When filmmaker Daniel Scheinert collected multiple Oscars at the 2023 Academy Awards, he wasn’t sporting a designer tuxedo. Instead, he purchased a pre-owned tuxedo from an unusual retailer called Unclaimed Baggage.
Ever wondered where luggage goes when it’s never reclaimed?
We dug into that — and also uncovered a great place to hunt for bargains online.
The truth is most misplaced suitcases are returned to their owners. Only a tiny percentage of bags remain unclaimed. But with billions of bags checked at airports annually, even a small percentage equals a substantial number.
Truly “orphaned” luggage ends up at a massive retail outlet in Alabama that occupies nearly a city block. It’s known as the Unclaimed Baggage Center, and it operates an online shop called Unclaimed Baggage.
There, you’ll find a continuous stream of men’s and women’s apparel, jewelry and electronics like laptops, tablets, earbuds and headphones.
The business partners with all the major U.S. airlines and markets itself as the country’s sole retailer devoted to lost baggage.
“The airlines do an excellent job reuniting travelers with their luggage,” said Sonni Hood, a spokesperson for the retailer. “They succeed over 99½% of the time. We see a fraction of a percent of bags that truly go unclaimed. We act as a salvage partner so those items don’t end up in a landfill.”
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The Best Times to Shop
Any day of the week you can browse thousands of unclaimed items offered at steep discounts.
You can filter by category — men’s and women’s apparel and accessories; children’s and baby clothing; shoes; electronics; jewelry; and “home & lifestyle,” which covers a wide variety of items.
You can refine your search even more by brand or price. While browsing the site, we encountered a wide selection of shirts, pants, footwear, AirPods, Kindles and ties, among other finds. For each listing, Unclaimed Baggage shows the sale price and often an estimated retail price you might pay elsewhere.
(We’ll cover some common questions about Unclaimed Baggage at the end of this piece.)
According to the store’s “bag openers,” the most frequent discoveries in lost luggage are blue jeans and headphones.
At Unclaimed Baggage’s vast 50,000-square-foot brick-and-mortar store in Scottsboro, Alabama, they sometimes process as many as 7,000 new items each day. The store sits in northeastern Alabama, roughly halfway between Birmingham, Alabama, and Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“The online shop is designed to give you the Unclaimed Baggage experience until you can make the drive to Scottsboro,” Hood said.
And clearly, many patrons do just that.
“We’re actually one of the top tourist draws in Alabama, with 1 million visitors every year,” she said. “For many folks, we’re on their bucket list.”
The physical store opened in 1970, while the online storefront launched in 2020.
The Strangest Things They’ve Discovered
Airlines and airports go to considerable lengths to reunite travelers with missing bags. If you’re persistent, the chances are good you’ll recover your luggage.
Only after a thorough three-month search is a bag officially declared “orphaned,” according to the retailer. That occurs in an estimated 0.03% of all checked luggage — about 3 of every 10,000 bags.
When a bag is truly unclaimed, airlines usually pay the passenger’s claim. Still, it’s surprising to see some of the items people apparently abandon.
It turns out some highly unusual objects turn up in lost luggage.
“The most astonishing thing we discovered was a live rattlesnake,” Hood said. “He was tucked inside a pocket of a duffel bag. We’ve also found actual human shrunken heads — three, to be precise.”
The priciest item they’ve ever sold? A platinum Rolex originally priced at $64,000 that sold for $32,000.
There was also a 40-carat Colombian emerald rolled up inside a sock in a lost suitcase. It was appraised at $32,000 and sold for $14,000 in cash.
The Alabama location even has a museum exhibit displaying some of the wilder items it’s retrieved from unclaimed baggage. Exhibits have included two full suits of armor, mounted animal heads and an original puppet from the 1980s Jim Henson film “Labyrinth.”
Travelers also leave belongings at airport security checkpoints, in overhead compartments, in taxis and on buses. If an item goes unclaimed, it ultimately may be routed to Unclaimed Baggage.
The store says it sells about a third of incoming items, donates another third and recycles the remaining third that can’t be resold.
Wondering where lost luggage ends up if no one claims it? Now you know.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
All garments offered for sale are professionally laundered. Unclaimed Baggage claims to operate the largest commercial laundry facility in Alabama.
All electronics are tested to confirm functionality, and any personal data is wiped.
Unclaimed Baggage says it employs specialists with years of experience authenticating jewelry and luxury goods. (Some jewelry on sale is costume jewelry rather than fine jewelry, and it’s priced accordingly.)
Nope, sorry. By the time luggage reaches Unclaimed Baggage, airlines have already attempted to return it to the owner. Items arrive without identifying information.
Mark Hensley (mark.hensley@example.com) is a senior writer at Savinly.
