Why I Will Never Ship My Luggage Again and You Shouldn’t Either

LugLess promises to ship your luggage with ease, but is the service all its cracked up to be?

Imagine this: You’ve got a jam-packed travel itinerary hitting multiple cities that call for a wide range of outfits and little to no space to spare in your luggage. Instead of hauling extra bags around the world, you get the brilliant idea to ship certain belongings back home to lighten your load as you go, only for it to go horribly wrong, and you lose over $10,000 worth of personal belongings in one fell swoop. Your compensation? A pathetic apology from the shipping provider for their egregious error, and a steady stream of auto-generated email blasts that make your blood boil, asking you to give them another try in the future.

Welcome to my world. I’m a former customer of LugLess (a door-to-door shipping company) and a current victim of luggage theft, but I’d prefer to introduce myself as a travel journalist and media personality who takes great pride in discovering amazing things to share with the world. As you might have guessed, this terribly unfortunate scenario has led me to slow down and warn others to think twice about shipping luggage, as I once did.  

For a little background, I’m a girl on the go who juggles a fast-paced career with ever-changing travel plans, often visiting multiple cities in any given month. As a TV host, travel journalist, and content creator, I’m often jetting from one city to the next with a stylish wardrobe in tow at every touchpoint. Don’t get me wrong, I typically pack very sensibly and prefer carry-on travel if I can possibly help it, but for this particular journey, I started in Florida with multiple TV appearances, so a hefty suitcase filled with various wardrobe changes was unavoidable. Following Florida, my trip extended to Paris, Munich, and Salzburg shortly thereafter, and given the winter climate at the time, I was weighed down with jackets, boots, and sweaters, too.

Once I wrapped my television commitments, I wanted to offload my fancy on-air wardrobe immediately before taking off to Europe, so I did a little research and quickly stumbled upon LugLess, which seemed to be the perfect solution for my dilemma. The morning of my flight out to Europe, I packed up all of my designer shoes and dresses in one carry-on and sent them off via LugLess, strategically timing it with my arrival back home in about two weeks’ time.

Good Concept, Awful Execution

If the company LugLess sounds familiar, it’s because the start-up luggage shipping service founded by Brian Altamore was eaten alive on Shark Tank in season four—and now I know,  for good reason. LugLess sounds good in theory: Pricing is affordable, and the service is simple. LugLess uses UPS or FedEx to ship your items wherever you need them to go, and you’re even able to select the specific date you’d like your items to arrive, which is an imperative aspect of the process, since you’d need to retrieve your things at the destination yourself.

For my first (and undoubtedly last) LugLess experience, I set up an account, pre-paid for the service (a reasonable $39), packed up my carry-on, and printed the digital shipping labels to attach to my bag before leaving it at a local FedEx pick-up station in Miami. I naively trusted all would go well without a hitch and didn’t think twice when I dropped my bag off, giddy at the thought of how this lifestyle hack could make my life so much simpler in the future.

Little did I know I’d never see my beloved suitcase ever again after that, and the customer service that LugLess touts as its main differentiation from big box shipping companies is abysmal at best. And since I used LugLess instead of FedEx directly, I could really only correspond (and also find fault with) with them when things went south.

After a series of dead-end communication attempts, it’s clear that LugLess is also lifeless when it comes to customer care or satisfaction.  

How LugLess Let Me Down

LugLess did two things very wrong that resulted in a swift theft that even my leasing office and the Los Angeles Police Department couldn’t believe. The LugLess carrier hastily delivered my suitcase on the completely wrong date and dumped it outside of my building in broad daylight, accessible to anyone and everyone to grab and steal.

Security video footage shows that the carrier dropped off my bag outside of my apartment building (not where packages are ever stored) and left in plain view without so much as trying to enter my secure building or deliver it safely to the front door of my unit, as requested and specified. Within seconds of the LugLess driver leaving, a random passerby spotted my suitcase, tossed it in their car, and stole it, never for it to ever be seen again.  

I was still traveling in Europe when I received an automated communication from LugLess that my bag had been delivered early, and it didn’t take me long to realize that my precious suitcase was, in fact, stolen a full two days ahead of its scheduled arrival, when I wasn’t even home to receive it.

After numerous complaints and filing a proper grievance to both FedEx and LugLess, complete with records and receipts of my lost items, I’ve received nothing other than a pitiful apology from customer service. I filed a police report, but the LAPD has bigger fish to fry, and I’ve only learned a very expensive mistake in how I would have handled this differently.

If You’re Going to Ship Your Bags, Follow These Tips

In hindsight, I would have done a lot of things differently, and this entire experience has discouraged me from ever trusting this company to ship my luggage anywhere again. While the concept is nice, if companies like LugLess fail to follow through, I’d rather inconvenience myself and know that my bags are secure and in transit with me rather than trust a third party to do what they say they will.

I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on what I would have done differently in this scenario, so I’ve compiled my best takeaways in hopes that you’ll never feel the gut punch I did when I watched the surveillance footage of someone stealing my suitcase that was never properly delivered to my home.

Ship to a Reliable Friend or a Family Member’s Home 

If you live in an apartment building, it may be best to ship your luggage to a trusted friend or family member’s home that may have more security or direct access to package deliveries right away. Had I shipped my luggage to my sister’s house, it would have been less of a risk if it had been delivered earlier than expected, because someone would have been there to retrieve it for me.

Use an Electronic Tracking Device

“Pop an Apple AirTag, Tile, or another smart tracker into your bag. While most luggage shipping companies offer reliable tracking, having your own device gives you real-time visibility—perfect for peace of mind on high-stakes trips,” says travel expert, author, and founder of Conmigo Bags, Dr. Bernadine Cruz. “Always tuck a card with your name, phone number, and destination inside each piece of luggage. Add an AirTag or other electronic tracker so you know where your bag is—even if the airline or shipping provider doesn’t.”

Take a Photo of Your Bag and Its Contents

This is a brilliant tip from Cruz and something I wish I had done, so I could have easily recalled everything I had crammed inside my shipped suitcase. “This simple habit creates a visual inventory, making claims with airlines or insurance much easier,” Cruz adds.

Don’t Pack Expensive or Irreplaceable Items

While much of what I lost in my stolen suitcase was valuable, some of it can still be replaced if need be. Cruz cautions against ever packing priceless jewelry, heirlooms, medication, electronics, and personal documents in checked or shipped luggage. Instead, keep those belongings close to you in your personal items.

Avoid LugLess, Rely on Airlines

If I could do it all over again, I would have kept my suitcase with me and simply paid for the peace of mind knowing that airlines are generally more reliable than shipping companies like LugLess. Better yet, airlines will reimburse you if something happens to your checked luggage.

“For domestic flights in the U.S., airlines are required to reimburse up to $3,800 per passenger (as of 2024), though you’ll need to prove the value of the contents,” Cruz says. To date, I haven’t been reimbursed for anything from my stolen suitcase.

If Your Shipped Luggage Is Lost or Stolen

File a Report Immediately

Notify the airline or luggage shipping service as soon as you realize the bag is missing. Most services have a limited window for claims, and be sure to provide documentation.

Organization Is Everything

Your photos, receipts, tracking device location (if you’ve used one), and a clear list of contents will help support your case and speed up compensation.

Why I Would Never Ship My Luggage Again — and You Probably Shouldn’t Either

Many travel insurance policies and premium credit cards offer baggage loss protection, often covering $500–$3,000 in replacement costs.