Apple to begin a trade-in program for your old iPhone...finally!

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple has teamed up with BrightStar Corporation, a mobile-phone distributor, to begin an in-store trade-in program, according to an unnamed source. The program will help users with aging iPhone handsets transition to the more recent iPhone 5.

This isn't the first recycling program from Apple. Apple runs a Web-based recycling service in conjunction with PowerOn Services Inc., a company based in Roseville, CA. The company offers cash for used iPhones, iPads, and Macs. The program with BrightStar, however, will be available at Apple’s retail locations so that consumers will receive their money quickly and avoid having to deal with packaging and shipping products, as is standard with some other trade-in services. This tactic will also help ensure that the consumer sticks with Apple rather than taking the money and spending it with another company’s mobile platform. Each iPhone that is bought back will reportedly be resold in emerging markets.

BrightStar set up its trade-in shop over a year ago and will hit the 15 million mark later this year for devices that it has bought and resold. The company takes about 80 percent of used devices in the US and resells them to distributors in 50 countries. BrightStar also handles trade-ins for companies like AT&T and T-Mobile, as well as several other unnamed carriers and device makers.

By offering money for the aging smartphones, Apple and other companies can enable customers to upgrade to the latest hardware while also profiting from resales of the handsets. This is positive news for customers who might be holding on to old phones since most carriers only subsidize handsets with new contracts.

Both BrightStar and Apple have declined to comment to Bloomberg about the trade-in program and there's no word on when it will begin.

Or you can try Gazelle.com.  Pretty good service, free shipping and a decent price for your iphone or any other electronic gadget you have sitting around