Anyone else had a bad experience with Brightstarcorp trade in?

[BJB Productions]

Apple referred me to their online partner, Brightstar for trading in my iPad for an Apple Store gift card. They quoted me $190 for a trade in at the store, but I wasn't prepared to purchase another product at the time. Sent into Brightstar, and never heard anything ... finally checked online to see the status of my trade in, after fumbling around their website, found they quoted me $0. (But I never got an email about it.) I rejected the quote & requested a return of my iPad, but it hasn't been returned and it's been 4 business days. Tried emailing a week ago, no reply. I'll have to call on Monday.

It's just been a frustrating, very weird process. If they weren't affiliated with Apple, I would be really concerned.

 

[wanderlust19283]

I have previously had some good experiences with them, but I still wouldn't consider it reliable. I would say that if you send it to brightstar expect a 50/50 chance of your device being rejected or damaged. Definitely hope you gave them a call and had it sorted out.

Pros:
Easy to trade in products - they ship you the box with a prepaid shipping label and easy instructions
They do answer the phone if you call and you actually speak to a person (although they don't do anything apart from telling you why they rejected it in more detail)

Cons:
"affiliated" with apple, but apple doesn't help in any way if there's an issue
in the agreement you say that they're not responsible if the device is damaged, doesn't seem like even UPS is responsible if it's damaged during shipping. This is because Brightstar is the one paying for the shipping and they don't care to pursue reimbursement on your behalf.

 

[BJB Productions]

Funny you just found this thread - just today, actually, after over a month of delayed back and forth emails, I got my lawyer involved. She sent over a little letter explaining the situation. After a while, they finally replied but initially rejected to compensate me in any way. Then, about 5-10 minutes later, someone else emailed us again and said management changed their mind & decided to make an exception. They refunded me what the iPad was worth ($190) + I get to keep the iPad and sell for parts.

I consider myself VERY fortunate to have made out this way.

Our emails back and forth made it quite clear they have no intention of helping you if it's damaged in transit. So...props to them for trusting my word and granting me a refund, but I still wouldn't use them again. I agree; it's a weird void where they are recommended by Apple and somehow affiliated, but at the same time ..... not really affiliated.