A friend had told me about the Unclaimed Baggage Center, located in Scottsboro, Alabama.  They apparently buy up the majority of the lost or unclaimed baggage in the US, sort it all out, and sell it in what is essentially a thrift store.  It was just a short distance out of my way, so I decided to check it out.  I arrived on a Saturday morning, which was perhaps a mistake, as there were so many people there!  I had to park in the overflow lot.  Considering how small Scottsboro itself is, I certainly wasn’t expecting the crowds.

I mainly visited because I was kind of curious about what other people pack in their suitcases, I suppose.  It must be like a treasure hunt when they open up a new suitcase, never quite knowing what they’ll find.  By far the most common items were clothing.  There were men’s, women’s, and children’s sections, which were further subdivided by clothing type.  Honestly, it was all rather logically organized, very impressive.

There was a formal wear section as well, including five wedding dresses.  Honeymoon?  Destination wedding?

There were quite a few computers, mainly of recent make.  I rather wonder why anyone would put their computer in their checked luggage, but there you go.

There was a small section of musical instruments, but they seemed to be high quality items.  I wonder if someone searched for these, and eventually had to give up?  I wonder where they’ve been played?

Over in the jewelry section, which was also quite large, there were several displays of Indian bangles going cheap, usually about $3 for a bunch of five.

I had to wonder if an analog watch would find a buyer at $4,500, even if it was gold, but by far the most expensive item I saw there was this diamond bracelet at $14,000.  You know… you’d think someone would be looking for that.

There were lots of handbags, as you’d expect, but there were strangely few suitcases.

And yes, before anyone asks, there was a “ladies lingerie” section, although I didn’t see any “men’s lingerie.”  No I didn’t take a picture, that would have been creepy.  Most of what I saw was either still packaged or still had tags.

There were many pairs of women’s shoes, but hardly any men’s shoes.

And if anyone is wondering about the fate of the paperback with e-readers becoming so popular, there’s no need to fear.  At least for travelers who lose their baggage, paper books are still popular.  This was about a third of the book section.

So it was interesting, even kind of fun.  Did I buy anything?  No.