Bought a used Kindle, turns out to be "lost or stolen"

[BlueSky77]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

I find it rather strange that Amazon doesn't assist owners of lost Kindles? What are the "security issues" if someone returns a stolen Kindle to Amazon and Amazon then contacts the owner? After all, if the Kindle has been blacklisted, then Amazon knows the original owner. And they might even be able to help track down thieves and/or people frequently fencing the stolen Kindles on Ebay/Craig's list.

I agree with this completely. I can understand why Amazon should not give the person that purchased the stolen/lost Kindle any info on the previous owner, but Amazon themselves should contact the previous owner. In my opinion that would not be a privacy issue and the previous owner would probably be quite happy to get their stolen/lost Kindle back.

[Jessica Lares]

I think it would be a great idea to make a website where people can submit lost/stolen Kindle serials and then have it so people can check if it's in the database. We have that for Apple products and it works well.

I think Kindles are so cheap that it probably costs Amazon more than it's worth to get shipped the Kindle and then send it back out.

[thomass]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

I think it would be a great idea to make a website .

a sticky thread ?

Depending on the Kindle model and FW version, most, if not all, of the Kindles I've owned have had a way to set your "personal information" via the Settings menu. Granted it is not easily found in the case of my K5, and it is completely optional, but I think the K3 allowed you to optionally enter even more contact/ownership info.

In the K5 you have to drill down through a convoluted menu system by tapping Menu --> Settings --> Device Options --> Personalize you Kindle --> Personal Information to display the Personal Info entry window where you can enter a string of text that identifies your Kindle. This is optional and what you enter might not help an honest person track you down, but if you so desired you could enter your name and email address. Granted many people, if not most, would not know this option existed, and as I said it is found via a maze of menu items. I think it was much easier to find on the K3. I cannot remember about the K4.

EDIT: Although this idea won't work on Kindles that are not jailbroken, on those eReaders that allow you to use custom sleep images (what some call screensavers) you can add your info to the image(s). When I owned Sony readers I always put my name and email address on the sleep image so all a person had to do, if they were honest, is look at the screen in order to find how to contact me. Of course Amazon makes this option difficult.

[Jessica Lares]

Originally Posted by thomass

a sticky thread ?

A website would be better. Otherwise you'd have crazy people joining MR to scream about their Kindles getting stolen, only to never come back.

[HarryT]

I find it interesting that someone could sell a Kindle and claim not to know that it was blacklisted. I wonder where they got it from?

[crich70]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I find it interesting that someone could sell a Kindle and claim not to know that it was blacklisted. I wonder where they got it from?

That's a good point. I mean usually you would expect there to be some documentation like a receipt or tracking info. or something that would lead back towards whomever stole and sold the item.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I find it interesting that someone could sell a Kindle and claim not to know that it was blacklisted. I wonder where they got it from?

That's very easy. You buy a used Kindle, don't register it and then try to sell it for more.

[geekmaster]

I bought a DXG (for parts) from a pawn shop, very cheap because they claimed that it could not be registered. I tried registering it anyway, and it registered just fine. Perhaps their amazon ACCOUNT was blacklisted and not the kindle?

In the USA there are at least tens of thousands of people who supplement their wages or even make their whole living from buying and reselling. Some go around to early morning garage sales usually held on Saturday and buy anything they think they can resale for a profit. Some go around to flea markets and do the same. Flea markets are locations permanently set up on a large commercial property like an outdoor shopping mall, but those selling are usually selling used items gathered at garage sales, other flea markets, etc. On eBay there are many thousands of store fronts that mostly sell used items the owner has acquired from people wanting quick cash. So there is a huge culture of buying used items in the USA from people you really don't know. Some probably sell these Kindles without even knowing how to operate them. They are wheeler-dealers, but unlike the British car show of the same name these people probably don't know much about the used items they sale.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I find it interesting that someone could sell a Kindle and claim not to know that it was blacklisted. I wonder where they got it from?

Yard sale & craigslist are the first two options that come to mind. There are people who buy tech-things solely to resell them, and don't bother to check the specific status of each. With a Kindle, turning it on & confirming that it can load books would seem like enough confirmation that it's functional--someone who's intending to be a middleman has no interest in registering it. And people who've never used one themselves don't necessarily know that it's not fully functional without registering with Amazon, even if you don't intend to use the Amazon store.

[lorene]

I left my kindle HD 7" on the airplane in the front sleeve pocket where I was sitting. The airline would not let me go back on the plane to get it and told me to wait in baggage claims. When they cleaned out the plane they found a Kindle but unfortunately it was not mine. I called the planes next destination stop which was in Denver and told the person at the gate. I was told they are not aloud to go to the plane or talk about lost items to the flight attendants. I called in the airlines and went through all the procedures of filling out the lost items form immediately. I called Amazon to deactivate my Kindle and was told that if someone tried to register the Kindle then there would be a single showing them that my Kindle was found. The Kindle you have could be mine and Amazon should have been able to have you turn it on so they could track the account. I have been trying to check the Houston Lost and found and just like everyone else...I get nowhere. I wonder if the place actually exists. = ) I decided to check the internet to find out who might be selling used Kindles and found your thread and the Mobile Read. My Kindle was in a red case and I lost it on June 11, 2013. It was Lorene's Kindle. Anyway, sorry abut what happened to you and I wanted to thank you for trying to get the word out about stolen and lost Kindles. If there were more good and honest people like you then we wouldn't have this thread going on.

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

I find it rather strange that Amazon doesn't assist owners of lost Kindles? What are the "security issues" if someone returns a stolen Kindle to Amazon and Amazon then contacts the owner? After all, if the Kindle has been blacklisted, then Amazon knows the original owner. And they might even be able to help track down thieves and/or people frequently fencing the stolen Kindles on Ebay/Craig's list.

I agree. Even if Amazon doesn't want to get involved in the matter they can offer to give the finder's phone number to the one who lost the kindle if both parties agree.

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

I think it would be a great idea to make a website where people can submit lost/stolen Kindle serials and then have it so people can check if it's in the database.

Good idea

We have that for Apple products and it works well.

I was not aware of this. Where is this site?

I think Kindles are so cheap that it probably costs Amazon more than it's worth to get shipped the Kindle and then send it back out.

They could maybe provide phone #'s if both parties are willing.

Carol

[SampleAndy]

Originally Posted by jswinden

In the USA there are at least tens of thousands of people who supplement their wages or even make their whole living from buying and reselling. Some go around to early morning garage sales usually held on Saturday and buy anything they think they can resale for a profit. Some go around to flea markets and do the same. Flea markets are locations permanently set up on a large commercial property like an outdoor shopping mall, but those selling are usually selling used items gathered at garage sales, other flea markets, etc. On eBay there are many thousands of store fronts that mostly sell used items the owner has acquired from people wanting quick cash. So there is a huge culture of buying used items in the USA from people you really don't know. Some probably sell these Kindles without even knowing how to operate them. They are wheeler-dealers, but unlike the British car show of the same name these people probably don't know much about the used items they sale.

There are also the sellers who specialize in electronic devices. They take the time to make sure the devices boot up and reset them to factory settings, but don't if they can be registered. With some of the Kindles, it's kind of a pain to configure your wifi and then enter an email address and password. It's easier to just sell it and hope for the best.

I got a K3 for parts from a seller who later told me that she had got it from a "defaulted storage unit". (shrugs) You pays your money and you takes your chances.