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The thrill of the bargain hunt at Unclaimed Baggage

The thrill of the bargain hunt at Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsboro, Ala.November 10, 2023 at 7:00 a.m. ESTShoppers make their way through dozens of racks of ski apparel during the 42nd Annual Ski Sale at Unclaimed Baggage. (Photographs by William DeShazer for The Washington Post)Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSaveSCOTTSBORO, Ala. — The front of the garment was a tangle of purple and pink, lace and ribbon. The back was — well, not much, because it was a sheer thong bodysuit. Like the rest of the lingerie on the rack, it used to belong to somebody else. And like any of the racy numbers hanging in this special secondhand store in northeastern Alabama, there was practically no chance the thong would be reunited with its owner. Now it was on sale at a discount.About a three-hour drive from the world’s busiest airport, Unclaimed Baggage is the only store in the country that buys lost luggage from transportation companies and sells it back to the public at a discount. The store works with airlines as well as bus, train, truck and hospitality companies, collecting wayward passenger belongings and unclaimed cargo.Roughly a third of what workers find is recycled or tossed. A third gets donated to charity, and a third is put up for sale online and at their 50,000-square-foot store in Scottsboro.Unclaimed Baggage is the only store in the country that buys lost luggage and sells it back to the public at a discount.

Since the business started in 1970, it’s become a top tourist attraction in Alabama, claiming more than a million visitors a year. Today the store has its own merch, a coffee shop and even a museum where it displays some of the weirdest items ever discovered, such as a Jim Henson puppet from the movie “Labyrinth.”Unclaimed Baggage isn’t the only thrifting destination in town. There are pawnshops, a Goodwill and a slew of antique stores with folksy names like Back Porch Pickin, He Sells She Sells and Patches Merchant Emporium.But it is by far the biggest.Why do we love to watch other people’s in-flight movies?Cheap ski equipment, Rolex watches

“Golly there’s so many!”A blond man stared out in disbelief at the sea of racks before him. There was missing stuff as far as the eye could see: laptops, fedoras, designer bags, tuxedos worthy of the Oscars, hunting rifles, underwear (new pairs only, found with tags or in packaging). According to its tag, a Wilson tennis racket was valued at $300 but selling for $77.99. A $575 Tumi garment bag was going for $399.99. There were $34 e-readers for $7.99.If it’s ever been packed in a suitcase, a staff member told me, it’s probably been sold here. At a markdown.I came for the store’s big annual ski sale, so in addition to the usual stock there were aisles and aisles of snow gear — from silky soft Arc’teryx jackets to waterproof overalls — plus skis, snowboards, helmets and boots.

Austin Snider, 29, drove 100 miles from Birmingham, Ala., to be among the first 50 people in line who get 30 minutes of early access to the sale, among other perks. Nabbing one of those spots requires camping in the strip mall parking lot overnight. Rumor had it that people came from as far as Canada and North Dakota to camp this year. Snider’s best score was a limited-edition Burton snowboard that’s “almost two grand to preorder it,” he told me. “I think I paid $300 here.”His dad, Jeff Kidwell, 50, lives in the nearby town of Ider, Ala., and has been shopping at Unclaimed Baggage for nearly two decades. He’s had similar luck at the sale, even finding his own limited-edition Burton aluminum core snowboard, complete with bindings, that retailed new for about $1,700. “I got the whole thing for $200,” Kidwell said.