what is brightstar?

Has anyone had a positive experience? I did not see any of these before my wife and I sent our phones in. I was quoted $200 for my 6s and got an email confirming they received it and to expect $200 gift card from apple shortly. My wife who sent hers in at the same time has yet to receive a “received” email from them and I’m starting to fear the worst.

Yes, caution is a very good idea in this space!

As Allan Eckert's link indicates, the Apple Store would make you an offer and do the trade. However, as that link indicates, not every Apple Store offers this service. Make sure yours does.

Have you had a positive experience with gazelle?

Thanks. I’ll look gazelle up now. This is my first time hearing about them. I’ve seen a few and wasn’t sure if they scammed.

Sorry, I meant to reply to another comm

Wow, that’s absolutely horrible. I also noticed that brightstar baits people by having the highest estimated offer compared to other companies.

I sure hope she hears from tgem soon and gets a fair quote. I will just keep my phone when I upgrade. Maybe as a collectible.

SCAM ALERT - do not send your phone for recycling to Brightstar. They will RIP you OFF! I sent them a fully functional i-phone 6+ and they just kept it. No $215 as quoted. They acknowledged that the phone is fully functional. Said the case was slightly bent so decided the phone has $0 value. When I called to see why I had not heard from them after a month they said they had sent emails and because I never saw them and therefore never replied they say that this is my fault and they just kept my phone. No recourse - their terms and conditions, if you take the time to read them apparently says that this is OK. Their lovely service agents will quote them back to you just in case you didn't read them.

<Edited by Host>

Weird scam. I can confirm what others have said here. I sent a Macbook pro in, got a confirmation that I'll receive cash for it. Then went ahead and bought the new Macbook pro. When I didn't hear from Brightstar again I followed up and they told me that I won't get any money. When I protested they insisted that they won't pay me but could send me my Macbook back. Then suddenly I get an email confirming that I'll get the cash. During all this back and forth my bank changed its account numbers so that when Brightstar transfered the money (which I'm now not even sure they ever did), I never received it. I checked with my bank and they said the money definitely went back to Brightstar. However, Brightstar now says that it was my mistake and they won't be able to transfer again. So basically they now have about $1000 plus my Macbook and won't pay me my money. They've also stopped responding to me emails.

Seriously?!?

So as mentioned, I've in the process of getting screwed by Brightstar. I just got off the phone with Apple support. It was bizarre. None of the agents I talked to knew what/who Brightstar was. After an hour or so I was told they they (Apple) don't consider themselves in any way responsible and are not able to even contact Brightstar or press them to resolve the issue in any way since Brightstar is a third party. The support agent actually felt really bad and kept apologizing but said he can't do anything.

That and the fact that my new $4000 Macbook pro is the worst laptop I've ever owned might just push me over the edge to turn my back on Apple after more than a decade.

cracky_aces wrote:

I sent a Macbook pro in, got a confirmation that I'll receive cash for it.

Cash? Really? Apple's recycling program in the U.S. (which Brightstar is involved with) offers Apple gift cards as payment, not cash.

Don't do it! I sent my perfect iPad 2 in for a gift card and they broke my device and said I get nothing. Google their reviews. They give photos of the device. I noticed on mine they took a punch to a corner and pushed up the screen without breaking the screen so they can reuse it. This never would have happened in shipping. I called and they are investigating. We will see. Please check Brightstar reviews first!!! I can't believe Apple puts up with this.