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Can you help provide a 'lost iPad' story with a happy ending?

by Erica Sadun Oct 11th 2011 at 4:30PM

So Greg from Australia contacted me on the tip line with a rather interesting story. While vacationing in Italy, he stumbled across a lost iPad in his hotel. He soon realized that the iPad belonged to Leisha, an American lady in Colorado.

He brought it home to Australia so he could try to work with Apple to repatriate it to its owner. Upon calling his local Apple store, he was turned down flat. Apple would not help him ship the iPad back home. So he contacted us here at TUAW.

We made call after call to various Apple support arms to see if anyone could help the iPad travel from its Antipodean perch, all the way back home. Each time, we were flatly denied. If he wants to ship the iPad, we were told, he'd either have to do it out of his own pocket or have the owner pay.

When you hear that the cost of shipping is almost US$200, you'll understand why that could be a little problematic. You might be thinking "Wait, both of these people had the money to travel to Italy, but they can't afford to ship a package?" Think about it -- there's a lot of difference between a trip you save money for, sometimes for years, and a sudden unexpected $200 shipping bill.

Anyway, Apple doesn't seem to have an internal shipping system that allows store-to-store deliveries for parcels like this misplaced iPad -- not even marsupials wearing UPS uniforms -- and they weren't open to our suggestions that Greg could turn in the unit in Australia in exchange for a refurb unit in Colorado.

So we decided to open up the situation to our readers. Do you know of a cheap and reliable way for the iPad to ship from Brisbane to Colorado? Could your company sponsor its trip home?

Let us know on our tip line. If you can help Greg and Leisha, please ping us! We'd love to see this story of a misplaced iPad get a happy ending.

Thanks in advance from the whole TUAW crew.



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59 Comments

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Jim Glidewell

In many jurisdictions, what Greg did is considered theft. Retaining another's property beyond a reasonable time, regardless of intention, is illegal. Turning it in at the hotel desk would have been the sensible and honorable thing to do. Soliciting for donations far in excess of the actual cost of shipping, not so much so.

October 22 2011 at 7:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bretterson

Maybe $200 if you use FedEx or UPS. I've received stuff from Australia and once I sent a head unit there; I've never paid that much shipping on anything to go anywhere.

October 14 2011 at 12:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Aargh-a-Knot

If you use Google Translate to convert the title of this article to Mandarin Chinese, and then convert it back to English, it reads "Please make gratuitous ******** following missing magic book tome."

Don't even ask me how I figured that out...

October 13 2011 at 8:27 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Basem A. Aggad

Here's one from Amman, Jordan http://beamman.com/on-the-street/people-/297

October 13 2011 at 5:51 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Frank Steinberg

The other day, I lost my ipad. I couldn't find it!

Turns out my roommate moved it from the living room to my bedroom when I got up to go to the bathroom for some reason.

October 12 2011 at 12:56 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Hunt And Shoot

Someone is telling a lie:
http://auspost.com.au/apps/international-parcel.html

Anywhere from $35 to $81.20 AUD to send a 1.5kg - 1.75kg parcel to anywhere in the USA. So where the hell did the $200 come from?

October 12 2011 at 11:29 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
awhulsizer

wonder if he could take it to an apple store in australia (probably not one in brisbane?) and they put it back in the system as a reconditioned model and she goes to the apple store in denver and get a credit for a reconditioned iPad. reconditioned apple products are virtually brand new.

October 12 2011 at 10:04 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Graham

In my opinion it's his fault for taking the iPad because then he has responsibility for it. What he should have done was turn it into lost property at the hotel because it's more than likely the case that the owner tried to contact the hotel to see if she could find it. I'm sure the hotel would have happily arranged for its safe return to the owner.

October 12 2011 at 10:02 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
seancanhelp

I'm in Sydney til next Tuesday, then flying back home to S.F. If there's a way to get the ipad to me, I'd be happy to send it off when I get back home.

October 12 2011 at 8:45 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Andrew Marich

If it helps and isnt too late, I am flying from Sydney to London on the 30th. Then London to New York on the 5th of next month. Then on to LA on the 8th.

October 12 2011 at 8:20 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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