Man spent £11 on passenger's abandoned suitcase and 'found £9,000 rolled up inside'

During a 'lost luggage auction', a man once had the most incredible luck when he bought a suitcase for £11 and discovered £9,000 inside.

Now, have you ever wondered where all the unclaimed and abandoned suitcases live out the rest of their days?

Millions of people lose or leave behind their luggage while they are on their travels each year and unfortunately, airports don't have lost and found areas that are large enough to accommodate everyones belongings long-term.

So, when airlines have exhausted all the options when trying to identify the owner of the mislaid bag and 100 days have passed, they can send the deserted baggage onto an auction house for them to deal with instead.

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Brits can then bid on the suitcases and get their hands on whatever - whether its trash or treasure - is hidden inside.

The auction houses then get a nice commission from all the goods sold, while the airline which sent the bags also get a slice of the profits.

Take Greasby’s Auctioneers for example - who attract huge crowds while flogging mislaid luggage on a weekly basis.

More than 100 people are usually in attendance to their regular suitcase sales.

Attendees have to pay a refundable deposit, which is usually around £100, to get a laminated number which gives them the right to bid on the selection of belongings which have been left behind.

Like a lot of things in life, the luggage comes in all shapes, sizes and suitcase designs.

Some look like they've done ten rounds with Mike Tyson, others might be immaculate - but regardless of its exterior appearance, you're still going to struggle to hazard a guess about what might treasure might be inside.

You have to make your selection without taking a sneak peek inside and there's no take backs, so whatever you've bid on, you're stuck with whether it's good or bad.

Telegraph writer and self-proclaimed 'travel fanatic' Annabel Fenwick Elliott decided to see what all the fuss was about and headed down to Greasby’s Auctioneers in Tooting, South London, to check out a suitcase auction.

She explained that during her visit in November 2018, around 70 mislaid suitcases were on display for punters to bid on.

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Annabel had her eye on a large, glossy Juicy Couture hard-shell case 'which she hoped once belonged to a WAG', a small green-carry on and a retro wheelie case.

She beat out her fellow bidders and managed to bag all three for less than £50, before eagerly joining the lengthy queue behind other bargain hunters to get their hands on their gear.

But before she'd even got anywhere near the front of it, a bloke who was stood in front of her managed to outdo her by claiming he had found a £1,500 painting after paying only £60 for it.

Annabel explained that the man then informed her that he had nabbed a suitcase at an earlier auction for just £11.

After slicing open the lining, his lucky streak continued, and he incredibly found $12,000 (£9,000) in cash rolled up inside.

Sadly, this is obviously a rare occurrence, as Annabel found out when she started rifling through the luggage she bought.

The writer was instead lumbered with 'very smelly clothes, one tube of thrush cream and a long human hair' as well as footie shirts, pillow cases and dresses.

It's definitely a case of pot luck and intuition, but suitcase sales seem like quite a fun day out - with the added benefit that you might also stumble across a small fortune.

Topics: Travel, Money, UK News, News

Olivia Burke

Olivia is a journalist at LADbible Group with more than five years of experience and has worked for a number of top publishers, including News UK. She also enjoys writing food reviews (as well as the eating part). She is a stereotypical reality TV addict, but still finds time for a serious documentary.

@livburke_