With my new STM bag, I was sent a StuffBak label to be attached to an item of value. If the item is found, they can go to the website and find the owner\’s contact information as well as the reward.

The owner needs to pay for the recovery fee (the S&H from stuffbak.com).

The labels are given primarily for free, but I am impressed with the business model. No money is made from making and distributing the labels. The primary profits come from the recovery phase. And at that point, any owner would fork over a large amount of money to retrieve something of value. That latter phase can be worth…a lot, because the value proposition is incredibly different from going into a store and purchasing something. Impressive.

I have the label on my digital camera. Last year, I lost my powershot s30 somewhere at CMU. I never did find it despite leaving my name and number with several front desks. Would a reward for finding a lost item be motivating enough for people to return the item?

And why not just affix my own contact information to the item?