Scottsboro, Alabama, will host Unclaimed Baggage Center’s 45th annual Ski Sale on Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 509 W. Willow Street. The retailer says it is preparing for the biggest version of the event yet, where shoppers can browse ski and winter gear despite the town being hundreds of miles from the nearest mountains.
Unclaimed Baggage, which has described the 2026 sale as its biggest event ever, sets aside ski-related merchandise in a separate warehouse throughout the year for the annual sale. The company says the 50,000-square-foot shopping area will feature skis, snowboards, winter coats and accessories, including Arc’teryx, Moncler and Canada Goose outerwear, hundreds of pairs of goggles and a large selection of helmets.
A Scottsboro Tradition Dating to 1981
The sale began in 1981, when Unclaimed Baggage started setting aside ski and winter gear for an annual event, according to 256today.com. The Scottsboro store opened in 1970 and now attracts more than 1 million visitors annually. The outlet reports that the sale brings shoppers from well beyond Alabama.
How unclaimed bags become store inventory
The business predates the ski sale: BBC Travel reports that Doyle Owens drove from Scottsboro to Washington, D.C., in April 1970 to buy 110 bags from Continental Trailways. That origin story came a decade before the annual ski event began. Unclaimed Baggage says airlines pay passengers for bags deemed truly lost, and a bag is not considered unclaimed until after an extensive three-month search. The company says it buys bags only after that process.
Jennifer Kritner, Unclaimed Baggage Center’s vice president of retail and company culture, told AL.com that the sale draws about 7,000 shoppers in one day to a town of 16,000. Kritner has worked at the company for 30 years, and some families return year after year hoping to be first in line, the report said.
Discounts, Tents and a Free Epic Pass Drawing
Shoppers this weekend can expect merchandise discounted up to 80% off retail value, with more than 50,000 square feet of skis, snowboards, helmets and winter clothing up for grabs, the sale's advertising says. Unclaimed Baggage is also setting up additional tents in the parking lot to extend the shopping beyond the main store. Every guest who walks through the doors Saturday will have the chance to enter a drawing for a 2026-27 Epic Pass, which provides access to more than 90 destinations worldwide and unlimited, blackout-free skiing at 42 Vail Resorts mountains, including Vail, Breckenridge, Park City and Whistler Blackcomb.
The first 45 people in line get extra perks to match the sale's 45th anniversary: a 45-minute head start on shopping, a $45 Unclaimed Baggage gift card and a free Ski Sale T-shirt. That's an upgrade from last year's 44th annual sale, when the first 50 guests in line earned a 30-minute head start and a shot at a $450 shopping spree, according to 256today.com's coverage of that earlier event.
Campouts, Food Trucks and Decades of Loyalty
Dozens of guests plan to camp out in the Unclaimed Baggage parking lot the night before the sale, with the company providing free pizza, fire pits, s’mores, games and movies to keep the line entertained overnight. Food trucks will line the lot on sale day, while Cups Cafe inside the store will serve sandwiches, coffee and snacks to shoppers taking a break from the hunt for discounted gear.
A report on the 42nd annual sale said it drew thousands of guests from across the country to Scottsboro, according to NewsChannel 9. The event has grown from a yearly clearance of winter gear into a major draw for shoppers traveling to the Alabama town.
