Earlier this year, Baggage Battles opened up a world most fliers didn’t even know exists…the brave new world of airport auctions. The Travel Channel’s show, which Peter co-executive produced with Michael Yudin, is now in its second season. Stars Billy Leroy and Mark Meyer spill the dirt on season two, where the deals are bigger, the risks are higher and the rewards are greater. Keep reading to find out all the season two secrets and tune into the Travel Channel tonight at 8 pm and 8:30 pm ET to watch auctions in Brooklyn and Boston.
Alex Thurnher: I wanted to start off with an oddball question. Obviously you’re bidding on bags/crates which you can’t see the contents, what are the items you dream about finding?
Billy Leroy: Gold Bars. What would be the ultimate find? Just gold bars but that’s a no brainer. Personally though I love artwork and jewelry, but jewelry is in the category of precious metal, so finding something really great like bronzes or old military stuff. Something really historic, that’s what I’m looking for at an auction.
Mark Meyer: The perfect dream find for me is definitely going to be something highly sentimental or something that is going to be valued highly at a couple thousand dollars. But obviously pirate booty and lost treasure would be an interesting climax, but that’s not a story I think we’re going to have.
AT: How has Season 1 of Baggage Battles impacted your life?
MM: It’s given me a slap in the face about how easy it is to lose things when you travel. We did 12 episodes of season 1 and now we’re basically doubled up for season two. We’ve been to really tropical locations, even two stops in Europe. In between a double shoot, I packed $5,000 dollars in checked luggage. I didn’t realize it until I got through security and I started sweating bullets. I started staring out the window, looking at every bag that went on the flight. It gets in your head while traveling. There are kids screaming and you’ve got to get through security. It’s really easy to feel bombarded and forget things. Being more careful is something I’ve gotten better at with season two. As to my store, I’ve gone from having my store to doing all sales online. It’s significantly reduced my overhead and that is the biggest transformation from season one to season two.
BL: Well, you know I’ve always been a legend in my own mind. No seriously what I’m doing is going from the streets of New York City to being on TV and it’s a completely new arena. Still a lot of the same rules apply, but it’s a different ballgame. The show is really exciting, it completely changed my life. I still make deals, but now all of a sudden I leave every two weeks to go do a show. Lost luggage, freight, customs, all different types of auctions. It’s very nerve racking to do this, but I get to travel all over the world and make deals. People from everywhere come to me saying look I have this or I have that. My income has increased tremendously.
