Mystery boxes: the companies selling lost parcels and suitcases

With more than three billion parcels delivered in the UK each year, some inevitably go missing – but have you ever wondered what happens to them?

Enterprising firms are snapping up the lost packages and selling them on to customers but the purchases are usually a gamble.

'Lucky dip'

During the pandemic the postal system descended into "chaos" and this "lucrative lockdown trade" took off, said the Daily Mail. Each transaction is by definition generally a "lucky dip", so businesses do not accept refunds if you are unhappy with your order and will only reimburse you if your parcel has been lost (again) in the post. The "gamble" is "part of the attraction" for some customers.

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Unboxing Heaven, a company that sells on Royal Mail parcels, claims that customers can find a "wide variety of items" within its boxes, including "electronics, books, records, toys and games, clothing items and accessories, jewellery, shoes, beauty products, personalised items, fad gift items, tools and home décor", said the Daily Mail.

The parcels containing those items will have become undeliverable for a number of reasons, including that the address is inadequate or illegible, or that the person may have moved or there is no return address.

You can also buy unclaimed suitcases from airports, which could "bag you big bucks", said MoneySavingExpert. Many companies offer only empty suitcases, but others sell them with their contents still inside, sometimes even giving you a hint of what's included before you buy. But often it's still "pot luck", said a customer, so your purchased luggage "could be full of designer gear or someone's soiled smalls".

Dirty and smelly

In France you can "buy lost parcels by the kilo", wrote Richard Assheton in The Times, and because customers are not allowed to open the packages before buying, they "rifle through, kneading soft ones, shaking hard ones against their ears" and "loading their selections on to a scale".

One happy customer discovered she had bought a pair of Ugg boots in her daughter's size and a second package, which cost her €7, contained a smartwatch. But others were less thrilled, including one who said they got clothes that were dirty and smelt of cigarettes.

In the US, as long as unclaimed packages "weren't lost at sea or stolen by bad actors", they can be auctioned off "by whichever entity is stuck with them", said CNET, and often for "rock-bottom prices".