Lost luggage is every traveller's nightmare, but what begins as misfortune for some can end up a jackpot for an increasing number of suitcase "gamblers" who are bidding on the lost property at auction houses, and finding everything from designer clothes to ancient artefacts.

In the past, airlines would have "incinerated or dumped lost luggage", said The Guardian . That changed in 1965 when Doyle Owens founded Unclaimed Baggage in the US, first collecting lost property from bus lines and later from airlines.

In the UK, suitcase hunters can head to Greasby's in Tooting, South London, where unclaimed bags from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted are sold "for a fraction of the price," said The Sun . Greasby's also runs weekly online auctions, where bidders email sealed offers before the sale

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