Shopping opportunities abound during your travels: Fliers can browse the SkyMall catalog or scour the terminal for duty-free Champagne, bestselling books at Hudson News, or sweet treats at Dylan’s Candy Bar. But air travel also presents a completely unexpected shopping opportunity.

According to a U.S. Department of Transportation report, almost 1.5 million bags were lost, late, or damaged in the first half of 2022. Unclaimed or lost luggage is supposed to be stored for at least 30 days. After that, the unclaimed baggage and all its contents can either be donated to charity or sold to the public. Although 99.5% of fliers are reunited with their luggage, that still leaves one half of one percent. And that’s where your shopping opportunity comes in.

Unclaimed Baggage - Scottsboro, Alabama

In 1970, Alabaman Doyle Owens borrowed $300 and pickup truck, drove to D.C. and bought his first load of unclaimed belongings from Trailways Bus Lines. He soon expanded and partnered with domestic airlines, eventually becoming the nation’s only lost luggage store. Today, Unclaimed Baggage stretches 50,000 square feet, and is one of the state’s most popular tourist attractions, with bargain-hunters flying in from all over the world to get a chance at the deals.

Some things that have been purchased at the Unclaimed Baggage store include a 40-carat emerald found in a bag of Mardi Gras beads, a full suit of armor, a live snake and, this year, the tuxedo worn at the Oscars by Everything Everywhere All at Once co-director Daniel Scheinert. Items are sold at discounts of up to 80% below retail, and unsold articles are donated to benefit various charities. The store is divided into 10 departments, and visitors can enjoy a cafe and win the chance to “process” or sort through a newly arrived unopened bag.

For 50 years, shoppers had to make the trek to Scottsboro to investigate the goods, but the pandemic pushed Unclaimed Baggage into the world of online shopping. You can check out some of the newly arrived bargains here.

Prevent Your Stuff from Being on Sale

No one wants their own stuff being snapped up at Unclaimed Baggage. Here are a few tips to help ensure you’re reunited with your bag.

1. Luggage tag
Make sure that your bags have an up-to-date identification tag on the outside and inside of your bag. This should have your home address, phone number and (on the inside tag) the destination you’re currently traveling to.

2. Double-check the airline’s adhesive tag

People make mistakes, so take a second to be sure that your bag is being directed to LAX (Los Angeles) instead of LAS (Las Vegas).

3. Play Tag Again

AirTags and Tile trackers are a (relatively) inexpensive way to know where your bag is if the airline decides to send it on a vacation of its own.

Featured image credit: Maurizio Milanesio/ Shutterstock