On the case of our missing luggage
headed for Scottsboro, in the hilly countryside near the Tennessee border. So frequent are these deliveries that the Unclaimed Baggage Center has around one million items on sale at any time, with 7,000 new items added to the shop floor every day.
The place itself – a colossal 40,000 square feet in size – feels more like a swanky department store than a musty charity shop, with items neatly grouped into sections: electronics, books, jewellery, watches, even wedding attire.
But it’s not just ‘normal’ items that staff unearth every day. Some of their finds have been genuinely bizarre and include a complete suit of armour, an Egyptian death mask and an entire bag full of cheese. Cantrell’s personal favourite, she says, is a toss-up between a camera from the Space Shuttle (‘we returned it to Nasa – they were very grateful’) and a live rattlesnake (‘we released that sucker into the graveyard behind the store’).
During my visit, I’m shown a diamond bracelet worth £30,000 but that’s small fry compared with the store’s record: a £50,000 Rolex watch found and sold a few years ago. There are incredible bargains to be had across the board: one customer purchased a vase for £65, only to discover it was actually worth £15,000. Another bought a piece of art for £45, which they then sold on for £20,000. The Unclaimed Baggage Center has come a long way since being founded by local entrepreneur Doyle Owens in 1970. Now it’s not only a successful business but also one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Deep South, attracting more than a million visitors a year.
Not everything makes the shelves, of course. There are strict quality guidelines and roughly a third of everything is immediately binned – including all underwear. Another third goes to charity, with only the final third considered good enough to be processed, cleaned and sold – at anywhere from 20 to 80 per cent of its original price. Electronics (the store boasts an enormous selection of laptops, mobile phones and tablets) are wiped and reset before sale.
There is, of course, a dark underbelly to lost luggage too. Over the years, staff have discovered pretty much every drug under the sun, from sizeable stashes of crystal meth and heroin to monster hauls of cocaine worthy of Tony Montana.
One customer bought a piece of art for £45, then sold it on for £20,000
‘That’s when we get straight on the phone to the cops,’ says Cantrell. ‘Nobody tends to go back and try to claim a lost suitcase when they know it’s full of drugs so inevitably those bags end up here.’
Before leaving, I have time for my own swift bargain hunt and strike gold straight away: a brand-new Hugo Boss dinner jacket that fits like a glove for just £40 – less than a tenth of what it should cost. Eat your heart out, David Gandy.
There is, however, a downside to all this. Cantrell and her colleagues now have a genuine fear of checking in their own luggage when they travel.
‘When I fly, I photograph everything, create a detailed list of contents and add my address to every pocket, just in case,’ she reveals. ‘Although at least I know where it’ll end up if it gets lost.’