Influencer faces backlash after buying stranger's unclaimed luggage at an auction: 'This makes me feel sad'
Ever wanted to find out what airlines do with unclaimed or lost luggage? One British influencer and travel vlogger has the answer.
In the current climate of travel chaos, horror stories of lost bags during overseas trips are worryingly common.
Airlines are often left with hundreds of suitcases after failing to track down passengers.
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YouTuber Roxi shared a video of her opening up a stranger's luggage. YouTube
According to YouTube star Roxi, airlines have an average of 90 days to actively search for the owners and after that, they can auction off the unclaimed luggage.
Roxi took advantage of this peculiar offer and bought the entire contents of a stranger's lost luggage for just £20 (A$34).
She told followers all the unclaimed suitcases were sitting in one room and buyers could opt for different categories. Roxi chose "women's clothes" and picked out a black bag.
"This is literally some stranger's luggage, I have no idea what's inside, and we're going to open it in this video together," Roxi said in a video.
"I do want to let you guys know that I have personally been in a situation where an airline has lost my luggage on the way to a holiday, and let's just say it wasn't the best experience ever."
She added: "But over the years, that has made me wonder – where is my favourite makeup? Where are my favourite dresses that were all in my luggage? What happened to all that content?"
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Roxi bought the unclaimed suitcase for just $34. YouTube
Unzipping the bag for the first time on camera, Roxi was pleasantly surprised by the contents.
Some of the items included a YSL perfume, sun lotion and a leather handbag.
"Whoever this suitcase belonged to before… I hope they don't mind!" Roxi said. "I genuinely feel like I kind of hit the jackpot with this suitcase."
She also surmised that the original owner of the suitcase was likely British, based on some of the brands inside.
"I've pretty much made my money back, because I only spent 20 pounds on this suitcase," Roxi added.
The video, which has since amassed over 250,000 views, was met with a mixture of emotions from viewers.
Some felt uncomfortable with the idea of Roxi rummaging through someone else's things.
Others said the fact lost luggage can be auctioned off is a sad reflection of airline customer service.
"The concept of this makes me feel sad - what if they aren't bothering to create a successful system to return luggage to owners because they can just not bother and sell it off for profit?" one person wrote.
Some of the items inside included a YSL perfume. YouTube
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"I feel bad for all owners of lost baggage. I hope this does not happen to me when I travel," another wrote. "Perhaps the airlines don't bother anymore because they can just sell it"
Another added: "That's kinda rude judging her belongings like that, the person who lost the luggage literally didn't do anything and her stuff ends up on YouTube to be seen by the world."
In Australia, it is less common for airlines to sell lost luggage to auction houses.
In the past, Sydney Airport has held a Lost Property Auction for unclaimed baggage, with proceeds shared between charities such as Lifeline Australia.
Some lost items auctioned off at these yearly events include electrical goods such as iPhones and cameras, musical instruments and jewellery.
