Lost luggage: how to make money buying baggage

Heather Powazek Champ/Flickr

Hundreds of thousands of suitcases get lost every year around the world but they don’t just disappear into a black hole. Even the ones that never find their owners again end up somewhere. In fact, that somewhere is usually some form of auction house that sells them to people like you and me. In America, the Unclaimed Baggage Centre in Alabama receives 800,000 visitors per year and is, incredibly, the state’s biggest tourist attraction.

If you can’t get to Alabama, no fear, the British version of lost luggage auctions is also the place to bag a good bargain, and even sell it on at a profit.

When British Airways has a surplus of unclaimed baggage in storage, it sells the cases at auction. All that you need to do is head down to the auction house and bid on what you think you can sell on via eBay for more than what you paid.

Not a difficult task when you can get items worth more than £500 for £50. Sell them on for at least £200 and make a profit of three times what you originally spent. Or you can be greedy and see if they’ll sell for £450 or more!

The thing is, there are plenty of bargains up for grabs, and it can be fun – many people describe it as being like a treasure hunt. But buying the suitcases is hit and miss – you don’t know what you will end up with.

Step 1: The auction house

London’s lost luggage hotspot is Greasbys in Tooting, south west London. It’s here that British Airways (one of the world’s biggest baggage losers) sells its lost luggage.

Auctions take place every Tuesday at 10.30am. Viewing is held on the Monday between 2.30pm and 6.30pm, giving you a chance to suss out which bags you want to buy (although you only get to see the outside of it so you can only guess at the contents).

There is no national directory of airport auctioneers, but if there were, Wellers Auctions in Guildford would certainly appear, taking the lost and lonely bags from Gatwick. Bristol Commercial Valuers & Auctioneers (BCVA) in Bristol would also feature, as would Hertfordshire Auctions, who contend with Luton’s unwanted baggage.

As most of the above auction houses don’t have allotted airport auctions, it’s probably best to check with their website as to the next scheduled date for baggage bounty. Or you could sign up to their mailing list, which will let you know when they’re going to happen.

Step 2: Evaluate

On the Monday night, after viewing the auction collection, go home and think about the prices of likely individual items to see how much of a profit you can make up to a certain bid. It’s hard to tell when cases are sold closed, but the posher the case, the more likely it is to contain beautiful booty.

A good way to get an idea of how much cases will sell for is to search for similar items that are already listed on eBay. You can also check out the recommended retail price of the cases by looking on the net. Once you know how much the case itself is worth, you can set your bidding limit. The only gamble is on how much over the worth of the case you’re willing to bid. If the case contains lots of goodies then it could be worth exceeding your limit. But it could be full of junk.

Step 3: Valuable items or cases?

Given that in 2006 BA auctioned off 730 lost laptops and 1,460 mobiles, and that number has risen drastically since the Terminal 5 fiasco at Heathrow. There are plenty of luxury goodies to be bought on the cheap. There will also be very desirable clothes (according to your tastes!)

There are two paths you can take at the auction. The auctioneers take very valuable items out of the suitcases first and sell them separately. This includes stuff like electronic items, shoes, jewellery and toiletries. Of course you can bid on these and then sell them, ideally for more, elsewhere.

Alternatively, you can bid for suitcases and hope there are some good clothes, shoes, books etc. in them that you could flog. This is a bit of a lottery. Auctioneers only give the vaguest details about what is in each suitcase so you won’t know exactly what you are buying.

The auctioneers do tell you whether the clothes are clean or not though. It’s up to you, if you’re happy dealing with someone else’s nasty knickers. Of course you can also sell the suitcase and make some cash on that too.

Step 4: Bag a bargain and sell it on

Once you’ve successfully bid and paid for your bargains, take them home and begin your online selling. Take some photos, write a good advertisement and then post it on eBay and wait for the bidding to begin.

How much can I save?

Lots. The valuable items sell very cheaply – a £500 snowboard recently sold for £75 so you could either keep it for yourself or sell it on for more. The suitcases sell from around £5 to £50. Even if the case is just full of clothes you should be able to sell it all for more than the price you paid for it.

Useful links

33 Responses to “Lost luggage: how to make money buying baggage”

molly says:

January 30, 2012 at 6:41 pm

I LOST ALL MY IRREPLACEABLE ITEM LAST YEAR… YOU WILL HAVE BAD KARMA RUNNING THROUGH YOUR GREEDY VEINS!

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India says:

January 23, 2012 at 4:42 am

U don’t care about anyone in the world do u

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India says:

January 23, 2012 at 4:41 am

I have lost my favourite teddy bear shame on u u just do not care about anyone else in the world

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louis aaron says:

January 20, 2012 at 11:54 pm

ba do not make any effort to look after peoples bags, their too busy making money,and as for the profits going to charity,if you belive that ,your not in the same world as the real world,if your a large company you profit tax wise if you ,you give cash to so called charity,their was a program on the bbc which purchased bags at auction ,guess what ,they opened them and without much trying identifed the owners,in most cases,and went on to reunite them.

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Linx says:

December 9, 2011 at 6:50 am

Well…. BA have to pay compensation to people who loose baggage so why they would not put an effort in contacting anybody does not make much sense. Also, after they have paid a parties compensation claim, some of that money is recouped via selling off the goods at auction. Its costs a lot to store loads of unclaimed baggage…. Just Sayin’

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stephxdancer says:

July 17, 2011 at 12:22 am

In all fairness, the people do have like 6 months to claim the lost luggage, if there was anything in there that they desperately desired, im sure they would pretty much go out of their way for 6 months to find it (of course i know it isn’t always that simple). I don’t think it’s fair for people to call bidders “horrible people”, that’s a little harsh, and also they’re just trying to make a bit of money, it’s not their fault that the service is available. I’m just about to become a student so i might consider this to earn a little cash!

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Molly says:

January 23, 2011 at 12:32 pm

I read the comments from those that say BA and the auction vultures are BAD, honestly, do you want BA to buy and keep a large warehouse just to store unknown owners of suitcases that have gone missing AND charge us more money on our flight tickets, its the owners fault for not putting luggage tags on bags, as well as inside the bags. Tuff shit & get real

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- katherine says:
  
  February 6, 2011 at 12:26 pm
  
  you have very obviously never lost a bag whilst travelling! BA have just lost my bag although they know it is in Heathrow ,they just dont know where. My bag has labels and several distinguishing identifiable items inside with my name on. Quite frankly you are showing an ignorant and hard faced attitude with your “tuff shit and get real” nonsense. I sincerely hope you find yourself in my frustrating situation in the very near future as i’m sure your opinion will become somewhat different!
  
  Reply
  - George says:
    
    February 7, 2011 at 1:49 am
    
    Well said.
    
    Before reading this, I didn’t know that BA auctions off lost baggage instead of trying their best to find the owner, what a bunch of muppets.
    
    No wonder their base airport (LHR) is equally diabolical.
    
    Reply
Kelly says:

December 23, 2010 at 8:34 am

this is a disgusting thing to do. my family just lost their luggage due to the weather disruptions despite them being fully tagged multiple times and that fact that you are encouraging people to take other peoples things and auction them off on ebay for personal gain is the lowest thing i can imagine. people who do this are nothing more than scavenging cockroaches who deserve the worst coming to them. my mothers suitcase contained precious gifts and keepsakes and christmas presents that are irreplacable and the idea of some grubby vulture selling them to make a few extra quid sickens me.
anyone who does this is a vile and horrible excuse for a human being.

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- George says:
  
  February 7, 2011 at 2:02 am
  
  BA is a vile and horrible excuse of a nighmarish company.
  
  When I was a student flying out of UK at christmas I had an extra suitcase with presents etc and I was 10 kgr overweight in total. BA asked me for about 160 quid for excess backage and since I didn’t have that money, I asked them in frustration what would happen to my stuff. Plainly, the BA clerk said pay up or you should leave your baggage to be destroyed. Now I know that by destroyed, BA actually meant to be auctioned off…
  
  Luckily I shared baggage with a fellow passenger.
  
  Reply
  - joseph says:
    
    November 26, 2011 at 11:26 pm
    
    Had you never flown before
    Surly you realise how strict the airlines are on overweight bags. I could understand 1 or 2 kilo’s but 10!
    
    Reply
- lucy says:
  
  March 2, 2011 at 9:07 pm
  
  You seriously think anyone wanting to purchase a bag with no identification or tracking number is a “vile and horrible excuse for a human being”?! People do a lot worse than that, what an easy life you must live to think that, ever watched the news or read a paper?
  
  I had my BOTH my bags lost thanks BA containing jewellery, photos and presents for more 2 children, I blame the company not individual people who simply want to make some cash in these hard times.
  
  However it isn’t just BA, they are police auctions for stolen goods that have no identification, auctions of those who have gone bankrupt, oh and if the council cannot find relatives or friends to pick up the belongings of a deceased person they will either throw the belongings or sell them.
  
  Reply
sam worthington says:

November 24, 2010 at 10:24 am

lots of luggage’s and jewelry are put in to auction every where. someone please tell me what are the ways to find such auction? i am very interested in attending such auctions.

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jadeyboo says:

April 20, 2010 at 6:20 pm

i would reallyyy like to go to a luggage auction but i dont no how to do it? I live in the wolverhampton area?

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Bam says:

January 24, 2010 at 3:38 am

I think maybe what should happen is that people should put their address labels inside the bag as well as the outside. So that if the bags DO wind up at auction, they may have a little more chance or getting back to the rightful owner…

…Smart thinking eh?

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- Jasmine Birtles says:
  
  January 24, 2010 at 10:11 am
  
  Certainly! Thanks for the reminder – I’m definitely going to do that.
  
  Reply
  - Jonathan says:
    
    April 18, 2010 at 7:34 pm
    
    Baggage PIN has developed a solution that will solve the lost baggage issue.
    
    I suggest that people who are concerned about their baggage getting lost join BaggagePIN. It would also save insurance providrs millions.
    
    Reply
Charlie Brown BA staff says:

January 12, 2010 at 2:29 pm

This is ludacrous to think that BA staff take lost luggage, we try to locate the bag to the passenger and as soon as a report of lost luggage is made Ba traces the bag tag but if there is no bag tag then it is like, finding a needle in a haystack with how many bags have no id tags and thats why its always recommended that passengers put their name and addresses inside and outside the bag so that it can be identified.
As for BA making money from the lost bags, it goes to charity.

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snowbording uk says:

November 23, 2009 at 7:46 pm

I was actually looking around for a forum post on this issue, but stumbled across your site on Google!! I’m actually quite interested so will keep an eye out for updates

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Kevin says:

November 11, 2009 at 2:02 pm

In response to the rediculous comments about BA.

BA firstly make every effort to return a lost bag. One of my friends had his bags misplaced quite a few months ago. He was kept informed and it turned up deliverd in a taxi the next day.

The only way a bag would end up in an auction is because it can’t be linked to an individual (tags lost etc), they simply don’t set out to try and steal your bag and make money on it. Crazy Talk!

The only reason BA has been highlighted as losing the most number of bags compared to other airlines is because it is the UK’s largest. It’s as simple as that.

BA staff do not get an option to buy any lost bags.

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ALM says:

October 27, 2009 at 11:59 am

I think this is a terrible way of getting rid of the lost suitcases. It encourages people to make profit of what I would called lost or stolen property. Surely, airlines could be more demanding and if all passenger had their details on them, they could easily be returned to the owners. It is so distressing for people who loose them and so unfair. And how very ridiculous for airlines to ask passengers to keep receipts of all the items they posses. That, does not happen in real life. How can they expect people to keep all proof of purchase (incuding nickers!) and what about presents. If they make it so difficult for people to claim what they have right to claim for, they should also take more responsibility for the suitcases. How can they get lost in the first place, is hard to understand. They should revise their procuedures and be stricter.

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- Jasmine Birtles says:
  
  October 27, 2009 at 12:18 pm
  
  Yes, I know what you mean. Each time I fly I wonder if my luggage will be there at the end. In this computerised age you would think that they could keep track of luggage anywhere in the world. I don’t see why they lose so many! However, as they do, buying them and then selling the stuff seems like fun!
  
  Reply
juliet richards says:

September 30, 2009 at 7:45 pm

I am appalled at this idea! It just incourages them to not bother looking for the owners! Surely people have their name on them now? Seeing as they make money out of it they’re not likely to bother even more and will just make a profit out of it. It makes you wonder if they do it on purpose??! Please don’t join them, yours might be on there one day! Karma…

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Lost my luggage too says:

September 23, 2009 at 5:01 pm

It’s interesting to note that 6 million suitcases and items of baggage are lost or delayed at European airports every year!

With the airlines profiting from lost luggage, it does raise some questions surrounding the appropriateness of that practise.

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John says:

September 22, 2009 at 3:43 pm

Greasbys was a waste of time, I bid on 27 suitcases at £20 a pop but didn’t win a single one. And the ones I’ve bought in the past have been full of rubbish anyway! I give up.

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lesley says:

August 18, 2009 at 10:59 pm

yes i think that this is a weak easy solution of disposing the bags…………and of course what about the excessive insurance claims that this method incurrs

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Michael Nicholas says:

August 18, 2009 at 5:44 pm

There should be a way these can be returned to the owners!! Maybe it should be compulsory that all suitcases should have a name and telephone number on the inside of the case?? That way all cases everywhere could be opened and seen who owns it!!

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Julie Jillians says:

August 10, 2009 at 7:54 am

My Husband lost his baggage leaving him without any clean clothes and toiletries, we tried eveything to get it back, the hole thing left us wipped out not to mention furiouse. Not only was he out of pocket he spend god knows how much in phone calls, I found the hole thing disgusting, the point of check in is what???? the point of putting a lable on your bag is what??? just for members of staff to take out the pricey goods and then sell your bag and clothes, the stuff thats left after the voltures have cleaned you out.. What a lovely airline

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- Pedant123 says:
  
  November 23, 2011 at 7:23 pm
  
  Lol, learn to spell if you want to be taken seriously!
  
  I barely interpreted your rambling, grammarless diatribe!
  
  Reply
steve the pilot (not BA) says:

August 3, 2009 at 12:59 pm

It seems to me that BA should do much more to return the bag to the owner, if all bags went to a central point and then all owners were directed to contact the central point website, in this magical age of computers, photo pictures and a list of info on (SOME NOT ALL) contents inside could be published on line and owners could see, then identify their ‘lost suitcase’ and ask for it back when identifying the remaining contents.

But maybe its just another way of legalised stealing!

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C. Black says:

June 6, 2009 at 4:38 pm

I cant help wondering if BA staff get first pickings, I bet you dont get many L. Vuitton/Chanel luggage going up to auction !!!

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loisxmariex says:

April 7, 2009 at 9:21 pm

this is so tempting!..all depends if you want to gamble i suppose! worth thinking about though thanks for sharing!!

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