Unclaimed Baggage Store Reveals Bizarre Lost Luggage Finds

From samurai swords to gold bars, the annual report details the quirkiest items found in lost airline bags.

Published on Mar. 5, 2026

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Unclaimed Baggage, a store that resells items lost by travelers, released its annual report detailing its most common and quirky finds from lost airline bags over the past year. The report revealed bizarre discoveries including samurai swords, gold bars, and fake human bones, as well as more typical items like thousands of T-shirts. The company emphasizes that airlines do a great job of reuniting most lost luggage with owners, but the small fraction that ends up at Unclaimed Baggage provides a unique glimpse into what people are packing when they travel.

Why it matters

The Unclaimed Baggage report offers a fascinating look into the items travelers are bringing on flights, from the practical to the peculiar. It highlights the challenges airlines face in reuniting lost luggage, as well as the resourcefulness of the Unclaimed Baggage team in reselling or donating the wide array of items that come through their doors each year.

The details

According to the report, the most common items found in lost luggage were T-shirts, with nearly 210,000 turning up at Unclaimed Baggage. Other frequently retrieved items included books, charging cables, and trending collectibles like "Labubus" and "Lafufus" - fake versions of popular toys. The store also received more unusual finds, such as samurai swords, gold bars, and fake human bones. Unclaimed Baggage senior vice president Matt Owens says the company is rarely able to learn the backstories behind these quirky discoveries.

  • The Unclaimed Baggage annual report details findings from the last 12 months.

The players

Unclaimed Baggage

A family-owned business that has been receiving and reselling (or donating) items left behind in airline baggage for more than half a century.

Matt Owens

The senior vice president of commercial strategy at Unclaimed Baggage.

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What they’re saying

“It's hard to get surprised by things these days, but you wonder how something like samurai swords come through.”

— Matt Owens, Senior Vice President of Commercial Strategy (USA TODAY)

“The airlines do an incredible job of reuniting items with their owners. What ultimately comes to us is a fraction of a percent of what's traveled with.”

— Matt Owens, Senior Vice President of Commercial Strategy (USA TODAY)

What’s next

Unclaimed Baggage is hosting a pop-up store in New York City from March 6-8, allowing more people to browse and purchase items from their unique inventory.

The takeaway

The Unclaimed Baggage report provides a quirky and insightful glimpse into the items travelers are packing - and sometimes losing - when they fly. While airlines work hard to reunite lost luggage, the store's diverse inventory highlights the challenges they face and the resourcefulness of the Unclaimed Baggage team in giving these items a second life.