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sleepyDC · Apr 21, 2007, 10:34 PM

So today I went shopping and I found iPod video 80GB in the fitting room. I did not want to leave it to the sales assistant since I would never know if they even tried to return it to the owner. I looked at the contact list, it's empty, it has no personal info. It has a bunch of photos and music. Nothing specific in the photos, such as a house with a number, a car so that I could look up the license plate etc. Is there any way to locate the owner? I already posted an ad on craigslist, but I am not counting on that one a lot. Any advice would be appreciated.

If I take it to the Apple store, could they contact the owner?

Thanks.

Wiskedjak · Apr 21, 2007, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by sleepyDC

So today I went shopping and I found iPod video 80GB in the fitting room. I did not want to leave it to the sales assistant since I would never know if they even tried to return it to the owner. I looked at the contact list, it's empty, it has no personal info. It has a bunch of photos and music. Nothing specific in the photos, such as a house with a number, a car so that I could look up the license plate etc. Is there any way to locate the owner? I already posted an ad on craigslist, but I am not counting on that one a lot. Any advice would be appreciated.

If I take it to the Apple store, could they contact the owner?

Thanks.

Apple might be able to contact the owner by way of the serial number, but only if the owner registered. I would tell the people at the store that if the owner comes looking for it, to have them call you. You might also want to contact the local police, in case they owner reports it missing to them. In any case, I would hang on to it until the owner is found. If the owner isn't found, and you made every effort to get it back to them, I would have no problems keeping it; someone will end up with it, it might as well be you if not the original owner.

cwosigns · Apr 21, 2007, 11:06 PM

Nice to see someone with a moral compass. It seems like once a month, on this forum or another (I belong to several), someone has found a device. Usually their questions are, "How do I get past the password?" or something to that effect.

I appreciate your honesty.

msuper69 · Apr 22, 2007, 12:41 AM

Originally Posted by cwosigns

Nice to see someone with a moral compass. It seems like once a month, on this forum or another (I belong to several), someone has found a device. Usually their questions are, "How do I get past the password?" or something to that effect.

I appreciate your honesty.

What he said.

ebrunn · Apr 22, 2007, 03:20 AM

co-sign what the others said.

should go around all the iPod forums and post where you found it and have them sticky it in the thread as well

gooser · Apr 22, 2007, 07:24 AM

why would you automatically assume the sales clerk is dishonest? the owner has probably retraced their steps and contacted someone at every place they possibly could have left it.

sleepyDC · Apr 22, 2007, 10:13 AM

I did not automatically assume the sales clerk was dishonest, but the fact is that there are about 4 sales clerks per floor in that specific shift. I would be leaving $400+ item in the hands of people I know nothing about. It's not a mall so that I can leave it to the police. It seems that the person purchased music from iTunes so the Apple store should have the contact info. I'll call the store later today to report the iPod.

Visnaut · Apr 22, 2007, 11:16 AM

You probably figured this out, but when you have iTMS files in your iTunes library, you can see the name of the purchaser in the Get Info window.

You can use something like Senuti to extract those files to your iTunes library.

sleepyDC · Apr 22, 2007, 11:27 AM

Well, it seems that the iPod is formatted for MAC and my MAC is at work so I could not get that info. I am taking it to the Apple store now so I'll let you all know what happens.

Sherman Homan · Apr 22, 2007, 01:36 PM

I think the Apple Store is a fine idea. The owner will probably end up there asking if there is any way to locate a missing iPod. Kudos for doing the right thing.

icruise · Apr 22, 2007, 01:54 PM

If you didn't feel right about giving it to a clerk, you could have asked for the manager or asked if there was a lost-and-found desk (if it was in a mall or large store, there should be one). Personally, I don't think taking it was "the right thing" to do.

Simon · Apr 22, 2007, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by icruise

If you didn't feel right about giving it to a clerk, you could have asked for the manager or asked if there was a lost-and-found desk (if it was in a mall or large store, there should be one). Personally, I don't think taking it was "the right thing" to do.

I agree. The guy will certainly go back to the place and when they tell him nothing was returned he's gonna assume it was stolen. At the very least you should have left your address or phone number.

brokenjago · Apr 22, 2007, 05:16 PM

I don't think that telling her/him that s/he did the wrong thing is the "right thing to do" when s/he is clearly trying to do the right thing and return it to its original owner. Plus, there's always a chance that the person who misplaced it might not have realized where they misplaced it, and s/he could be doing this person a favor by trying to track them down.

I do agree that it would have been a good idea to have left your address/phone number, though.

analogika · Apr 22, 2007, 07:40 PM

I wish somebody had tried this with my 60-GB iPod...

icruise · Apr 22, 2007, 08:13 PM

In any case, the OP seems to want to find the person, so why not at least contact the shop and tell them that you found it, so that if the person comes asking about it (or maybe already has) they can get in contact with you? I just think that contacting the Apple store or whatever is a very roundabout way to do it. There's no guarantee that the person who lost it would go there, but there's a very good chance that they would go to the store where they lost it.

cwosigns · Apr 22, 2007, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by icruise

There's no guarantee that the person who lost it would go there, but there's a very good chance that they would go to the store where they lost it.

The OP didn't say that he was hoping the owner was going to go to the Apple Store. He's hoping the Apple Store will be able to help ID the owner and help him contact him/her.

I agree that leaving the iPod at the store wasn't the best option. If the lost iPod is in my hands, a conscientious and honest person, why would I turn it over to a total stranger? Leaving the finder's number with the store would've been a good idea, but if sleepyDC can have the Apple Store ID the iPod...that's probably the best route.

icruise · Apr 22, 2007, 09:15 PM

Yes, I understand that. I was referring to what Sherman Homan said about the owner probably going there anyway.

zerock · Apr 22, 2007, 09:22 PM

itms files have an email embedded in them

sleepyDC · Apr 22, 2007, 11:11 PM

The reason I did not leave it in the store was because the person did not leave the whole bag there and in my own case, had I lost something, I would have had no idea where to look. Bus, metro, store, street? I took it to the Apple store today, they found the person's name and email and I left the iPod in the store. They did not want to tell me the name or the email of the person, instead they asked me for my email and contact info. Anyway, I also called the store where I found the iPod and nobody looked for an iPod, but anyhow I left my contact info there as well. Hopefully the owner will get the iPod back. Thanks for all the comments.

brokenjago · Apr 22, 2007, 11:24 PM

cool. Glad that we could be of help.

Hopefully this person is cool enough to contact you to give you a reward.

sleepyDC · Apr 25, 2007, 08:35 PM

Update on the story.

The owner got the iPod back from the Apple store. I got iTunes gift card from the person and the message:

XXXXXXX,

Thank you so much for finding and taking my video iPod to the ***** Apple Store. I can't even tell you how much I appreciate it. I was certain I would never see it again. I hope you will be able to use this iTunes gift certificate. My way of saying thanks.

Warm regards,

XXXXXX

So, everything ended well. Thanks everybody for the comments

brokenjago · Apr 25, 2007, 08:52 PM

Awesome!

What music/shows are you going to buy with your shiny new iTunes Gift card?

cwosigns · Apr 25, 2007, 10:10 PM

Glad everything worked out.

hongalan · Sep 11, 2007, 02:47 AM

I found an iPod and contacted the local Apple store to try to locate the owner through the serial number. They told me to give it to the store and they will attempt to locate the owner. I asked what would happen if the owner can not be located...they said it would be returned to Apple to be recycled. I said that I would give my name, cell phone number and email for the owner to contact me but will not turn it in to be recycled. I will keep it if the owner could not be located. I have attempted for days to locate the owner . Am I being unreasonable? Is there a way to find the owner through the serial number without going through Apple? Serial nuber is JQ4463FJR5R.

siflippant · Sep 11, 2007, 03:51 AM

Originally Posted by sleepyDC

Update on the story.

The owner got the iPod back from the Apple store. I got iTunes gift card from the person and the message:

XXXXXXX,

Thank you so much for finding and taking my video iPod to the ***** Apple Store. I can't even tell you how much I appreciate it. I was certain I would never see it again. I hope you will be able to use this iTunes gift certificate. My way of saying thanks.

Warm regards,

XXXXXX

So, everything ended well. Thanks everybody for the comments

You did the right thing...

Good job

Eriamjh · Sep 13, 2007, 01:15 PM

Under "Settings -> About" My 3G iPod has my name ("Dan XXXXXX's iPod. It would be nice if someone returned it if I lost it.