigi's) spaghetti house on cor. of avery st.. the amusment arcade..
even back then the zone had some style!
No Magic Glasses, either
I'm sorry if I lack your special super powers of "seeing" junkies everywhere I go. Not that I don't see street people, mind you.
Amazing, given the level of obliviousness you attribute to me, that I don't seem to notice that I've been mugged multiple times, either. Oh, wait - I've never been mugged! Gee, I really must not notice my surroundings, even when I had to walk back and forth from Parker Hill Road down Tremont to Huntington several times a day for my job back in the 90s. I'm protected from mugging by my "constant state of blindness". Yeah, that must be it. Must be why everybody and his brother comes up to me and asks directions - those in a "constant state of blindness" must know where they are going!
You must have a super special knack for smelling drugs! So tell us, oh brave anon who doesn't log in and can pretend to be anything he wants to say he is: why aren't you working for the Feds if you have such special Narco Senses?
referee
Hmm, so my observations after reading this thread, plus living and working in the city for about 12 years (yeah, I missed the bad old days) and buying a few used DVDs at CEX.
And I'll admit my personal life has been relatively sheltered- never seen anyone do serous drugs in my presence. But...
- Store on my block (in a pretty mixed neighborhood) was robbed at gunpoint not long ago. Shopkeeper, who I know, described him as overly gaunt and pretty spastic. Oh, and white with Celtics gear on.
- Once walked past an accident (SUV hit a parked car at 11am) and wondered why the driver, talking to the cop looked so spazzy and shaken up from a minor-looking accident. Newspaper story the next day said the guy was busted for driving under influence of drugs.
- Just tonight, stopped for fast food in DTX. Two guys at table next to me looked just a hair shady. I later heard them talking about their probation officers....
- Bernie Madoff, Rush, and plenty of other white-collar jerks are bad, and not every skinny guy on the street is a junky, but yeah, I can pretty much guess who I don't want to bring home for dinner, and skin color is not determinant. And a fair amount of them were in CEX during my couple of visits, along with a lot of gamers.
ps- I sometimes buy used books and CDs, and if I was a gamer, would probably buy them used too. If I buy a game and don't like it, or get bored by it, why the hell shouldn't I be able to sell it?
What is Cex Phone Number Boston
What is Cex Phone Number Boston?
Went here March 1st to sell an Iphone 4. Told me permit under review. Meaning They don't buy squat. Went there yesterday, a man out front of the store was trying to sell me some iphones. Then i searched lost permit Cex Boston and found out why tonight. THEY DONT HAVE IT ON THERE WEBSITE, NO PHONE NUMBER, NO FLIERS, THEY ARE PERMANTLY NOT ALLOWED TO BUY ANYTHING. Thank You for telling your customers, i could have saved train fare.
You sure?
Well, that was a strange post. I took your advice and searched myself, and found
"CeX Boston buying again
Monday, 07 May 2012
CeX Boston is buying in again! The best cash prices and unrivalled exchange prices, not to mention some fantastic taste in instore music, are waiting at 44 Winter Street."
So why do you think they are permanently not buying things?