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The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

washingtonpost.com

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Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#21

Post by scarface_74 »

dcx wrote: post #15
Sebguer wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, indeed, fortunately if you actually read even the first line of the article you'd understand that this isn't talking about theft.

I think OP is right but hasn't fully unrolled what they mean. This seems like it creates a moral hazard [1], because it reduces the penalty to airlines for losing luggage. If airlines were prepared to accept X in costs from lost luggage before, and now get paid Y, they can now accept about X+Y in lost luggage costs. Meaning more lost luggage! After the system dynamics resettle, from a certain angle this is basically…

An airline owes you $2500 for lost luggage on domestic flights. They aren’t going to make that up by selling to places like this. It’s not like they tell the department responsible for getting your luggage back to you to go through the luggage and determine whether they can make a profit on you.

Anecdotally, every thing my wife and I own are in four suitcases that we take across the country 7 months a year making one way trips.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36306966

We have to take all of our personal belongings with us when we leave our home so our place can be rented out to cover our mortgage and expenses while we travel over half of the year.

For $2500 we could replace everything that we have in any one piece of checked luggage and have money left over. We keep anything of value in our carry on backpack.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B12SPPXV?

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#22

Post by scarface_74 »

notatoad wrote: post #9
Sebguer wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, indeed, fortunately if you actually read even the first line of the article you'd understand that this isn't talking about theft.

right, not theft, just the seemingly legitimate sale of items whose rightful owner is unknown. if you think this isn't used as an opportunity for fencing stolen items, you're deluding yourself.

Who is doing the stealing? Are you claiming that the business in the article is getting part of their inventory from some place other than the airlines or lost luggage?

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#24

Post by Guvante »

MongoTheMad wrote: post #10

The common denominator for getting a good bargain is camping outside to arrive early or visiting regularly. While I like a good deal, I do not care for those style of deals.

If economists are to be believed that is inevitable. The only way to get true economic gains is by sacrificing something.

I will say a lot of bargain hunters have difficulty framing their hobby in a way that properly reflects the time investment when describing to others...

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#25

Post by thfuran »

danw1979 wrote: post #14

> “The airlines do a great job” at reuniting most lost bags, said Bryan Owens, the store’s second-generation owner and CEO. That is a very generous statement indeed.

I don't think I've had a checked bag permanently lost since the '90s, though it seems like half the time I return to my home airport with ski equipment, they fail to send it out to baggage claim. But then they deliver it to my house a day or two later.

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#26

Post by TacticalCoder »

> Cheap ski equipment, Rolex watches

All Rolex watches have serial numbers and there's an official database of stolen and lost rolexes. A police report should be filled and sent to an AD (authorized dealer).

Knowing this allow righful owners to find their watches, selling found Rolex is... theft?

FWIW when travelling the customs may ask you for the invoice of your fancy watch (I always have mine in my wallet).

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#27

Post by dcx »

scarface_74 wrote: post #21
dcx wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think OP is right but hasn't fully unrolled what they mean. This seems like it creates a moral hazard [1], because it reduces the penalty to airlines for losing luggage. If airlines were prepared to accept X in costs from lost luggage before, and now get paid Y, they can now accept about X+Y in lost luggage costs. Meaning more lost luggage! After the system dynamics resettle, from a certain angle this is basically…

An airline owes you $2500 for lost luggage on domestic flights. They aren’t going to make that up by selling to places like this. It’s not like they tell the department responsible for getting your luggage back to you to go through the luggage and determine whether they can make a profit on you. Anecdotally, every thing my wife and I own are in four suitcases that we take across the country 7 months a year making one…

> On flights within the U.S., airlines are responsible for lost-luggage reimbursement up to $2,500 per person; on international flights, airlines owe you a mere $9.07 per pound, with a ceiling of $640. (That rate was set by an international treaty in 1929.)

> Beyond that, airlines owe you nothing for your most valuable items. Most contracts of carriage specifically exempt from compensation things like antiques, art, books, documents, money, cameras, collectibles, electronics, or "fragile or perishable items." [1]

Also this is not a guaranteed payout, you may need to provide receipts for your things [2]. In general I would prefer to keep the contents of my bag vs receiving "up to" $2,500. We're mostly working people here. The time and money cost of travel disruptions, replacing stuff, navigating bureaucracy etc. is not low. And my stuff has emotional value.

I agree that this setup seems reasonable in a perfect world. But knowing how large, complex companies function, I feel it is unwise to create any kind of loop which rewards airlines as a function of luggage lost.

[1] https://www.frommers.com/tips/airfare/the-bottom-line-what-d...

[2] https://www.peopleclerk.com/post/airline-lost-delayed-luggag...

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#28

Post by globular-toast »

TacticalCoder wrote: post #26

> Cheap ski equipment, Rolex watches All Rolex watches have serial numbers and there's an official database of stolen and lost rolexes. A police report should be filled and sent to an AD (authorized dealer). Knowing this allow righful owners to find their watches, selling found Rolex is... theft? FWIW when travelling the customs may ask you for the invoice of your fancy watch (I always have mine in my wallet).

Although it would be nice, nobody is under any obligation to go out of their way to return your lost property.

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#29

Post by itsrajju »

thfuran wrote: post #25
danw1979 wrote: post #14

> “The airlines do a great job” at reuniting most lost bags, said Bryan Owens, the store’s second-generation owner and CEO. That is a very generous statement indeed.

I don't think I've had a checked bag permanently lost since the '90s, though it seems like half the time I return to my home airport with ski equipment, they fail to send it out to baggage claim. But then they deliver it to my house a day or two later.

Interesting! Why would the airline incur additional cost of shipping your ski equipment to your house, when putting it out to the baggage claim is... free?

Re: The thrill of the bargain hunt at unclaimed baggage

#30

Post by IshKebab »

itsrajju wrote: post #29
thfuran wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think I've had a checked bag permanently lost since the '90s, though it seems like half the time I return to my home airport with ski equipment, they fail to send it out to baggage claim. But then they deliver it to my house a day or two later.

Interesting! Why would the airline incur additional cost of shipping your ski equipment to your house, when putting it out to the baggage claim is... free?

Because they make a mistake. They obviously don't intend for that to happen.
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