What ever happens to lost luggage that is never recovered? Does it get auctioned?

Question

Anyone in the tourist and travel business know what happens to luggage that never gets claimed? Im a big antique collector and ebayer and would love to buy these bags if they go on sale

Answer 1

The airlines have stores in out of the way places where they sell unclaimed luggage. I heard about it on the Oprah show.

Here's another source: "What happens to passengers' lost luggage:
1. The bag is sent to an airline's claims center. A description of the luggage is entered into an electronic tracing system used by the major airlines.
2. The airlines take from 90 to 120 days to track down owners of lost luggage. Airline officials will search the baggage for anything that might offer contact information. In most cases, owners are found and contacted. The luggage is then shipped to the owner or kept at the airport for the customer to pick up.
3. If the owner of a bag is not found, the luggage and its contents are sold to the Unclaimed Baggage Center, a private store in Scottsboro, Ala. The store resells, donates or discards the contents. The company has contracts with most major airlines. The terms are confidential.
4. Passengers whose bags are misplaced, meanwhile, are compensated up to $2,500 by the airlines.

Sources: Department of Transportation, Unclaimed Baggage Center" http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-01-17-luggage-usat_x.htm

Here's the link for a Y! Search results for unclaimed luggage sales:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=unclaimed+luggage+sales&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz2