# What happens to stuff confiscated at security checkpoints?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-stuff-confiscated-at-security-checkpoints/782720>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [March 21, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-stuff-confiscated-at-security-checkpoints/782720 "2017-03-21T21:47:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mogrith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@Mogrith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mogrith)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-stuff-confiscated-at-security-checkpoints/782720/1 "2017-03-21T21:47:58Z")

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Why can’t the airport have a service where instead of handing over your stuff they stick it in a flat rate overnight box to the home address from your ticket? If you don’t want to pay or the item can’t be shipped (loaded gun) it goes to TSA. But a congressional medal of honor penknife or grandma’s scissors from 1938.

If they can’t do it right in line then a kiosk you can do a self check before getting in line.

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**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-stuff-confiscated-at-security-checkpoints/782720/2 "2017-03-21T21:56:22Z")

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Why should they? That would be logical and sympathetic, something the TSA **isn’t**.

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**Author:** ![Mogrith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@Mogrith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mogrith)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-stuff-confiscated-at-security-checkpoints/782720/3 "2017-03-21T23:20:25Z")

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I’m not saying TSA should do this. But Fedex or UPS could do it and charge extra for it too.

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**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\
**Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-stuff-confiscated-at-security-checkpoints/782720/4 "2017-03-22T01:14:18Z")

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Airports used to do that - before everyone became enormous pussies. I had numerous items shipped to my home or destination seperately.

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**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\
**Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-stuff-confiscated-at-security-checkpoints/782720/5 "2017-03-22T14:02:51Z")

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> [@Isamu](#):
>
> Airports used to do that - before everyone became enormous pussies. I had numerous items shipped to my home or destination seperately.

I don’t know how recent the information on the website is, but at least one such [service seems to still exist.](http://airportmailers.com/). I remember seeing this kind of thing at a self-serve kiosk in Denver International’s TSA line.