To pack light ? No valuables in checked baggage? A new report shows what happens when these cardinal rules are broken.
Dejanj01 | Istock | Getty Images
Live snakes, a mounted ram’s head, a Halloween card signed by Richard Nixon.
These are some of the most fascinating items found in lost luggage in 2023, according to a new report from Unclaimed Baggage, a store that buys lost items from airlines, sight unseen.
The company also found a 13-foot vaulting pole, gruesome props from the “Saw” film franchise and a pair of Louis Vuitton Nike Air Force 1 sneakers worth $12,000.
These and more are detailed in the company’s first “Found Report: A Look Inside America’s Lost Luggage,” released April 1.
“We thought it would be fun for us to release an annual report that captures the most common items, the most expensive items, and the weird and wonderful things,” CEO Bryan Owens told CNBC Travel.
The most expensive items found this year, according to the list, are a diamond ring (valued at $37,050), a Cartier Panthère watch ($26,500) and an Hermès Birkin 25 bag ($23,500).
The company has long-term contracts to purchase unclaimed items from airlines, as well as hotels, trains and car rental companies. It processes tens of thousands of articles per week; about a third is sold, another third is donated and the rest is recycled, he said.
“We live in a world where all is lost,” Owens said. “It’s a bit of Christmas every day.”
The company was founded by Owen’s father, Doyle Owens, in 1970, after Doyle received a tip that a local bus company was struggling with an increasing number of bags left behind by passengers.
So he borrowed $300 to buy the bags he no longer wanted, put price tags on the contents, and sold the goods from his home in Scottsboro, Alabama – population: 15,700.
After that, “it was off to the races,” Owens said.
Today, the Unclaimed Baggage retail store in Scottsboro is bigger than a city block and the company employs more than 250 people, he said. The thrill of the hunt – of the mere possibility of what can be found – draws people from near and far.
“We get a million people a year…from every state in America and 40 countries,” he said. “We have customers from the West Coast, they fly in a few times. There were a few, I remember, from the U.K. who came once a year just to shop.”
Unclaimed Baggage opened a “Found Treasures” museum in Scottsboro, Alabama in 2023 to showcase the strangest items acquired over the years. This exhibition shows replicas of shrunken human heads, similar to the real ones once found in a lost bag.
Source: Unclaimed Baggage
Discounts range from 20 to 80 percent, depending on the item, Owens said: Clothing gets more discounts, Rolex watches less. The company wants to offer a deal to its customers, but without incentivizing resellers, he said.
One customer, presumably a cruise ship employee, was buying “a ton” of Kindles and reselling them in port towns, Owens said.
“We want someone to get a deal they can’t get elsewhere, but…we’re not here to be arbitrated.”
From AirPods for $54 to a 15.6-inch HP laptop for $175, electronics are selling out the fastest, Owens said.
But fine jewelry also sells well, even online, he said.
The company has acquired about 20 Rolexes this year alone, Owen said. One of her favorite items was a 40-carat emerald found wrapped in a cloth in an unassuming bag.
Authentication is an important part of the business, Owens said, whether it’s a Louis Vuitton piece of luggage or a pair of Balenciaga sneakers. He compared identifying items in lost luggage to an “archaeological dig.”
On rare occasions, items are returned to their rightful owners, he said.
“We had a guy from Atlanta who…bought a pair of women’s ski boots for his girlfriend,” he said. “She stuck out her tongue…and at the bottom of the boot was his name. She had lost her boots, paid for by the airlines. Then he found them at Unclaimed Baggage and brought them back to her.”
Luxury goods – from brands like Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo and Yves Saint Laurent – on sale at the Unclaimed Baggage retail store in Scottsboro, Alabama.
Source: Unclaimed Baggage
The company also finds items with the price tags of unclaimed luggage, meaning they were lost once, purchased by the company, sold to a new owner, then lost again.
But what about the angry travelers who claim the items in the store are their lost belongings?
“By the time we get the property, it’s gone through a pretty thorough search process and they’ve settled all their claims,” Owens said, adding that it usually takes about 90 days.
Owens has also found some gems over the years, including the jacket he wore when speaking to CNBC Travel. He spotted it while chatting with a customer in the store, he said.
“I looked at the rack and thought, I really like this sport coat,” he said.
It turned out to be a jacket from Italian luxury brand Kiton.
“I would never pay for this myself, but it’s a $10,000 sport coat,” he said.
The price in his store: $999.
For every 1,000 passengers, 7.6 bags are mishandled, according to SITA’s Baggage IT Insights 2023 report. Of these, 80% are delayed and will eventually be returned to their owners; 13% are damaged or looted; and 7% are lost or stolen, he says.
“Airlines do a good job of reuniting passengers with their luggage,” Owens said. “That’s a fraction of a percent of bags shipped that end up lost.”
Hoggle, a puppet from David Bowie’s 1986 film “Labyrinth,” is in Unclaimed Baggage’s “Found Treasures” museum in Scottsboro, Alabama.
Source: Unclaimed Baggage
According to Unclaimed Baggage’s “Found Report,” the most common reason luggage is lost is the lack of identification on or inside the bag.
The company recommends travelers attach a durable luggage tag to their suitcases and place a sheet of paper or business card inside with their contact information and travel itinerary.
News Source : www.cnbc.com
Gn bussni
