As is my habit, I travel overseas with hand luggage and buy a cheap or used suitcase to transport back gifts and stuff that I needed during the trip.

DON'T DO IT.

I was coming home through Milan and the dogs were all over my used suitcase. I don't know what the previous owner had stashed in the suitcase that aroused the dogs, but you can be certain that I got a lot of attention from security....and that is not the most pleasant situation to be in. Justifiably, I spent over an hour with security- they went through everything with all kinds of high tech analysers and I had to answer a lot of questions. Fortunately I didn't miss my flight, but it was close. My wife was not very impressed - as a matter of fact she was almost hysterical.

Never again, Guaranteed

So, how many of those used suitcases you have at home

"used" suitcase... ick. For that purpose, I would buy a really cheap new one.

Thanks for sharing. Glad there wasn't traces of something illegal in that suitcase!

you get what you pay for.

Wow - - and i thought i had a bad eBay addiction! certainly not like bidding on used luggage while traveling! (LOL!)

Where does one buy used luggage (while at home? Goodwill? while traveling? "Benessere"?! wink...)

Best wishes,

Rex

Wow! I'd have never though of that. Before I bought my fold up satchel, I frequently ended up buying cheap duffles to carry back my purchases. I might have bought a used one, if I'd seen it. Thanks for the warning.

LOL, michelle, ewww, I know what you mean

AuntIda, what kind of hotel sheets do you sleep on??
Mine are always washed. Unlike suitcases.

guaranteed, check out baggalinis. They are sturdy fold-up totes in various sizes. They're so small that you can always toss one in your suitcase. I use mine on the return trip for shoes, dirty clothes, and anything that is expendable (just in case). I check it through as my 2nd piece of luggage and put new purchases in my suitcase.

Seriously, god only knows what's been kept/thrown into a used suitcase. "Ick" meant anything from dirt/slime/filth to illegal substances. I don't know about you, Aunt, but I certainly wouldn't want that all over my stuff.

Oh my god, get a grip folks. Used suitcases, like used clothes, can be cleaned and sanitized quite easily. Some of us who aren't independently wealthy would rather spend their money on travelling, a used suitcase may make sense.

As for hotel sheets, have you ever seen a demonstration with a black light in a dark hotel room? The black light makes stains from bodily fluids stand out very clearly. Most hotel rooms have them EVERYWHERE! And I mean everywhere. Talk about ick!

The bottom line is that whether to use a used suitcase is largely an economic decision, and has nothing to do with cleanliness. And given what airlines do to suitcases, why spend a lot of money for luggage if you can buy it used.

As for hotel rooms, I'm happy to stay in them no matter even tho I know what the black light would show. Life is risk!

LOL, that famous Black LIght! I am so happy that I never saw that television expose and that I do not carry one of them with me
Hopefully, the ick that shows up in black light will not be found on washed sheets in a decent hotel?
Gads, I should stop reading these threads, now I will have to check on the thoroughness of my fave hotels laundry

The sheets should be fine, but not the bedspreads or blankets...
Consider that a few germs are good for building up your resistance!

My problem with sniffer dogs is that I'm a big doglover and whenever we travel I miss my German shepherd so much that when I see them at airports and train stations I have to hold myself back from petting them! Maybe I should get some used luggage so they'll come over to me next time! LOL

I don't remember what tv show I was watching in the past month or so, but there was one that showed the stuff on hotel bedsheets, and it was disgusting! Wish I'd never seen it. I assume the sheets and blankets at hotels I frequent are clean, but this show made me open my eyes big time, and never to be closed again. I just do a little Purell swab now before going to sleep and hope for the best!

There was a guy here in San Diego who bought a car from a police auction. Like you, he found out the hard way that the car had been used for hauling drugs. The police had left some pot in the car and it was found at the border when the man was coming home from Mexico. If I remember correctly the guy spent some time in jail. Those darn sniffer dogs!

How do you clean a suitcase? Mine are getting pretty used looking and I would love to give them an inside/outside wash - but how would you recommend that without getting out the garden hose?
Also, I spilled apricot jam in the seams last trip and the bugger is still sticky after repeat washings...

4totravel,
Good question. Maybe a Bissel machine would do the trick?

Artlover, I'm the same way. This is a bit off-topic, but did you know that the Customs sniffer dogs are on the web, with pictures, as are the Agriculture Dep't's Beagle Brigade?

www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/canines/

www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/detdog1.html

A friend whose mom used to work for Customs had a set of sniffer dog trading cards! I don't know whether they still issue them.