I Finally Made It To Unclaimed Baggage: Here's Everything You Need To Know Before You Go

Lost treasures await!

Growing up in suburban Maryland, I never envisioned a day where I’d actually make it to the small town of Scottsboro, Alabama, home of Unclaimed Baggage, the nation’s only retailer of lost luggage. Of course I’d always wanted to visit—since learning about the famed store nearly 20 years ago as a middle school student, I’d felt compelled to check the spot out for myself; I’ve always been an avid thrifter.

While planning a recent trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee, I realized that the town of Scottsboro was only about an hour away via car, and I figured that was reason enough for me to finally visit. Having read countless articles about Unclaimed Baggage over the years, it was finally time to get a firsthand look at all that this gigantic warehouse-like store had to offer.

What Is Unclaimed Baggage?

If you aren’t familiar with Unclaimed Baggage, I’ll give you a simple rundown. When airline passengers lose—and then later, after three months, fail to claim—their checked luggage, Unclaimed Baggage has the opportunity to purchase these filled suitcases (which actually just make up less than 0.03 percent of all checked luggage, according to the company’s website). Passengers in this scenario have already been paid out by the airline to cover their losses, and workers at the Unclaimed Baggage warehouse determine whether a bag’s contents are eligible for resale, should be repurposed, or are better off recycled.

Believe it or not, Unclaimed Baggage has been around since 1970, when entrepreneur Doyle Owens from northeastern Alabama first developed the idea for such a concept and purchased his first load of unclaimed luggage from a bus line in Washington, D.C. Now, over 50 years later, the Unclaimed Baggage store in Scottsboro sees over one million visitors per year and receives thousands of pieces of inventory each week.

The Shopping Experience

If you, too, choose to make the journey to the Unclaimed Baggage Center, you’ll want to allow yourself plenty of time to explore the 50,000 square foot store’s various offerings. Immediately upon walking into the store, I was greeted with an expansive selection of fiction and nonfiction books, which I couldn’t help but peruse, being a major bookworm. Before allowing myself to get too distracted by all of these reads, though, I decided to familiarize myself with the general layout of the store to develop a plan of action. On the main level is where you’ll come across all sorts of clothing, including designer goods, shoes, bags, and everyday attire. Oh, and expect to find tons of workout gear—I’d never seen so much Lululemon in one place in my life. Keep in mind that in this main clothing section you’ll come across some truly unexpected items—wedding dresses? umbrellas? Uncommon Goods has it all.

Take a small ramp up to the second level of the store and that’s where you can browse electronics. You’ll find everything from AirPods max headphones to laptops to phone accessories. This floor is also home to men’s attire and plenty of outdoor gear.

Across from the main building is a bargain section of the store, where you’ll find a similar range of goods at lower price points. In this building, I scored a Kindle Paperwhite for just $7—that said, if your shopping time is limited, I’d recommend sticking to the larger retail building; in my experience, it’s where you’ll score the best pieces—but more on that in a second!

Oh, and if you’re hungry? There’s even a cafe located within the Unclaimed Baggage store, where you can purchase everything from soups to sweet treats (don’t skip the banana pudding!) to Starbucks drinks. Everyone could always use a little fuel while shopping, right?

The experience of shopping at Unclaimed Baggage felt a bit like visiting the most popular thrift store in your neighborhood on a particularly busy day. By no means was there a mad dash for items, but the store was certainly well-populated (it’s one of Alabama’s main tourist attractions, after all!) on the winter Saturday that I visited. While I was tempted by the case of designer goods—which ranged from Louis Vuitton keychain pouches to David Yurman jewelry—I chose to hold off and focus more on everyday clothing. Though dressing rooms are available, I ended up only purchasing outwear pieces that I could easily try on over my existing outfit—and fortunately, mirrors are available throughout the store aisles.

My favorite finds include a like new Veronica Beard jean jacket; the exact sold out Mango toggle coat I had been searching for online, brand new with tags; a cropped shearling coat from Mango, also brand new with tags; and a bright red Prada card case for just $45, among some other small clothing pieces. I especially lucked out in that the store was offering a 25 percent off promo on all jackets (yes, even those of the jean variety), so I was able to save some additional cash. The items I purchased cost roughly $25 to $65 each pre-discount, coming in closer to a Buffalo Exchange price range than a Goodwill one.

At the end of a successful shopping trip, I took a moment to pick up an iced coffee for the road before checking out the onsite museum of oddities that have made their way to Unclaimed Baggage over the years.

Plan Your Visit

Unclaimed Baggage is located at 509 W. Willow Street in Scottsboro, Alabama, and is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central Standard Time on weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays. The store is closed on Sundays. For additional information, call 256-259-1525 or email info@unclaimedbaggage.com

Shop Online

Unable to shop in person? Fear not: You can still enjoy some of the magic of the Unclaimed Baggage experience no matter where you live by shopping online. There, you can scoop up everything from luxury goods to outerwear to tech gear, which will arrive at your doorstep in a matter of days.

Related: The Best (And Weirdest) Road Trip Pit Stops In Every Southern State

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