Monday, January 16, 2023

The Luggage Dilemma

 Trying to save money can sometimes backfire, especially when traveling by air. My partner wanted a larger check-in bag for an upcoming trip. She was looking on Amazon and was about to spend over $100 on a new piece of luggage. I showed her several options on shopgoodwill.com and she found one that she liked. I put the item on my favorites list. Toward the end of the auction there was only one bid. I placed a bid for $11 and won. With shipping and tax, the luggage was only $23.

Goodwill had listed the size as 17L x 10W x 32H. When the luggage arrived, it looked bigger than I expected. Not having taken a commercial flight in a while, I decided to look up the limits on check-in baggage size and weight. The size limit is 158cm (62 in.) and the weight limit is 50 Lbs. for most airlines. The size is calculated by adding the L + W + H. Goodwill's size description comes to 59. Unfortunately, the measurements need to be from the widest point and include the handles and wheels. Goodwill must have measured from the top, which is the narrowest point. My measurements at the bottom were 21L x 12W x 33H, which adds up to 66, which is technically over the size limit.

I tried to find the manufacturer's specifications, but I didn't have any luck. In 1993, American Tourister was acquired by Samsonite. In 2009, American Tourister was acquired by Astrum International, which also owns Samsonite. I'm not sure how old the luggage is but it must have been discontinued years ago. There are luggage manufacturers that cheat on the size. So, I searched online to see if anyone had issues with over-sized luggage. Some responses indicated that the weight limit was more important and that being a few inches over was not an issue. But more often, responses said that the limit is the limit, and you risk getting your luggage flagged as over-sized.

The penalty (fee) for checking over-sized luggage is $200 per bag, each way. That is enough to scare most travelers into compliance. You can buy a quality brand-new set of luggage with one over-size baggage fee. Which leads to the dilemma: Do we take a chance with the Goodwill luggage? It would be fine if you were traveling by car. But the risk of having your luggage flagged as over-sized is too great. No wonder no one was bidding on the larger luggage auctions. The employees that write the descriptions for Goodwill auctions often don't have a clue about the item they are describing. Items can't be returned because they are sold As Is. Even if it could be returned the shipping fee would exceed the price of the item. I may try to sell it on Ebay, save it for a future road trip, or donate it back to Goodwill.

No comments: