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Incredible way to get designer clothes, perfumes and gadgets for less than a tenner
Read on to get some bad news if you're a driver
BAG A BARGAIN Incredible way to get designer clothes, perfumes and gadgets for less than a tenner
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EVERYWHERE I look there are hundreds of suitcases in different colours, shapes and sizes.
But I'm not in an airport arrivals lounge and there is no luggage carousel in sight.
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The Sun's Adele tried her luck at an unclaimed luggage auction in London
Credit: Simon Jones
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Trainers were available at bargain prices - a pair of cream Prada Pegasus trainers worth £600 sold for £40
Credit: Simon Jones
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Sniffing out a bargain with many perfumes waiting to be snapped up
Credit: Simon Jones
Instead, I'm at a suitcase auction at Greasbys in Tooting, South London, where you can buy unclaimed luggage from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted for a fraction of the price.
Luggage usually goes missing when you have a connecting flight with a different airline, as there is a higher chance your belongings could get lost.
Six bags went missing for every 1,000 checked in last year, according to aviation data company Sita.
If your bag never arrives and you don't tell the airport, it may be passed to an auction house to sell to the highest bidder.
Here's how to bag a bargain of your own . . .
HOW IT WORKS
GREASBYS has been selling lost luggage for more than 50 years. It holds online-only auctions every other Wednesday.
Bidders must email their sealed bids before the auction starts.
The person who makes the highest offer wins the item.
You can go to the actual auction house the day before to check the suitcases and bags — which is what I'm here to do.
I'm surprised to discover you can't open the luggage to inspect the actual items. Every bag and suitcase comes with a label describing the contents. You are unlikely to find high-value items inside luggage.
I spent £136 to see if the lost luggage trend was worth it - I thought I'd nab designer goodies but it was a total flop
Designer clothes, gadgets, bags and shoes are taken out and sold individually. High-street clothes in good condition are also removed, bagged and sold as one lot.
There are typically 20 items to a bag, which usually go for at least £10. Most cases sell for between £18 to £60.
The airports are sent the profits from sales, after the auction house takes a cut.
If you're worried about ending up with someone's dirty smalls, don't be alarmed.
Christine Sachett, owner of Greasbys, says: 'The staff go through every suitcase. They also remove more personal items.'
ANY BARGAINS?
I FIND two children's Tommy Hilfiger coats, one in hot pink and another in navy blue. They retail at £75 each but sell for £10.80.
And my eyes widen as I spy a pair of cream Prada Pegasus trainers worth £600 and sold for £40.
A pink and ivory scarf from Mulberry is just my style — it sells for £31.50.
There are 15 people browsing in Greasbys and many are regulars.
'Some people work and need to supplement their income, some people actually do it for a living,' Christine said.
One regular buys suitcases and sells them on his market stall in Portobello Road.
SECRET BIDDING TIPS
MAKE sure the wheels and zips are intact when buying a suitcase.
'Check the name of the suitcase and research how much it would normally cost you,' Christine said.
'Some of the big holdalls on wheels are nearly £100 to buy, depending on the bag.'
Buying suitcases can often be a mixed bag.
'Unless the owner was unlucky and lost their bag on their way out, or they get everything laundered while they are on holiday, you could be buying someone's dirty holiday clothes,' she said.
Do not focus on the weight.
'If it is heavy it could mean it is full of cheap clothing,' she said.
'Lighter ones may have really nice clothing inside.'
WATCH OUT FOR FEES
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Christine Sachett, owner of Greasbys
Credit: Simon Jones
FEES are added on top of the hammer price. A buyer's premium will be charged, which is 26 per cent of the cost.
VAT, 20 per cent, is also added to the premium only. So a £50 item is £65.60.
ARE THERE OTHERS?
INDEPENDENT auction house Mulberry Bank in Glasgow holds two lost luggage sales a month.
Bristol Commercial Valuers and Auctioneers also holds online lost luggage auctions.
BEFORE YOU BID
GREASBYS does not offer any guarantees or warranties.
If there is something wrong with your item, Greasbys won't give you a refund, a replacement, or fix it for you.
That means it's a risk buying items locked inside the luggage, as you can't see if they are in good nick.
When buying at an auction, Gurpreet Chhokar from consumer site Which? warns you may not benefit from the same protections as with a retailer.
She said: 'You might not be able to change your mind and get a refund.
'Check any terms and conditions relating to auction sales carefully.'
You may also lose a powerful consumer protection, Section 75, when making payments to the auction house using a credit card, she added.
Usually, it allows you to claim money back from your credit card provider if something goes wrong.
I PAID £130, THIS IS WHAT WAS INSIDE...
SENIOR Fabulous Digital Writer Abigail Wilson bought an unclaimed suitcase from Undelivrd, and here's what she found . . .
I WAS intrigued to see if I'd bag exciting treasures.
I ordered my case for £129.99 from Undelivrd, a warehouse that sells lost Royal Mail parcels, Amazon return pallets and forgotten baggage.
The size and brand of case you get will be random. The contents are also a surprise.
When the case arrived, it was wrapped in a bin bag. The case was an American Tourister, which is worth £129, but pretty battered. A mouldy smell hit me before I even unzipped it.
Rather than pricey clothes or electricals, the contents left me gutted – smelly socks, worn boxers and dirty hoodies.
I was excited when I spotted a White Company toiletry bag. But then I realised it's a freebie you get on long-haul BA flights.
A pair of leather shoes from Asda, £25 if bought new, was the only decent thing I found.
I totted up the cost of the contents and was surprised to see that, when bought new, the items would come to £223.98.
If you include the cost of the case, it added up to just over £350.
But it was nothing near what I had hoped for, so it really is a lucky dip when ordering lost luggage online.
I GOT FREEBIES WORTH £62 IN 24 HOURS
WHO doesn't love a freebie? There is no better feeling than getting your hands on a coffee, meal or drink without spending a penny.
That's why I spent a day hoovering up bargains along my local high street, including coffee, spring rolls, and even a cocktail – and managed to get nearly £62 worth of goodies.
Shops often offer customers freebies to promote new products, reward them for their loyalty or to attract new shoppers.
Food and drink prices have soared in the past few years, making it more expensive to grab a treat.
So I was eager to see how many freebies I could get my hands on in 24 hours.
At 8.30am I popped into my local Greggs to grab my first freebie of the day – a black coffee, worth £1.90.
I had downloaded the Greggs app the night before and all I needed to do was open the app and activate the reward. What a result!
At 1pm the hunt began for a bargain lunch.
I headed to Chopstix Noodle Bar, as I heard that you can get five free spring rolls worth £2.50 if you download the shop's app.
I signed up, and in minutes, a coupon for the snack appeared in my account.
They were just how I like them – crunchy on the outside and still warm from the oven.
At 1.40pm I ventured over to visit a Mac Cosmetics near the office and asked for some testers.
I got two 10ml samples of Hyper Real Serumizer, a bestseller, which costs £80 for a 50ml bottle.
My samples are worth £12.80. At 6pm I met my friends at the pub. I used an app called Dusk, which helps you find free drinks at bars.
The Pembroke in Earl's Court was giving away one free Hugo Spritz worth £10 to every customer, so I went and claimed mine. Cheers!
lI also got: Blueberry muffin £3.75; taco £3.49; cappuccino £4.10; cosmetic samples £15.91; Nicotine pouches, £6.50; cat food 19p
DROOPER MARKETS
SUPERMARKETS suffered a 'dismal' month of May as shoppers cut back on booze and tobacco spending, figures reveal.
The total volume of retail sales fell by 2.7 per cent — dropping at the fastest rate in more than a year — the Office for National Statistics says.
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Supermarkets suffered a 'dismal' month of May as shoppers cut back on booze and tobacco spending, figures reveal
Credit: Alamy
This compared with a 1.3 per cent rise in April.
May's overall retail sales came in considerably below the 0.7 per cent decline that most economists had been expecting for the month.
ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: 'Retail sales fell sharply in May with their largest monthly fall since the end of 2023.
This was mainly due to a dismal month for food retailers, especially supermarkets, following strong sales in April.
'Feedback suggested reduced purchases for alcohol and tobacco, with customers choosing to make cutbacks.'
She added that clothing and homeware stores were reporting reduced footfall in May.
A drop in demand for DIY items last month followed the sunny weather in April that had boosted home improvement projects.
Despite May's decline, retail sales volumes rose by 0.8 per cent across the three months to May, compared with the three months to February.
Nicholas Found, head of commercial content at research consultancy Retail Economics, said: 'The cost of living remains the dominant concern for households.'
PETROL PRICES RISING
PETROL prices are on the rise again after fuel costs fell to their lowest levels since July 2021.
The AA said average prices of unleaded hit 132.8p on Thursday, after they bottomed out at 132.3p last month.
Diesel was 138.9p a litre on Thursday, after a low of 138.1p. Tensions in the Middle East have pushed up global oil prices.
The AA's Luke Bosdet said: 'Oil prices look daunting but the impact's been limited.'
SUPPLY PAIN
THE supermarket watchdog has launched a new probe into Amazon.
The Grocery Code Adjudicator will look at whether it breached rules on treatment of suppliers. It will focus on its delays to paying them, deductions to commercial negotiations, and how it manages supplier concerns.
Leading ombudsman Mark White said: 'The alleged delays could expose Amazon suppliers to excessive risk and unexpected costs, potentially affecting their ability to invest and innovate.'
TAX TWEAK
MAJOR changes to council tax are coming with a Government shake-up.
Millions of households could make the payments over 12 months instead of ten under plans to help households manage their finances better.
A consultation launched yesterday also laid out plans to make town halls wait longer before demanding a bill is paid in full and cap liability orders.
If just one payment is missed, a council currently can demand bills are paid for an entire year.
