A man who makes a living buying unclaimed suitcases says one airport purchase left him feeling close to ‘throwing up’ after he discovered a ‘disgusting’ item inside.
Scott Fensome, 26, originally worked as a plumber, but when the Covid pandemic arrived and he was furloughed, he began looking for a new direction.
Based in the UK, he started experimenting with online auctions, and that’s how he stumbled across the world of lost luggage sales.
When airport bags go unclaimed for around three months, they can be sent to auction. Scott now buys them and films what he finds, sharing the results on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
Some purchases have worked out brilliantly — he’s kept plenty of clothing for himself, including a $1,900 Prada gilet — but not every suitcase has been such a pleasant surprise.
The content creator previously described one moment in particular involving a find that was so foul it almost made him vomit.
“Near to when I started, we found this storage tub and it had fermented fish bones in it,” he explained.
“It was so disgusting, I didn’t know what it was and then all the comments came in saying they were fermented fish bones.”
“It must have been for a dish or something,” Scott added, noting that items in this system can sit in storage for months before they’re eligible to be sold.
He went on to explain the smell didn’t hit immediately because of how it was wrapped — but filming meant he had to open it fully.
“You couldn’t smell it to begin with because it was in a silk container, but because I’m recording a TikTok I had to open it.
“I nearly threw up; I was gagging, it was disgusting.”
Scott also said the rotten discovery was even more unexpected because the same batch included a dessert that seemed totally fine, describing it as a ‘sweet pudding’ that ‘smelled quite nice’.
These days, his haul of clothing from unclaimed bags has effectively turned into a fresh wardrobe — with the designer Prada piece standing out as one of his most expensive keepers.
As for whether he feels guilty about the original owners losing their belongings, Scott suggested the system gives people plenty of opportunity to recover what’s theirs.
“Kind of, there’s times when I thought I’d be a bit gutted, but then the process of them claiming it is every single item is ticketed and is booked in,” Scott quipped.
“They know where they’ve left it and so a lot of time I feel people just can’t be bothered. If they wanted to [claim the luggage] they’ve got three months.”
After that experience, he’ll likely be hoping none of his future suitcases contain anything similar again.