Live snakes, mounted ram heads, Halloween cards signed by Richard Nicholson.
These are the most fascinating items found in lost luggage in 2023, according to a new report from Unclaimed Baggage, a shop that buys unseen lost items from airlines.
The company also found a 13-foot-tall pole, terrifying props from the “Saw” film series, and a pair of Louis Vuitton Nike Air Force 1 sneakers worth $12,000.
These projects and more are featured in the company’s first “Discovery Report: A look inside America’s lost luggage”, published on April 1.
“We thought it would be fun for us to publish an annual report documenting the most common items, the most expensive items and the weird and wonderful items,” CEO Bryan Owens told CNBC Travel.
According to the list, the most expensive items found this year were a diamond ring (estimated at $37,050), a Cartier Panthère watch ($26,500) and an Hermès Birkin 25 bag ($23,500).
The company has long-term contracts with airlines, hotels, trains and rental car companies to buy unclaimed items. It handles tens of thousands of items each week; about a third is sold, another third is donated and the remainder is recycled, he said.
“We live in a world where everything has been lost,” Owens said. “Every day is a little like Christmas.”
Loyal customer base
The founder of the company is Owen’s father, Doyle OwensIn 1970, Doyle received a tip that a local bus company was struggling to deal with the increasing number of luggage left behind by passengers.
So he borrowed $300 to buy unwanted bags, slapped price tags on them, and sold the items from his home in Scottsboro, Ala. — population: 15,700.
After that, “it’s game on,” Owens said.
Today, Unclaimed Baggage’s retail store in Scottsboro is larger than a city block, and the company has more than 250 employees, he said. The excitement of hunting—the possibility of what might be found—attracts people from near and far.
“We have a million people a year… coming from every state in the United States and 40 countries,” he said. “We had customers from the West Coast who would fly out a few times. I remember a couple of customers from the UK who would fly in once a year just to shop.”
Unclaimed Baggage opened the “Uncovered Treasures” museum in Scottsboro, Alabama in 2023, showcasing the strangest objects acquired over the years. This exhibit features a scaled-down replica of a human head that resembles a real head found in a lost bag.
Source: Unclaimed Baggage
Owens said discounts range from 20% to 80%, depending on the item, with more discounts on clothes and less on Rolex watches. He said the company wanted to offer deals to customers but not incentivize dealers.
Owens said a customer, possibly a cruise ship employee, purchased a “large number” of Kindles and resold them in the port city.
“We hope someone can get a deal that can’t be done elsewhere, but … we’re not in the business for arbitrage.”
Best Sellers and “Returns”
from AirPods sell for $54 To a HP 15.6-inch laptop sells for $175Electronics are selling the fastest, Owens said.
But fine jewelry also sells well — even online, he said.
Owen said the company has purchased about 20 Rolex watches this year alone. One of his favorite items was a 40-carat emerald, which was found wrapped in rags in an inconspicuous bag.
Owens said identity verification is an important part of the business, whether Louis Vuitton luggage or a pair Balenciaga sneakers. He likens identifying items in lost luggage to an “archaeological dig.”
In rare cases, items are returned to their rightful owners, he said.
“We had a guy from Atlanta … buy a pair of women’s ski boots for his girlfriend,” he said. “She pulled the tongue back… and her name was written deep inside the boot. She lost the boots and the airline compensated her. Then he found them in the unclaimed baggage area and brought them back to Got her.
The Unclaimed Baggage retail store in Scottsboro, Alabama, sells luxury goods from brands such as Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo and Yves Saint Laurent.
Source: Unclaimed Baggage
The company also found items with unclaimed baggage price tags, meaning they had been lost, purchased by the company, sold to new owners and then lost again.
discoverer keeper
But what about angry travelers who claim the items in the store are their lost items?
“By the time we got the property, it had gone through a pretty extensive search process and they had resolved all the claims,” Owens said, adding that usually takes about 90 days.
Owens has also discovered a few gems over the years, including the jacket he wore during an interview with CNBC Travel. He said he discovered it while chatting with customers in the store.
“I looked at the rack and thought: I really like that sport coat,” he said.
It turns out that this is a jacket from an Italian luxury brand Chiton.
“I would never pay for this myself, but it’s a $10,000 sport coat,” he said.
The list price in his store is: $999.
How not to lose your luggage
According to statistics, 7.6 bags per 1,000 passengers are mishandled SITA Baggage IT Insights 2023 Report. 80% of these were delayed and eventually returned to their owners; 13% were damaged or stolen; and 7% were reported lost or stolen.
“Airlines actually do a good job of reuniting passengers with luggage,” Owens said. “Lost bags end up being only one percent of the bags that are transported.”
Hoggle, a puppet from the 1986 David Bowie film Labyrinth, is now on display at Unclaimed Baggage’s “Discovered Treasures” in Scottsboro, Alabama. In the museum.
Source: Unclaimed Baggage
According to “discovery reports” for unclaimed baggage, the most common reason for lost baggage is a lack of identifying information on or inside the bag.
The company recommends travelers attach durable luggage tags to their luggage and place a piece of paper or business card inside with contact information and travel itinerary.
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