U.S. airlines lose 2 million suitcases a year. Where do they all go?

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November 24th, 2023

If it's a Rolex you're after, you're in luck. There are almost always a few available at Unclaimed Baggage. In fact, the most expensive item ever sold here was a platinum Rolex that was appraised for $64,000 and sold for $32,000 in 2014.

Melanie Peeples / Melanie Peeples

Planning to fly somewhere this week? You are not alone. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 30 million people over the Thanksgiving holiday. That’s a lot of suitcases for airlines to keep track of, and unfortunately, some are bound to get lost. So where does all that lost luggage end up? In a store called Unclaimed Baggage, in Scottsboro, Ala.

Every suitcase lost by an airline in the United States (and some lost on trains and buses) eventually ends up in this little city about 150 miles northwest of Atlanta, in a 50,000-square-foot building. And it’s all for sale. At a big discount.

It’s laid out like a department store, clothes here, shoes there, shelves of books – because who hasn’t accidentally left a book on a plane? But that’s not the most exciting part.

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