Unclaimed airline luggage is being bought and opened by social-media creators who film unboxing hauls. These hauls usually contain unwashed clothes but sometimes include valuables or bizarre items. Examples include hair straighteners, Pokémon cards, an iPad, an unidentified brown substance, and an air freshener. Nearly 92% of lost bags are reunited; unclaimed bags after three months are sold to third-party resellers. The U.S. has the Alabama-based Unclaimed Baggage store; U.K. shops auction suitcases sight unseen. International flights have higher mishandling risk, and recovered items can sometimes only be repurchased piece by piece.
It's every traveler's nightmare: you land, but your suitcase doesn't. Across social media, creators are buying unclaimed luggage and unboxing the contents on camera. Most of the time it's just piles of unwashed clothes, but the chance of uncovering valuables-or simply something bizarre-has fueled a viral trend. In one viral video, a TikTok creator pulled out hair straighteners, Pokémon cards, and an iPad. In another, the haul included a Ziploc bag of an unidentified brown substance and a plug-in air freshener.
Nearly 92% of lost bags are eventually reunited with their owners. But if a bag goes unclaimed for three months, it's sold off to third-party resellers. In the U.S., the Alabama-based Unclaimed Baggage store is the only retailer specializing in lost luggage, where items can be bought individually or in mystery boxes. In the U.K., shops now auction off suitcases to the highest bidder, sight unseen.
If you're worried about your own belongings being unboxed online, know that the risks are highest on international flights, where mishandling is five times more likely than on domestic routes, according to a 2024 report from the International Society of Aeronautical Telecommunications (SITA). Of the 33.4 million mishandled bags that year, 8% were lost or stolen. If your missing suitcase ever does resurface in one of these mystery hauls, you might get your items back, though sometimes only by buying them back piece by piece.
Collection
[
|
...
]