If you are a frequent flyer, chances are you have had the unfortunate experience of an airline losing your luggage. In fact, just last month after a direct flight from Washington DC to Oklahoma City, Susan’s suitcase was lost. Fortunately, as is typically the case, her baggage was quickly located and personally delivered to our home the following day. Statistically, 99.5% of all luggage arrives at its intended destination, and of the remaining .5%, .2% of those are eventually reunited with their owners. But, what happens to the remaining .3% of suitcases, packages, and lost items that never find their way home?
Turns out, they end up at a store in Scottsboro, Alabama where they are sold to the public.
Bags that have not been reunited with their owners after three months become airline property, and that’s when the Unclaimed Baggage store purchases them by the trailer load. Upon arrival, the suitcases are opened and their contents are sorted and cleaned. Some of the items end up in the trash and some are donated to charities, but the vast majority of items end up for sale in the Unclaimed Baggage store, which is open to the general public.
Both the size of the store and the amount of items for sale are a little overwhelming. The showroom is laid out like a typical thrift store and all of the items for sale are clean and used but in good condition, which makes sense as everything for sale came from someone’s luggage. Unlike many items in thrift stores which are only donated as they approach the end of their lives, everything here is something someone took with them on a trip, be it vacation or work.
If you’re wondering what types of items end up at the Unclaimed Baggage store, the answer is literally “everything that can be packed inside a suitcase or carried onto an airplane.”
Ladies, have you ever left a purse or fancy bag behind on vacation? Good news — you might be able to buy it back here! One of the first things you see after entering the store are hundreds of lost purses and bags. It’s almost depressing to think that each one of these bags represent someone’s ruined trip.
About two-thirds of the main floor is taken up by clothes for sale. The store has a wide variety of clothes in all shapes, sizes, and styles, because people from all walks of life lose their luggage. There are men’s clothes and women’s clothes, clothes for little boys and little girls. There are vacation t-shirts and business suits.
What would a new outfit be without a matching pair of shoes? Fortunately, Unclaimed Baggage has you (and your feet) covered. This horrible picture does a poor job of conveying just how many shoes the store has for sale. Each row was four or five sections deep, and there were at least a dozen rows. The store has quite literally thousands of shoes for sale. And again, these are not shoes that someone donated because they didn’t fit or the soles had become unglued. These are all shoes that someone lost on a trip. When’s the last time you went on vacation and took a pair of crummy, uncomfortable shoes?
One of the areas Susan enjoyed browsing was the jewelry department, where hundreds upon hundreds of rings, earrings, necklaces, gold chains, and other items were for sale.
Ever take a good book with you on vacation only to accidentally leave it behind on the plane? It’s probably here. The book section was divided into sections by topic, with “new releases” having their own display.
The Unclaimed Baggage store has three levels. Up from the main floor are sports-related items, more clothing, and electronics.
While one eBook reader takes up a lot less space than a pile of paperback books, they are a lot more expensive to replace when you leave one behind. These two displays had about 80 to choose from.
“Mommy, I can’t find my Nintendo Switch!” Again, good news — someone found it, and here it is. Upstairs there were multiple cases full of gaming systems that had been left behind. I guess now is a good time to go write my name and phone number on everything I own.
“That’s cool, but I only game on my phone.” Gotcha covered, boss. I think these are two of the four display cases full of people’s cell phones.
Behind the counter in the electronic section were larger items, including musical instruments like synthesizers, guitars, microphones, and DJ equipment. I also saw computer monitors, game consoles, Bluetooth speakers, boomboxes, a large collection of external hard drives, and other random items. Again, it’s easy to forget that each of these items were at one point in time safely packages inside a suitcase. What a bummer it would be to pack something like a PlayStation 4 or virtual reality headset in your luggage only to have their airline lose it and never see it again.
All of the items I’ve mentioned so far, from the clothes to the electronics, are things one might expect to find in suitcases. It stands to reason that from time to time Unclaimed Baggage discovers unusual devices. Over the years the store has discovered rare artwork, vintage newspapers, “multiple shrunken heads,” and even a live rattlesnake. Here are two of the items the store had on display while we were there:
Several years ago the store acquired a suitcase belonging to Ret Turner, a clothing designer who worked with many celebrities in the 1970s. Inside the case were several pieces of clothing including this dress and a few suits which the store strongly suggests but stops just short of saying belonged to Donnie and Marie Osmond. As interesting as it was to see, it made me wonder just how hard the airlines are trying to return these lost bags. If the store could easily identify the owner of the case and its contents, why couldn’t the airline?
And finally…
IT’S HOGGLE FROM LABYRINTH! According to the signage, when the Hoggle costume was discovered it was badly deteriorated, as the latex and rubber used for the costume was not designed to last. The costume was restored back to its original condition, and currently stands behind glass in the store’s entryway where he greets everyone who enters the store. I was a huge fan of Labyrinth and was surprised and shocked to discover after loyally serving Jareth (David Bowie) for so many years, his ultimate fate was not spending eternity in the Bog of Eternal Stench, but a random store in Scottsboro, Alabama.
So there you have it, our trip to the Unclaimed Baggage store. Susan picked up some jewelry and a couple of small token items while we were there. Because it was the weekend of the 4th of July, the store had a large inflatable slide in the parking lot along with some games and a food truck. It’s hard to imagine not enjoying the Unclaimed Baggage store… unless it’s your stuff for sale.
Link: UnclaimedBaggage.com
