The Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama is probably the most unusual mall in the United States. Because here you can buy finds that come from lost luggage from all over the country. Over more than 50 years, a lot of bizarre things have gathered here. And that’s what made the store one of the biggest tourist attractions in the state.
If you are one of the unfortunate people who have lost a suitcase during a trip, for example at the airport, you have probably asked yourself one thing more often. Where might my baggage be, and what will happen with it now? Well, if you’ve traveled to the United States, there’s a very likely answer. Because much of the airline baggage that gets lost here each year ends up in the small town of Scottsboro in the state of Alabama. Namely in the Unclaimed Baggage Center, perhaps the most unusual shopping center in the world.
Why that Unclaimed Baggage Center has specialized in finding a new purpose for lost luggage since the 1970s. Which means you buy your “finds” from the airlines and then resell them. And the idea has caught on so well over the years that the unusual store is now one of Alabama’s top tourist attractions, drawing more than a million visitors a year. Many more people are likely to browse the center’s website looking for lost luggage or a one-off deal.
Up to 80% below market price
According to the Unclaimed Baggage Center’s official website, only 0.03 percent of all bags in the United States are actually classified as “missing.” Before that happens, the airline must pay the owner damages and engage in a three-month search process. Baggage can only be collected from a dealer if this is also unsuccessful. Throughout its more than 50-year history, the Unclaimed Baggage Center has contracts with all domestic airlines and numerous other travel and transportation companies.
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Up to 7,000 items end up in the Unclaimed Baggage Center – every day. There are even more online. These first go through a selection process which divides them into three categories: resale, reuse or reuse or recycle. Lost clothing is then sent to the on-site dry cleaner, the largest in the state. Electronic devices are checked for functionality and cleaned of all personal data. Luxury goods and jewelery are checked for authenticity. The company’s sales experts then set a resale price that can be up to 80% lower than the market price.
A live rattlesnake in the luggage
A significant portion of the lost baggage also goes to the in-house foundation, through which the Unclaimed Baggage Center claims to donate millions of dollars’ worth of products to people in need around the world each year. Anything that can no longer be used is recycled by the company. On the website, you can also click through to a hit list with the most bizarre finds from the last 50 years. Among other things, there was a camera from a NASA space shuttle, salted bear fur, a dwarfed head on a cane, an ancient Egyptian death mask, ivory carvings, a 1934 newspaper and, what perhaps more bizarre, a live rattlesnake.
According to the website, the Unclaimed Baggage Center’s success story began as early as 1970. At that time, young insurance salesman Doyle Owens in Washington bought his first shipment of lost luggage from a bus company. The resale was so successful that Owens quit his job early to focus fully on his new business. In 1978 he signed a contract with Eastern Airlines as the first partner company. According to the company, it now works with all domestic airlines in the United States as well as numerous other carriers. It is the only national center for the resale of lost luggage.
Not just occasions
The Unclaimed Baggage Center has also received increasing media attention over the years, particularly after it was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1995. As a result, the special sale events held here regularly have people they show up, sometimes days in advance in the store. to make sure you snag a bargain. The extraordinary shopping center now has an area of 4,600 square meters, larger than an entire block of buildings. A café and museum of lost things make the shop a definite tourist attraction. You can shop here six days a week. Monday to Friday 9:00 to 18:00, Saturday an hour longer.
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Of course, you can also browse the huge range of items online in the Unclaimed Baggage Center from the comfort of your sofa. There are numerous different categories here such as women, men, kids, lifestyle and electronics or new arrivals of all kinds. The Mystery Bags section is also special, where you can buy something without knowing what you will get in the end. However, not all things here are bargains, for example an emerald ring is currently on sale for nearly $20,000. But shopping here also serves a good purpose. Because for every object the center sells, it donates another on average, such as glasses, wheelchairs or medical equipment. And so he leads the lost luggage to a new meaningful life.
