The ‘Unclaimed Baggage Center’ Might Be Selling Your Lost Flight Luggage

Have you ever wondered where your lost luggage from that one flight ended up? We can tell you exactly where it is. There’s a place called the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama which is part lost-and-found, part thrift store.

It’s a 40,000 sq. ft. superstore that takes every single lost suitcase in America and puts the best stuff on the shelves for sale. Yes, they rummage through your belongings and probably aren’t sorry about it.

Established in 1970, an insurance man named Doyle Owens thought of the idea to purchase lost belongings from a local bus station, then sell the contents a couple days a week. He eventually expanded this to airlines. 46 years later, the it’s now a superstore stocking millions of items throughout the country.

Don’t worry, airlines aren’t just stealing your luggage and selling your goods. Less than 1% of checked bags fail make it to the baggage claim, making ‘unclaimed luggage’ incredibly uncommon in the United States. That 80-90% of lost luggage is returned to its owner within at least 48 hours. After 90 days, that luggage legally belongs to the airlines and the unclaimed bags end up in a warehouse.

The Unclaimed Baggage Center has an agreement with all airlines through the country, in which all these bags are picked up and delivered to the superstore. Plenty of items ranging from electronics, to one-of-a-kind band tees, to pallets are all featured in the store. The others that don’t make it are donated to charity.

Unclaimed Baggage Center is full of goodies that are 20-80% off the original retail price. In addition to this, many people end up with valuable items such as paintings worth $20,000 that they purchased for only $60! There’s also beautiful discounted jewelry and relics dating back to the 19th century. Basically, if you want something cool and thrifty, or just want to know where your lost luggage ended up, you might want to visit the Unclaimed Baggage Center!

The Unclaimed Baggage Center is now one of the biggest tourist attractions in the state of Alabama. It hosts over a million visitors a year from every state, including over 40 foreign countries.

Be sure to SHARE this article if you thought this lost luggage thrift store was awesome!