Unclaimed Baggage Centre(UCB): A retail shopping adventure in unclaimed baggage
Ever wondered what happens to all your valuables in your baggage after making all the futile frantic calls and waiting for three months to no avail? The airline will in many cases compensate you for the loss, so what happens after the compensation? As has been discussed in previous three posts this week that are all about baggage handling, some of the unclaimed baggage will go to auction houses, some will end up in the hands of airline employees while some airlines will simply shred the luggage and discard it. Often airline employees will help themselves to a few valuables like jewellery, expensive watches, laptops and other valuables before confining the rest of it to the shredder.
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| Some of the goodies at the Unclaimed Baggage Centre |
However, in Alabama, in the United States , a family has created a thriving business out of unclaimed baggage by building the
Unclaimed Baggage Centre(UCB). Since 1970, the Owens family has created a booming business out of buying luggage that the airlines cannot reconnect passengers and reselling the baggage contents-house slippers to diamond jewelry to harpoons — at a discount.
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| Unclaimed Baggage: What the travelers leave behind |
Many curious people from all over the world, including African countries like Kenya and South Africa, come to the Unclaimed Baggage Centre in Alabama to mull what unlucky travelers have lost.Over the last 42 years, the business has grown from a rented house to a 40,000 square foot facility that draws in nearly a million visitors every year!
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| The Owens Family has built a successful business from Unclaimed Baggage since 1970 |
Besides the bargains and the gawking factor, the Owenses attribute their success to their almost spiritual mission. “We take these misfit toys and put them back into society in a purposeful manner,” says director of marketing Brenda Cantrell.
What happens to unclaimed baggage in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Egypt and other countries in Africa?
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