Alabama store is hot spot for tourists looking to snag deals on travelers’ lost personal items

A retail store in Scottsboro, Alabama, is giving a second wind to lost luggage by reselling items left by travelers. 

Unclaimed Baggage is a 50,000-square-foot retail space attracting more than 1 million people each year. It has welcomed visitors from over 40 countries. (See the video at the top of this article.)

“People are so naturally curious to see what we do, to get that thrill of the hunt, we’ve become a bucket list destination for a lot of people,” Sonni Hood, Unclaimed Baggage senior manager of PR and communications, told Fox News Digital in an on-camera interview.

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Unclaimed baggage is the nation’s only retailer of lost luggage. It holds “exclusive partnerships” with major airlines, Hood said.

“A bag must be lost for a minimum of 90 days before it’s officially deemed as unclaimed … But if after those 90 days it’s still unclaimed, then a claims process occurs. Travelers will be compensated for their lost items and then those bags are deemed to salvage. So, unclaimed baggage steps in as a salvage partner to the airlines.”

Unclaimed Baggage has a truck driver who makes weekly stops at partners, bringing items to the warehouse where a team goes through the bags to determine whether to sell the items, donate or recycle them.

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Items typically are priced at 80% off the suggested retail value.

“We definitely want to offer our guests not just a treasure hunt but a bargain hunt as well,” said Hood.

Hood said imaginations can run wild with the unique and odd items they have come across.

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“The most shocking thing was a live rattlesnake,” said Hood.

“He was in the outside pocket of a duffle bag, and we think he probably found his way in there while the suitcase or the duffle bag was being stored or maybe via transit.”

At the store, there is a museum exhibit that displays about 100 of the unique items Unclaimed Baggage has come across.

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The store’s highest-ticket item was a men’s platinum presidential Rolex watch that retailed for $64,000 and sold for $32,000.

Unclaimed Baggage is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is closed on Sundays.

Quick tips on how not to lose track of your luggage

Include proper identification with a durable tag.Include identification inside the luggage as well as outside.

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Remove all previous barcode stickers to avoid confusion for baggage handlers.Make your suitcase stand out to avoid having another traveler mistakenly remove it from a baggage carousel.