Apple's trade-in partner Brightstar a scam?

Apple has a decent trade-in offering through their partner, Brightstar--that is, IF you receive the amount initially quoted or AT ALL.

Any google search of "brightstar" and "scam" will bring up a seemingly unlimited number of results showing customers negative experiences with Brightstar. I've seen everything from Brightstar not responding once their device has been mailed in, receiving $0 instead of their initial quote, not receiving their device back, etc.

For me, the risk is way too high to go through with them. Does anyone have any positive and relatively pain-free experiences selling their laptops in a safe and reliable way?