what is brightstar?

Do NOT use Brightstar. I sent them my old phone, which was in great condition, just a few scratches on the backside. I was going to give it to a friend, but then they ended up getting a new phone instead, so I thought, "Why not recycle it?" Brightstar then sent me an email saying they would only give me $25 for the phone, and when I saw the pictures of my phone I was shocked. The screen was almost completely cracked off and the display shows black blotches everywhere. It's completely broken. They sent me back my now broken, worthless phone, which I can't do anything with, and have NO insurance policy for completely destroy the perfectly functional phone I sent them. Brightstar BROKE MY PHONE. Do not use them.

Yes.

Brightstar serves as Apple's partner (at least here in the U.S.) by accepting older iPhones for newer ones.

This apple URL leads to Brightstar (in the U.S.):

http://www.apple.com/recycling/gift-card/

SHADY, please do not trade with them. DO YOUR RESEARCH!

They are a scam. I sent them a pristine iPhone 6 and they offered me $225 and several days ago they sent me back an email stating that they are only offering $60 because the iPhone screen was cracked. This is wild because i know what I sent them and I have never had a problem with UPS and their services. I am waiting for their "investigation" to be done but from what i have read online is that they do this on a regular basis which is sad because I just assumed they were legitimate due to having the "apple" name behind them.

Bright star appears to be a legit recycling company for Apple product.

Having said that Apple now has a trade in program going. Before committing to either one I would check out what both will do for you.

Here is the link to the Apple trade in program;

http://www.apple.com/iphone/trade-in/?cid=CDM-US-DM-P0017023-349951&cp=em-P00170 23-349951&sr=em&Email_PageName=P0017023-…

I just had unpleasant experience with them. I was out on vacation and could not reply to their email in time. Apparently they estimated the value is $0 and since they didn't receive my response in time....discarded my phone.

Please be sure to read their terms & condition carefully.

Do not, DO NOT! send your device to this company. I sent them an iPad in excellent condition -- then got an email saying the value was $0 because the screen was coming loose from the body. They even provided a photo, which showed an iPad that looked like it had been dropped from 200 feet. Not my iPad.

Shame on Apple for suggesting this service! I expect better from a 3rd party company that Apple supports.

I Have just been through the the brighstar process here in the uk. I went on line got a £120 quote for my iphone 5 . It's used, it has been in A case so minimal wear but was used day and daily and was a small hard to see tiny scratch on screen.

i Posted it using the returns box, which no instructions for, and all was good they were good to their word got £120

so found it great

did get bit concerned on posting, of what if they don't get it , I've lost £120 and all I had was post office receipt , but yep fine

Brightstar: Total fail. I would strongly recommend ANY other venue to get cash for old phones. Was told by Apple to use Brightstar, that my 5s was in great condition and would get me a $90 gift card. I mailed the phone in the packaging they sent and waited. 2 weeks later I got a notice from Brightstar with photos of my (now) completely thrashed phone... the glass front fully pried apart from the device. After an "investigation" it was concluded that my battery expanded and burst during the travel, and my $90 gift card was reduced to 0. I highly suggest doing the extra leg work so as to not let your device out of your hands until you have the money for it.

Now how stupid do I feel that I went ahead using Brightstar in the UK for a trade in only to see all of the posts and then get a very similar rip off situation. My iMac was pristine, mint, I was quoted £195 and sent it off to Brightstar, via Apple's recommended E mail. After much hassle of Royal Mail not taking the parcel due to its size, then weight, then the label being wrong, eventually went with DPD. The quote came back as £0 as the LCD was defective, it left perfect, no further explanation from Brightstar, in the photos section, a grey image showing nothing, I've requested it returned having declined the quote but I fear how or if the iMac will be returned.

DON'T USE THEM!

I would highly recommend trading in your device anywhere but the Apple website. Brightstar is a scam. I read the reviews before using them and I should have listened to the reviewers. I just assumed they were disgruntled folks sending in damaged devices. Nope. Legitimate beefs. We sent in a totally functioning, clean, only-driven-to-church-on-Sundays iPad for trade in. The local Apple store verified it would be worth the $75 for trade in, but couldn’t trade it in store, as we were already trading in two devices and only buying two devices. So we had to trade our third device in through a third party. Upon receipt of their packaging material, we sent it in as requested. Then we received an email saying the value had been decreased from $75 to $0 because they were expecting an iPhone instead of an iPad. They said if we didn’t contact them, they would assume we agreed and they would keep the iPad. I tried to reply to their email, but the email was returned and it said their address could not be found. So I tried to log in to their website but it wouldn’t allow me to log in. Then I tried contacting Apple, but they were unable to provide any assistance. Next we received an email saying they had re-evaluated our iPad and found that the screen was lifted from the device. They sent a picture of a device that was not ours. We have since requested that they return ours. We are not holding our breath that we will ever see it again. Why Apple is affiliated with this company is beyond me, but even more troubling is the fact that Apple is not listening to their trusted customers. We have been buying Apple products for years and have bought so many products that there would be no way for me to even begin to list them all. My mom used an iPad with cellular in her rural area that we purchased for her and our son wears an iPad mini around his waist as his speech device since he is completely non-verbal. We have iPhones, iPads, iMacs, i pencil, Apple tv’s, holy cow we have multiple devices and models of everything they have ever made. We are The Apple Family. And we eschew anyone who doesn’t use Apple products. But something like this really gives a person pause. Apple is putting their trust in a company that is swindling their customers, big time. I would certainly hope Apple can find a better third party recycling company to represent their brand than Brightstar. Apple, it’s time to look for a new partner.

By the way, to both you and Allan Eckert -

The page Allan referenced has a "Trade in your smartphone" link on the bottom right under "Get a gift card." This link leads back to Brightstar.

Yes! I had the same photo nonsense sent through...it showed nothing. The iPad was returned and is in the same good condition it was when I sent it.

As I said before, they should be avoided!!!

Yes, I've used them several times and all were positive experiences. I tried Brightstar because they offered more (online) than anyone else. This was a very large mistake.

I noticed this thread is still alive as of a month ago, and I decided to recycle using Brightstar (on Apple’s recommendation). Now that I’m past the “due date” set by Brightstar and I’m getting emails asking if I need more time to ship my devices (which were shipped the day I received the pre-paid shipping boxes), I’m starting to feel what everyone’s describing here.

Am I upset? Was I ripped off? I’m posting in this forum, so I must feel something, but they were more or less useless devices to me. If I ever learn that Brightstar just chucked them in the bin after not paying me, I’ll feel a little more moral outrage, but that’ll also be water long under the bridge.

If you really want some money from your devices, you might want to consider an alternative to Brightstar, like taking your iOS device to an Apple Store and get a good trade-in value for an immediate upgrade purchase. If you just want to recycle, take your devices to an Apple Store and hand them over for $0/€0/£0.