This is where your lost luggage really goes! Massive warehouse outside Atlanta SELLS your unclaimed bags knockdown prices
Have you ever wondered where your lost luggage ends up?
Well, look no further than the store called Unclaimed baggage in Scottsboro, Alabama, about 150 miles northwest of Atlanta.
With airports predicted to be their busiest ever between Christmas and New Year this year, airlines are bound to lose a suitcase or two as a result.
“With fifty years of experience handling large volumes of unique items, we maximize each item’s potential for a second life,” Unclaimed Baggage says on its website.
Unclaimed Baggage said airline technology reunites more than 99.5 percent of bags with their owners. However, if after a three-month search the bag still remains unclaimed, then less than 0.03 percent of the bags become orphans and end up on store shelves in Alabama.
Unclaimed Baggage Service is the only lost baggage store in the country and will be the destination for all stray bags as it has contracts with all domestic airlines.
Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsboro, Alabama, about 150 miles northwest of Atlanta, is the destination for all lost luggage and the only store of its kind in the country.
When bags reach a store, they are sorted into three categories: resell, repurpose or recycle.
Products featured on the site include designer clothing, jackets, bags, accessories, homewares, sporting goods and electronics.
Once the bags arrive at the store, employees sort them into three categories: resell, repurpose or recycle.
About a third of items are sold and prices are determined by estimated retail value and terms.
If an item is repurposed, it is donated to communities around the world. If items need to be thrown away, they ensure that all personal information is destroyed and the items are recycled properly.
Products featured on the site include designer clothing, jackets, bags, accessories, homewares, sporting goods and electronics.
“I would say people come here to shop in our clothing department. The sales floor here occupies 50,000 square feet of retail space, and 7,000 new products are added to the sales floor every day. So it’s quite a treasure hunt,” Unclaimed Baggage public relations manager Sonny Hood told DailyMail.com.
The Treasures Found Museum opened in 2023 and one of their finds is none other than Hoggle from the sci-fi movie Labyrinth (pictured).
These three heads are also the showcase of the Treasure Found Museum, which displays some of the strangest finds in recent years.
Three Birkin bags have been found in the store’s history, two of which were found this year.
Last month they sold one that was valued at about $30,000 and sold for $15,000.
Hood said the most expensive item the store ever sold was a men’s platinum Rolex presidential watch, which retailed for $64,000 and sold for $32,000.
Three Birkin bags have been found in the store’s history, two of which were found this year. Last month they sold one that was valued at about $30,000 and sold for $15,000.
Hood said the Reclaimed for Good thrift store is the “heartbeat” of unclaimed luggage.
“Our goal when we take these bags and decide whether we’re going to sell, donate or recycle them is we want to buy back these items forever.” We want to keep them out of the landfill and do as much good as possible with them,” Hood said.
Some of their charitable efforts include donating prescription glasses to Lions Club International and donating suitcases to children in care.
Unclaimed Baggage Public Relations Manager Sonny Hood said the clothing section attracts the most people.
Hood said the most expensive item sold at the store was a men’s platinum Rolex presidential watch.
The store opened in 1970 when Doyle Owens used a borrowed pickup truck and a $300 credit to buy his first load of unclaimed luggage on the Trailways bus line in Washington, D.C.
By 1995, Doyle’s son Brian and his wife Sharon took over the business and expanded the store to cover an area larger than a city block, adding a cafe and a Found Treasure Museum, which opened in 2023.
There are many iPhones left behind by their former owners during a flight.
The Museum of Found Treasures has this cowboy hat autographed by Muhammad Ali (pictured above).
“On average, for every item sold, we donate an additional item to someone in need,” the store says on its website.
The store opened in 1970 when Doyle Owens used a borrowed pickup truck and a $300 credit to buy his first load of unclaimed luggage on the Trailways bus line in Washington, D.C.
The store was initially only open two days a week, but became so popular after Doyle secured a contract with Eastern Airlines that the business opened permanently.
In 1981, the store began its first ski sale, which has become an annual tradition on the first Saturday in November, attracting shoppers camping out in the parking lot to get first in line.
By 1995, Doyle’s son Brian and his wife Sharon took over the business and expanded the store to cover an area larger than a city block, adding a cafe and a Found Treasure Museum, which opened in 2023.
Cups Café offers a menu of sandwiches, salads, coffee and sweets.
In time for the store’s 50th anniversary in 2020, they opened an online store, but had to postpone their tour.
Finally, in 2022, the company hit the road and traveled to all 50 states to showcase its collection of unusual finds.
The Treasures Found Museum opened in 2023 and showcases strange finds throughout the years, including armor, a spaceship camera, Hoggle from the sci-fi movie Labyrinth, a shrunken head and more.
Hood said the store has become one of the top tourist destinations in the state, with visitors from all 50 states and more than 40 countries around the world.
AAA Airline passengers were forecast to reach 7.5 million this holiday season, surpassing 2019’s record of 7.3 million passengers.
The store’s cafe, Cups Café, offers visitors a menu of sandwiches, salads, coffee and sweets.
However, completely lost luggage is relatively rare. Data from Aviation Consumer Authority The defense found that between January and September 2023, operating carriers mishandled 0.64 bags per 100 removed from aircraft.
This number represents checked bags that were lost, damaged, delayed and stolen by passengers.
According to US Department of TransportationAirlines have their own rules regarding when they officially declare a bag lost, but in most cases it is between five and fourteen days.
Once the airline determines that your bag is lost, it is required to compensate the passenger up to $3,800.
Only then does it end up at the unclaimed baggage point, where the abandoned items are sorted and resold in stores and online.