Orleans News

US vacationers lose tens of millions of suitcases yearly. Their contents wind up at a retailer in Alabama


Vee Aronds gazed at her reflection within the mirror as she tried on a satin-and-lace marriage ceremony costume. She patted the fitted bodice and twirled to see the size of the prepare.Surrounded by racks of formal robes, Aronds was on a mission to uncover hidden treasures on the sprawling Unclaimed Baggage retailer, which describes itself because the nation’s solely vendor of things from misplaced baggage.Hundreds of thousands of clothes gadgets, items of bijou, electronics and different deserted belongings find yourself annually at this singular retailer in northeastern Alabama.As she admired the flowing white costume from completely different angles, Aronds mused about its journey from an airport carousel to the shop.Who had owned it, she questioned? Did the suitcase get misplaced on the best way to the marriage — or after? Would the proprietor acknowledge her intricate costume if she noticed it within the retailer?Contained in the 50,000 square-foot area, rows of garments, footwear, books, electronics and different stock from misplaced suitcases stretch so far as the attention can see. On this present day they included a mixture of distinctive gadgets – left-handed kitchen shears – and eccentric ones, comparable to a papier-maché Tinker Bell from Disney’s “Peter Pan” dangling from the ceiling.Airways sometimes spent three to 4 months making an attempt to reunite misplaced suitcases with their house owners. If they can not, they promote the baggage to Unclaimed Baggage, which separates gadgets into batches to be offered, thrown away or donated to charity, mentioned Bryan Owens, the shop’s proprietor. Discount hunters then scoop up the shop’s merchandise at low cost costs.Aronds, 55, and her companion drove to Scottsboro from Ooltewah, Tennessee, someday final week. It was her first go to to the shop, and he or she’d envisioned a wonderland of partially opened baggage bursting with garments, equipment and untold secrets and techniques.”I used to be ready to dig by means of suitcases,” she mentioned. “However now that I am right here, I desire this setup — it is a lot simpler to seek out issues.”Her companion, Frederick Stewart, 75, watched from a bench as Aronds tossed a black robe with darkish sequins into her purchasing cart, becoming a member of a rising pile that included a number of multicolored kaftans.She mentioned she cherished the marriage costume. However she could not carry herself to purchase it. Not simply but.Misplaced baggage gadgets have included wigs, sharks’ enamel and two stay snakesThe Unclaimed Baggage retailer launched in 1970. Owens’ father, Doyle Owens, began it after a buddy who labored for Trailways bus service instructed him he had mountains of unclaimed baggage and did not know what to do with it.”My dad grew up considerably in a retail enterprise and he thought, ‘I can assist you with that,'” Bryan Owens mentioned.The elder Owens borrowed $300 and a 1965 Chevy pickup truck and drove to Washington, D.C. to gather the suitcases. The household put advertisements in a Scottsboro newspaper saying they had been promoting gadgets from unclaimed baggage. Folks confirmed up in such massive numbers that the gadgets frequently offered out.As enterprise boomed, Doyle Owens stop his job within the insurance coverage business and centered on his new enterprise.Bryan Owens purchased the shop from his dad and mom in 1995. His father died twenty years later, however not earlier than he bought an opportunity to see the shop develop its attain past this Alabama metropolis of 16,000 folks.Within the 54 years because it began, Unclaimed Baggage has gone worldwide, with on-line purchases that ship to prospects abroad. It is develop into one of many space’s most important vacationer points of interest and attracts greater than 1 million guests yearly, Owens mentioned.The overwhelming majority of the shop’s stock is from baggage misplaced throughout air journey, though the shop receives some unclaimed baggage from trains and buses. Unclaimed Baggage additionally sells gadgets left in seat pockets, overhead bins and in hand baggage, mentioned Sonni Hood, the shop’s spokesperson.Among the many quirkier gadgets found in baggage final 12 months: a funeral casket key, a suitcase filled with wigs, a jar stuffed with shark enamel and two stay rat snakes stashed in a duffel bag. The shop launched the non-venomous reptiles into the wild.A number of the extra uncommon gadgets present in baggage over the many years are showcased in a small museum inside the shop. They embody a swimsuit of armor, a set of bagpipes, a Gucci bag crammed with Egyptian historic artifacts and a puppet — of Hoggle, a grumpy dwarf — used within the 1986 fantasy film “Labyrinth.”One misplaced bag contained a customized Nikon digicam designed for the area shuttle. Seems, somebody from NASA had misplaced it throughout transit. The shop turned it over to the area company, Owens mentioned.”It is like Christmas day by day – we by no means know what we’ll discover,” he mentioned. “I have a look at it like an archaeological dig.”Airways promote baggage to the shop after they’ve exhausted efforts to match them with their ownersIn 2023, airways misplaced a median of 6.9 baggage per 1,000 passengers. Greater than 99.5% of suitcases are ultimately reunited with their house owners, however the small fraction of misplaced baggage provides up, Hood mentioned. In August 2024 alone, for instance, federal statistics present airways mishandled greater than 260,000 baggage in the united statesAirlines sometimes spend three to 4 months making an attempt to match the unclaimed baggage with their house owners earlier than promoting them to the shop. Some baggage go unclaimed as a result of they don’t have any figuring out info.By the point the baggage find yourself on the retailer, the airways have already compensated the house owners, per federal laws, as much as $3,800 per passenger for a misplaced bag on a home flight, Hood mentioned.The shop buys every bag as is, with out taking stock of its contents. The baggage are taken to a warehouse, the place their gadgets are sorted and cleaned.Used undergarments should not offered; solely new ones that also have value tags on them, Hood mentioned. Tech consultants take away private knowledge from digital gadgets and check them to make sure they work.About 7,000 new gadgets arrive on the retailer every day, Hood mentioned.CNN reached out to a handful of U.S.-based airways with questions on how their course of works. Two — United Airways and Southwest — confirmed that they ship misplaced suitcases to the power in Alabama after they’ve exhausted choices to reunite them with their house owners.United mentioned it sends suitcases after 90 days, whereas Southwest does so after 120 days. Different home airways contacted by CNN didn’t reply.The shop’s wares are a mirrored image of the altering cultureOver the years, gadgets recovered from misplaced suitcases have mirrored altering cultural traits. In the course of the retailer’s infancy, vacationers typically left their Walkmans – transportable music gamers – on planes, together with cassettes by such ’70s artists as Joni Mitchell. At this time, vacationers depart AirPods, telephones and tablets, together with T-shirts and different merchandise from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.”It is a snapshot of what is going on on with vacationers, and a slice of society typically,” Owens mentioned.Probably the most steadily discovered gadgets embody sneakers, blouses and blue denims – though extra formal clothes turns up as nicely. Filmmaker Daniel Scheinert, who received an Oscar final 12 months for co-directing “All the pieces In every single place All at As soon as,” famously delivered his acceptance speech in a tuxedo bought from the Unclaimed Baggage retailer.Gadgets within the retailer are priced at between 20% to 80% off retail costs, Hood mentioned. However that does not imply they promote low-cost junk, she mentioned.”We aren’t a thrift retailer. Thrift shops are stuffed with issues that individuals now not need. Our retailer is filled with issues that individuals cherished a lot, they packed them to tackle trip. So it is often going to be nicer gadgets.”Wade Dubose, 59, is a self-proclaimed tremendous shopper who goes to the shop a number of occasions a day to hunt for bargains.”It is like occurring an journey — you by no means know what you are gonna get,” he mentioned.On a current go to, he scattered his deliberate purchases on the ground round him. They included a pair of Nikon binoculars, tailgating followers, hand heaters and a golf cart cowl.As an entrepreneur who purchases gadgets and resells them, Dubose depends on the shop for his stock. “I purchase something, so long as it is a deal,” he mentioned.The shop as soon as offered a Rolex look ahead to $32,000Andolyn Parrish, 28, grew up in Scottsboro however moved to Nashville, the place she works as a salesman. She visits her hometown frequently to see household and store on the retailer.On a current journey, she pushed a purchasing cart overflowing with garments. On the prime was a silver $10 jacket that she mentioned would spruce up her work outfits.One in all Parrish’s most costly purchases was a classic Louis Vuitton duffel that value her $350 however retails for hundreds of {dollars}.”One thing that I might by no means afford at retail costs, however I used to be in a position to choose it up right here,” she mentioned.Hood, the shop’s spokesperson, mentioned their most costly merchandise ever was a platinum Rolex watch that retailed for $64,000 however was offered on the retailer for half that. The shop’s present top-ticket merchandise is a solitaire diamond ring priced at $19,491.”After I go searching right here, I see a retailer stuffed with discovered issues, not misplaced issues — gadgets given a second probability,” mentioned Hood, who began working on the retailer in highschool as a becoming room helper.”Via loss, there’s an opportunity for hope and redemption. Via our donations, we rework lives. Loss in any means is devastating. However how unimaginable is it to remodel that into one thing optimistic for others?”The shop just isn’t a misplaced and located — however one girl found her previous ski bootsThe retailer not often reunites folks with their misplaced gadgets.Owens and Hood recalled just one recognized case a number of years in the past, when a client from Atlanta attended the shop’s annual November ski sale, which pulls folks from everywhere in the nation. Traces wrap across the constructing, and a few prospects pitch tents within the parking zone in a single day to safe a spot on the entrance.The person purchased ski boots that day for his girlfriend. When he bought residence, they found her identify engraved within the boots and realized they had been the identical pair she’d misplaced throughout a visit. The airways had already compensated her for the misplaced baggage.”They ended up in our retailer, and so they got here full circle again to her,” Owens mentioned.The shop has a process for destroying paperwork, IDs, prescriptions and different delicate info present in suitcases. Eyeglasses are donated to the native Lions Membership.”We aren’t within the enterprise of reunification,” Hood mentioned. “We’re within the enterprise of giving these things a second life.”The shop’s prospects are glad to assist with that effort. Aronds left the shop final week with a bag of garments — minus the marriage costume.”He hasn’t proposed, so why ought to I get it?” she mentioned with fun. “Come on, a person has to ask first.”Stewart chuckled. “I will marry this girl someday,” he mentioned.If he does, Aronds plans to offer a marriage costume from the shop one other stroll down the aisle.

Vee Aronds gazed at her reflection within the mirror as she tried on a satin-and-lace marriage ceremony costume. She patted the fitted bodice and twirled to see the size of the prepare.

Surrounded by racks of formal robes, Aronds was on a mission to uncover hidden treasures on the sprawling Unclaimed Baggage retailer, which describes itself because the nation’s solely vendor of things from misplaced baggage.

Hundreds of thousands of clothes gadgets, items of bijou, electronics and different deserted belongings find yourself annually at this singular retailer in northeastern Alabama.

As she admired the flowing white costume from completely different angles, Aronds mused about its journey from an airport carousel to the shop.

Who had owned it, she questioned? Did the suitcase get misplaced on the best way to the marriage — or after? Would the proprietor acknowledge her intricate costume if she noticed it within the retailer?

Contained in the 50,000 square-foot area, rows of garments, footwear, books, electronics and different stock from misplaced suitcases stretch so far as the attention can see. On this present day they included a mixture of distinctive gadgets – left-handed kitchen shears – and eccentric ones, comparable to a papier-maché Tinker Bell from Disney’s “Peter Pan” dangling from the ceiling.

Airways sometimes spent three to 4 months making an attempt to reunite misplaced suitcases with their house owners. If they can not, they promote the baggage to Unclaimed Baggage, which separates gadgets into batches to be offered, thrown away or donated to charity, mentioned Bryan Owens, the shop’s proprietor. Discount hunters then scoop up the shop’s merchandise at low cost costs.

Aronds, 55, and her companion drove to Scottsboro from Ooltewah, Tennessee, someday final week. It was her first go to to the shop, and he or she’d envisioned a wonderland of partially opened baggage bursting with garments, equipment and untold secrets and techniques.

“I used to be ready to dig by means of suitcases,” she mentioned. “However now that I am right here, I desire this setup — it is a lot simpler to seek out issues.”

Her companion, Frederick Stewart, 75, watched from a bench as Aronds tossed a black robe with darkish sequins into her purchasing cart, becoming a member of a rising pile that included a number of multicolored kaftans.

She mentioned she cherished the marriage costume. However she could not carry herself to purchase it. Not simply but.

Misplaced baggage gadgets have included wigs, sharks’ enamel and two stay snakes

The Unclaimed Baggage retailer launched in 1970. Owens’ father, Doyle Owens, began it after a buddy who labored for Trailways bus service instructed him he had mountains of unclaimed baggage and did not know what to do with it.

“My dad grew up considerably in a retail enterprise and he thought, ‘I can assist you with that,'” Bryan Owens mentioned.

The elder Owens borrowed $300 and a 1965 Chevy pickup truck and drove to Washington, D.C. to gather the suitcases. The household put advertisements in a Scottsboro newspaper saying they had been promoting gadgets from unclaimed baggage. Folks confirmed up in such massive numbers that the gadgets frequently offered out.

As enterprise boomed, Doyle Owens stop his job within the insurance coverage business and centered on his new enterprise.

Bryan Owens purchased the shop from his dad and mom in 1995. His father died twenty years later, however not earlier than he bought an opportunity to see the shop develop its attain past this Alabama metropolis of 16,000 folks.

Within the 54 years because it began, Unclaimed Baggage has gone worldwide, with on-line purchases that ship to prospects abroad. It is develop into one of many space’s most important vacationer points of interest and attracts greater than 1 million guests yearly, Owens mentioned.

The store, which occupies a city block in Scottsboro, attracts tourists from all over the world.

Austin Steele/CNN by way of CNN Newsource

The shop, which occupies a metropolis block in Scottsboro, attracts vacationers from everywhere in the world.

The overwhelming majority of the shop’s stock is from baggage misplaced throughout air journey, though the shop receives some unclaimed baggage from trains and buses. Unclaimed Baggage additionally sells gadgets left in seat pockets, overhead bins and in hand baggage, mentioned Sonni Hood, the shop’s spokesperson.

Among the many quirkier gadgets found in baggage final 12 months: a funeral casket key, a suitcase filled with wigs, a jar stuffed with shark enamel and two stay rat snakes stashed in a duffel bag. The shop launched the non-venomous reptiles into the wild.

A number of the extra uncommon gadgets present in baggage over the many years are showcased in a small museum inside the shop. They embody a swimsuit of armor, a set of bagpipes, a Gucci bag crammed with Egyptian historic artifacts and a puppet — of Hoggle, a grumpy dwarf — used within the 1986 fantasy film “Labyrinth.”

One misplaced bag contained a customized Nikon digicam designed for the area shuttle. Seems, somebody from NASA had misplaced it throughout transit. The shop turned it over to the area company, Owens mentioned.

“It is like Christmas day by day – we by no means know what we’ll discover,” he mentioned. “I have a look at it like an archaeological dig.”

Airways promote baggage to the shop after they’ve exhausted efforts to match them with their house owners

In 2023, airways misplaced a median of 6.9 baggage per 1,000 passengers. Greater than 99.5% of suitcases are ultimately reunited with their house owners, however the small fraction of misplaced baggage provides up, Hood mentioned. In August 2024 alone, for instance, federal statistics present airways mishandled greater than 260,000 baggage within the U.S.

Airways sometimes spend three to 4 months making an attempt to match the unclaimed baggage with their house owners earlier than promoting them to the shop. Some baggage go unclaimed as a result of they don’t have any figuring out info.

By the point the baggage find yourself on the retailer, the airways have already compensated the house owners, per federal laws, as much as $3,800 per passenger for a misplaced bag on a home flight, Hood mentioned.

The shop buys every bag as is, with out taking stock of its contents. The baggage are taken to a warehouse, the place their gadgets are sorted and cleaned.

Used undergarments should not offered; solely new ones that also have value tags on them, Hood mentioned. Tech consultants take away private knowledge from digital gadgets and check them to make sure they work.

About 7,000 new gadgets arrive on the retailer every day, Hood mentioned.

CNN reached out to a handful of U.S.-based airways with questions on how their course of works. Two — United Airways and Southwest — confirmed that they ship misplaced suitcases to the power in Alabama after they’ve exhausted choices to reunite them with their house owners.

United mentioned it sends suitcases after 90 days, whereas Southwest does so after 120 days. Different home airways contacted by CNN didn’t reply.

The shop’s wares are a mirrored image of the altering tradition

Over time, gadgets recovered from misplaced suitcases have mirrored altering cultural traits. In the course of the retailer’s infancy, vacationers typically left their Walkmans – transportable music gamers – on planes, together with cassettes by such ’70s artists as Joni Mitchell. At this time, vacationers depart AirPods, telephones and tablets, together with T-shirts and different merchandise from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

“It is a snapshot of what is going on on with vacationers, and a slice of society typically,” Owens mentioned.

Probably the most steadily discovered gadgets embody sneakers, blouses and blue denims – though extra formal clothes turns up as nicely. Filmmaker Daniel Scheinert, who received an Oscar final 12 months for co-directing “All the pieces In every single place All at As soon as,” famously delivered his acceptance speech in a tuxedo bought from the Unclaimed Baggage retailer.

Thousands of suitcases lost by US airlines end up at the Unclaimed Baggage store in Scottsboro, Alabama,

Austin Steele/CNN by way of CNN Newsource

Hundreds of suitcases misplaced by U.S. airways find yourself on the Unclaimed Baggage retailer in Scottsboro, Alabama,

Gadgets within the retailer are priced at between 20% to 80% off retail costs, Hood mentioned. However that does not imply they promote low-cost junk, she mentioned.

“We aren’t a thrift retailer. Thrift shops are stuffed with issues that individuals now not need. Our retailer is filled with issues that individuals cherished a lot, they packed them to tackle trip. So it is often going to be nicer gadgets.”

Wade Dubose, 59, is a self-proclaimed tremendous shopper who goes to the shop a number of occasions a day to hunt for bargains.

“It is like occurring an journey — you by no means know what you are gonna get,” he mentioned.

On a current go to, he scattered his deliberate purchases on the ground round him. They included a pair of Nikon binoculars, tailgating followers, hand heaters and a golf cart cowl.

As an entrepreneur who purchases gadgets and resells them, Dubose depends on the shop for his stock. “I purchase something, so long as it is a deal,” he mentioned.

The shop as soon as offered a Rolex look ahead to $32,000

Andolyn Parrish, 28, grew up in Scottsboro however moved to Nashville, the place she works as a salesman. She visits her hometown frequently to see household and store on the retailer.

On a current journey, she pushed a purchasing cart overflowing with garments. On the prime was a silver $10 jacket that she mentioned would spruce up her work outfits.

One in all Parrish’s most costly purchases was a classic Louis Vuitton duffel that value her $350 however retails for hundreds of {dollars}.

“One thing that I might by no means afford at retail costs, however I used to be in a position to choose it up right here,” she mentioned.

Hood, the shop’s spokesperson, mentioned their most costly merchandise ever was a platinum Rolex watch that retailed for $64,000 however was offered on the retailer for half that. The shop’s present top-ticket merchandise is a solitaire diamond ring priced at $19,491.

“After I go searching right here, I see a retailer stuffed with discovered issues, not misplaced issues — gadgets given a second probability,” mentioned Hood, who began working on the retailer in highschool as a becoming room helper.

“Via loss, there’s an opportunity for hope and redemption. Via our donations, we rework lives. Loss in any means is devastating. However how unimaginable is it to remodel that into one thing optimistic for others?”

The shop just isn’t a misplaced and located — however one girl found her previous ski boots

The shop not often reunites folks with their misplaced gadgets.

Owens and Hood recalled just one recognized case a number of years in the past, when a client from Atlanta attended the shop’s annual November ski sale, which pulls folks from everywhere in the nation. Traces wrap across the constructing, and a few prospects pitch tents within the parking zone in a single day to safe a spot on the entrance.

The person purchased ski boots that day for his girlfriend. When he bought residence, they found her identify engraved within the boots and realized they had been the identical pair she’d misplaced throughout a visit. The airways had already compensated her for the misplaced baggage.

“They ended up in our retailer, and so they got here full circle again to her,” Owens mentioned.

The shop has a process for destroying paperwork, IDs, prescriptions and different delicate info present in suitcases. Eyeglasses are donated to the native Lions Membership.

“We aren’t within the enterprise of reunification,” Hood mentioned. “We’re within the enterprise of giving these things a second life.”

The shop’s prospects are glad to assist with that effort. Aronds left the shop final week with a bag of garments — minus the marriage costume.

“He hasn’t proposed, so why ought to I get it?” she mentioned with fun. “Come on, a person has to ask first.”

Stewart chuckled. “I will marry this girl someday,” he mentioned.

If he does, Aronds plans to offer a marriage costume from the shop one other stroll down the aisle.

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