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| If you’ve ever permanently lost a checked bag, your stuff probably ended up for sale at a store in Scottsboro, Alabama. | ||
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Meet the company that sells your lost airplane luggageIf you’ve ever permanently lost a checked bag, your stuff probably ended up for sale at a store in Scottsboro, Alabama. | ||
| Imagine this: An airline loses your checked bag. After an extensive search, customer support comes up empty-handed. They compensate you and life goes on. But life goes on for your suitcase, too. Written off as “unclaimed,” it sits in a musty collection depot for 3 months. Eventually, the airline sells it — along with hundreds of other lost suitcases and cargo shipments — to a private company, sight unseen. The new owner cracks the lock, sifts through your former possessions, and marks them for sale. A few days later, a retired mechanic named Charlie buys your grandfather’s watch for $150. A 19-year-old line cook acquires your Beats headphones. And a nurse from Florida becomes the proud new owner of the scarf your mom knitted you for Christmas. This is the bizarre secondary market for lost luggage. | ||
 Zachary Crockett / The Hustle | ||
| Every year, 4.3B bags are checked by airlines around the world. Around 25m of them (5.7 per 1k bags checked) end up lost or misdirected. The 0.03% of bags that are still not reunited with their owners after 90 days are sold by the airline. Chances are, they are purchased by a company called Unclaimed Baggage. Nestled in the small town of Scottsboro, Alabama (pop: 14.7k), Unclaimed Baggage holds the distinction of being “the nation’s only retailer of lost luggage.” Its massive 40k-sq-ft warehouse holds thousands of treasures lost in transit, ranging from rare instruments to monogrammed engagement rings. Every now and then, a piece of luggage contains something truly extraordinary, like a suit of armor, an Egyptian artifact, or a camera used in NASA’s Space Shuttle program. What are the ethics of reselling travelers’ intimate items? How does the process work? And how did one company come to monopolize this niche market? The story begins 50 years agoBack in 1970, a man named Hugo Doyle Owens was at a crossroads. Born and raised in Scottsboro, Owens had served in the Korean War and returned to his hometown to sell insurance. Between shifts, he spent every waking hour by his ham radio, using radio frequency spectrum to communicate to friends and strangers. At 39, he was restless and looking for his next adventure. Meet the company that sells your lost airplane luggage Subscribe Login 0 Comments Oldest   We bring you the best Premium WordPress Themes that perfect for news, magazine, personal blog, etc. | ||
