As a longtime fan, I was dismayed to learn that Stuffbak has changed its TOS and no longer offers a premium service level that provides free return shipping. However it will honor existing contracts through 2014. Unfortunately mine expires next week. Also 24/7 customer service will be cut back to Mo-Fri 9am-5pm.

Going forward the only option is for basic service, which means that you pay a $49 fee every time an item is returned, in addition to the up front price for new stickers. However the first 2 years of service (for each sticker) are free. Which leads somewhat to the rather perverse logic of replacing stickers every 2 years on low value items. @:-) The total cost is even higher if you offer a reward to the finder. (I typically offer $100 on iPhones and $200 on laptops, though fortunately have yet to pay out). When you add up the reward + $49, it just won't make sense anymore to protect low value items like kindles and dated smartphones.

Given the changed economics of stuffbak I am wondering if there is a better product. I believe there is a company pre-selling RFID tags for luggage tracking (with alarms) but IIRC it has not yet rolled out.