Frequently Asked Questions

General

Why this web site?

The idea of this service originates from two simple observations:

we happen to lose treasured items,
in their clear majority, people like to help ieach other and would be happy to get a found item back to its owner, if only they could contact him.

The object of this web site is to allow people who find your lost belongings to contact you.

How can people guess they should come on this site to give back an item?

The main idea of lost.re is that the ID which is marked on the item is an URL — an internet address — easily recognizable as such by most people, so that they just have to type it in an internet browser.

Someone finding the item and looking for a hint to identify its owner, will see the URL. Typing it in his browser will allow him to contact the item owner.

How much does it cost?

The service is free and allows you to register 5 objects. However we do have some fees to honor (servers, bandwidth, data store, maintenance,…) and we hope you will donate us a small amount to allow for service continuity.

A small donation will allow you to register more objects (with a minimum of €2 for each 10 objects).

After signing up, you start with 5 IDs for an unlimited time.

I've found a lost item!

If the found item is yours, you are very lucky!

If not, just type the ID in your internet browser.

If the ID does not look like an URL and does not contains one of the following domain name, you can try to type it in the appropriate form.

Which domain name shall I choose?

The following domain names are available:

We recommend to choose a domain name that will be short enough to be put on your belonging, but still will most likely be recognizes as an URL that may help to give the item back.

You may also add www., http:// or http://www. before the domain name if you want to reinforce the URL look.

Note also that all those websites, despite having a different name, have the same content, and the same IDs in their database.

Why do you allow to choose between several domain names for the IDs?

We do so in order to allow people to find the best compromise between:

the size of the full ID (domain name + unique ID)
the people ability to understand that the ID is in fact an URL,
the people ability to understand that the URL allow them to give back the object to its owner.

The choice of the domain name will therefore be based primarily upon the owner country, the object category and size but also upon the owner's feeling.

I gave or sold one of my marked belonging. What shall I do?

Don't forget to transfer the item ID to the person to whom you give or sell your belonging.

To do so, go to the page that allow you to manage your items and click on the transfer icon () for the chosen item.

You will then have access to the data you should communicate to the new owner to allow him to take possession of the concerned ID.

I bought an object which is marked with your site URL. What shall I do?

You just have to create an account on our web site, and ask the previous owner to transfer you the ID.

Mark the Items

How can I mark my items?

Everything is possible!

You may for example:

write down the ID with a permanent marker on the label of a garment,
stick a QR code at the back of your phone case,
engrave the ID on the arms of your eyeglasses or on the back of your phone,
make a personalized keyring on which the ID is written,
for a teddy bear, a comforter or a garment, you can sew a textile label or put a sticky label that you may order to one of the numerous company selling them,
etc.

If you plan to mark several items with textile or sticking labels, it may be convenient to buy a label printer. For example, we have found a Dymo Letratag 100H for around €20 on some popular online stores.

Do you sell labels?

No. We considered it, but each object is different. Some need sticky label, some textile or even washable labels. Some items need tiny labels, others may cope well with larger ones… You may choose not to have a label on fashion items for which other way of marking may be more appropriate.

In short, we let you decide what is the best way to mark your belonging.

You may however use one of the following websites to purchase labels. But there exist many more:

We are not affiliated with any of these societies. Do not hesitate to compare by yourself.

Can I use the same ID for different items?

Yes and no.

Using the same ID for different items may raise some concerns and particularly when the marking is difficult to suppress or erase. If you transfer an object, you will also have to transfer the associated ID. Having several items under the same ID is then a real problem.

Also, reporting different lost items with the same ID would not work as expected.

However, for some items, like garment, it may be simpler to mark them all with the same ID. It allows you to buy textile labels in volume. If you ever want to sell your coat, for instance, you can always unpick the label.

Usually, we would advise to use a unique ID for each item.

Confidentiality

What do you do with my personal data?

In two words: not much!

The only data we have about you are your name, first name, mail address and the description of your objects. You card number is not communicated to us.

Those data allow us to fulfil the service you subscribed to. We won't communicate them to anybody else.

According to the French law informatique et libertés of January 6^th 1978, you have the right of access and rectification of your personal data. Please contact webmaster@lost.re if you need to do so.

What information are communicated to the person who find one of my marked item?

When somebody find a marked item ant type the ID in a browser, he is shown a form that enables him to send you a mail in which he will suggest you a way to get in touch (mail address, phone number, meeting…).

We won't communicate him any piece of information about you, not even your mail address. You are the one that will choose what you will communicate to him. Be aware that your reply will be send by you with your usual sender email address.

However it is certainly a good idea to be a bit cautious. For example, it is perhaps not so smart to give away you real address or some other information allowing for an easy location of your house if the item you have lost is your home key!

Depending on the context, it may be a good idea to arrange for a meeting in a public place, and to use an anonymizing email service for the mail replies.