SCOTTSBORO, Ala. -- Almost everyone has lost a bag while flying at some point in their lives, and most of the bags make it back to their owners eventually.

But what happens to the bags that never get claimed?

Odds are, they end up in Scottsboro, at a place called Unclaimed Baggage.

"After luggage has been lost and owners have been compensated for that loss, we purchase these bags sight unseen, send our own trucks around the country and bring them back here to Scottsboro," company spokeswoman Brenda Cantrell said.

The company started in 1970 as a part-time venture, but in the 1990s, it became a full-fledged retail store, eventually expanding to offering items on eBay.

Company officials said that about 1 million items pass through the store each year, about 60 percent of it clothing. Some of what they find is quite unusual.

"We've seen some very unique items over the years, including a mummified falcon, some jewelry, a 19th-century full suit of armor has passed through our doors," Cantrell said.

Other strange things found in luggage include:

A 40-carat natural emerald.

A guidance system for an F-16 fighter (returned to the Air Force).

The Muppet character Hoggle from the movie "Labyrinth."

A camera from one of NASA's space shuttles (returned to NASA).

A live rattlesnake.

"Out here, you just never know what you are going to find," Cantrell said.

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Where Does The Lost Luggage Go?

Once they hit the shelves, items sell for considerably less than they originally sold for.

"Sometimes I come down here and I might not spend a nickel. Other days, I come down here and I might spend several hundred dollars. It just depends on the day," one man said.

"It's a fun place to shop and you can always find a bargain," Daphene Coopinger said.

Visit: Unclaimed Baggage eBay Auction