How to Buy Lost Luggage Bargains

You might be surprised by what the airlines do with your misplaced baggage—and even more surprised by some of the items people lose on their flights.

How could an airline lose my suitcase—on a nonstop flight to Zurich for which I had arrived early? By the time my luggage was found, I had taken a train to Bern. And when the suitcase reached Bern, I was in St. Moritz. I finally got my bag a few days later, but it sure made a lousy start to my Swiss travels.

Lost-luggage reports have declined by almost 21 percent in the past year, but some airlines are better about keeping track of bags than others. So what happens to luggage that never finds its owner, at least in the U.S.? I recently decided to find out. So I went to Scottsboro, AL, to the privately run Unclaimed Baggage Center (unclaimedbaggage.com), which has exclusive contracts with all the major U.S. airlines to buy luggage declared lost after 90 days.

From the outside, the nondescript store looks not unlike a mail-sorting facility in a largish suburb. Inside, think Wal-Mart with slightly used merchandise. When lost luggage arrives, much of the contents are thrown away or donated to charities, but the rest is placed on the store’s retail shelves: diamond rings, designer shoes, surfboards, even wedding gowns. The center has been processing more than one million such pieces annually since it opened in 1970.

“We once had a metallic fire suit, like a firefighter would wear,” says Brenda Cantrell, director of marketing. “In our jewelry department we had a 40.95-carat emerald, a loose stone. We appraised it for $35,000 and sold it for $17,000. We also had a 5.8-carat diamond ring appraised for $46,000. We sold it to a couple in Tennessee. The man had cash on hand and bought it for $23,000.”

Occasionally travelers will phone the store in the hopes that a missing article has turned up, but Cantrell says the center can’t assist with such requests because of the sheer volume of lost luggage it receives. There is, however, at least one instance of someone finding a missing item on the shelves of the Unclaimed Baggage Center.

“In 1998 a man came in and picked out a pair of ski boots for his wife in the size and color she would like,” recalls Cantrell. “It turned out her name was written on the tongue of the boot, and they were hers. That’s the only documented case of someone finding their own lost luggage.”

Under Department of Transportation (DOT) rules, if your checked belongings are lost, damaged, or delayed, you may qualify for up to $3,300 in compensation on domestic flights. (At press time, it was about $1,700 for international flights, which operate under a global treaty.)

It’s far better, though, to avoid losing your luggage in the first place, or at least to be prepared for the eventuality. Here’s what you can do.

Before You Leave

• Book a direct or nonstop flight, which will minimize the chance of losing a bag.
• Choose an airline that has a good baggage record. Compare online at airconsumer.dot.gov.
• Pack your carry-on wisely so that you can live out of it for a few days—toiletries, medications, a change of clothes—in the event that you have to.
• Remove old luggage tags to avoid confusion.
• Label your suitcase well (I always tuck a business card inside). Lack of ID tags is one reason that luggage ends up in Scottsboro.

At the Airport

• Don’t check in late, or your bags might not make it onto the plane in time for takeoff.
• Make sure the desk agent places a destination tag on your suitcase.
• Hang on to your baggage claim ticket. It’s often attached to your boarding pass, which many people leave on the plane.

After Landing

• Be at the carousel when bags are off-loaded.
• If your bag is lost or delayed, file a report immediately at the airport and get a copy.
• Ask at the lost-luggage counter for the airline’s contract of carriage, which spells out your rights.
• The DOT recommends following up with a certified letter to the airline’s customer service department restating the details of the incident.

I’ve learned from experience: fly with carry-on luggage only, when possible. The airlines haven’t found a way to lose that. Yet.

When a watch is this valuable, you really shouldn’t have to wind it yourself. The first $9,000 takes this Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore self-winding Swiss men’s watch.

Retail Value: Appraised at $18,000.

If you know what a leather Astor grommet is, then you’re savvy enough to understand why this brand-new Michael Kors handbag is a steal at $210.

Retail Value: $428.

Don’t you just hate it when your valuable video camera stops working underwater? That’s because it’s not waterproof. But the Amphibico Dive Buddy Evo HD Elite housing for underwater cameras may solve that problem for you. Your cost: $750.

Retail Value: $1,800.

There’s no brass in this belt buckle, which features a 124-carat carved natural ruby, four carats of diamonds, and a setting of 18 karat white gold, all for $6,500.

Retail Value: Appraised at $13,000.

Wedding gowns from St. Tropez and Oleg Cassini sometimes end up at the Unclaimed Baggage Center. You can also find vintage gowns without labels, in good condition, for as little as $30.

Retail Value: $500 and up.

Some lucky shopper will be stepping out of the Unclaimed Baggage Center in a pair of Dolce & Gabbana red patent-leather high heels. They’re in good condition, but because there’s some slight wear the price is only $130.99.

Retail Value: Similar shoes sell for $200–$300.

If you’re in the market for a scarf, you could hardly do better than to buy this Hermès Ladies Summer Silk Scarf with key pattern, made in France. The price is $188.

Retail Value: $375.

Chanel Chance fragrance. True, it’s not a full bottle, but at $50.99 the price is right.

Retail Value: $120 for a full bottle (3.4 ounces).

This Roberta di Camerino velvet and gold all-season handbag is in excellent condition, but because it’s not new you’ll pay only $232 and pocket a savings of more than $500.

Retail Value: $770.

At 4.6 by 6.8 feet, this Tabriz hand-knotted area rug was a little too big for the overhead bin. As a result, you can roll it up and carry it out for just $1,125.

Retail Value: $3,000.

Perhaps the replica full suit of armor was lost by some nouveau riche Connecticut couple bringing it back for their McMansion. Or was it misplaced by a film crew? At any rate, if you had been in the market for a tin suit, you could have had it for half the retail value—just $2,000.

Retail Value: $4,000.

Note to air travelers: please don’t take your pet rattlesnake on a plane. If you do, please don’t lose it. A large rattler was one of the odder discoveries made by the Unclaimed Baggage Center’s employees. They didn’t sell it, but let it go in a nearby field.

Retail Value: $100.

There’s a story in this watch. We don’t know what it is, but with its engraving of “Love Forever” on the back, you can make up your own story for this Swiss-made Cartier Ladies Watch. Crafted from stainless steel and 18-karat gold, the watch is on sale for $1,350.

Retail Value: $2,700.

You’d think it would be difficult to lose something this big, but it happens. This Pride Jazzy Select 6 electric wheelchair, in good condition, was on sale recently for just $750.

Retail Value: $3,499.

The web video for Prada’s Infusion d’Iris fragrance shows an attractive woman writhing, well, attractively on the floor. If you haven’t writhed lately, you can try it out for $63.

Retail Value: $125.

Thousands of misplaced CDs end up at the Unclaimed Baggage Center, everything from Mozart concertos 22 and 26 by pianist Fumiko Shiraga to Hannah Montana 3 by Miley Cyrus. Just $3.99 apiece.

Retail Value: $5–$15.

“We’ve found money in the bags,” says Brenda Cantrell of the Unclaimed Baggage Center. “People are very creative in how they pack their money—in the linings of suitcases, in the lining of their clothes.” Some of that money, from all over the world, has been embedded into the store’s decorative columns.

Retail Value: Not for sale.