Plastic Bags for Fifty Cents at Airport Security
Tip It!How’s this for enterprising? In case you haven’t heard, you can once again brings small containers of liquids and gels through airport security as long as you put the containers in a clear plastic bag. Well, while I was going through security this morning at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, I noticed that a steady stream of people heading from the security table (set up at the entrance to screening area) over to a nearby shop. As it turns out, these people hadn’t brought plastic bags for their stuff, and an enterprising shop owner was selling small Zip-Locs for $0.50 apiece. Mix in a captive audience, and you’re talk about a very high margin business… You can buy a box of 100 bags for a couple of bucks (retail), and then turn around and sell them for fifty bucks! He was probably taking in more on bag sales than on all other sales combined.
Published on October 19th, 2006 - 5 Comments
Filed under: Travel
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
Related articles...
» From the Archives (October 14th – October 20th)» Carnivals – Week of 10/23/06
» Are You a Registered Traveler?
» Upselling at the Airport
» Stamp Prices Set to Rise
» Standard Mileage Rate Increases for 2007
» Halloween Treat Ideas (or Not)
» Sometimes Cheaper is Better
Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:
5 Responses to “Plastic Bags for Fifty Cents at Airport Security”
Leave a Reply
Top Cards by Category
Earn $200 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories each quarter.
Receive 10,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $1,000 in 3 months of Card membership.
Receive 10,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $1,000 in 3 months of Card membership.
Earn up to 5% cash back* in categories that change and enjoy a 0% introductory rate for 15 months on Balance Transfers and 15 months on Purchases.
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy amenities for you and your business, like: complimentary airport club access, including American Airlines Admirals Club(R) lounges.
5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*. Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on everything else. No annual fee
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Reports to 3 major credit bureaus monthly and acceptance at millions of locations worldwide, including website purchases and reservations.
- How to Become a Millionaire
- How to Get Out of Debt
- The Best Dollars I've Ever Spent
- How Our Estate Plan is Structured
- How We Paid Our Mortgage In Less than 10 Years
- Money Making Ideas
- How to Manage Your Asset Allocation with Multiple Accounts
- Consumption Smoothing - Save While the Saving's Good
- How to Save on Groceries
- How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
- Eleven Great Books About Money
- Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
- Dish Network Customer Service SUCKS
- $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Pay Off Mortgage Early or Invest?
- How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Ethanol Blended Gas = Lower Mileage?
- Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor
- How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?
- Federal Income Tax Rates Went Down but Your Federal Tax Withholding Increased. Here's Why...
- Would the "Fair Tax" Gut the Economy?
How to save money on insurance
- Double-Check Your Ally CDs
- Stocks are Not Bonds, CDs, or Savings Accounts
- The Best Values in Colleges - 2012 Edition
- Five Myths About Renter's Insurance
- Own Your Investments, Rent Your Fun
- Citibank to Issue Credit Cards in China
- Heartstrings and Pursestrings
- Saving Money at the Grocery Store: Store Brand Pricing on the Rise
- Missing Tax Paperwork?
- Is Your Investment Allocation Right?
October 20th, 2006 at 8:29 am
Yeah, you gotta take advantage if/when you can…
October 22nd, 2006 at 2:06 am
Ahhh, the hapless traveler, once again left holding the bag.
October 22nd, 2006 at 9:56 pm
Is there any rule/law against standing by the security gate and selling bags for 50 cents each? Here in DC there are no shops near one of the security gates, would be worth it for a 45 dollar a box profit.
http://catchagideon.blogspot.com
October 23rd, 2006 at 9:26 pm
I was totally prepared heading to the UK, and I had all my 3 oz or less bottles in a quart bag.
Ha on me! Coming home, the regs are different and I had to ditch my small liquids in the bag.
I would have gladly been ripped off a buck or two to get my liquids into my carry-on.
Flying sucks.