Eye of Storm

Strange that the owner of the non-ribbon-tagged bag didn't stop to wonder why there was a red ribbon tied to their bag for no apparent reason.

I have a long colored ribbon tied to the handle of every bag that I check. It's no guarantee, but at least it increases the odds of preventing a mixup.

chx1975

My Samsonite Firelite has a couple gigantic fragile stickers not exactly on top of each other courtesy of United, they are impossible to peel, it slowly gets scraped off flight by flight then a new gets on top, it definitely looks like nothing else. (Not to mention that I have yet to see another Off White Firelite)

Edit: I know that fragile is French for throw harder but so far my monitor inside arrived in one piece. Those stickers might be cargo cult but I like 'em.

BearX220

Exactly -- the only bag I ever check is a Kermit-the-Frog green suiter. This problem never comes up.

AbuAK

My parents tie a bandana around their straps, I however went with not buying black. A Bold Red will help you stand out and is still quite professional IMO.

nk15

Check amazon, there are a lot of cheap options for luggage tags, some are really cool (I bought one). The only problem is that the really cool tags may be stolen by the bag handlers, lol...

Esltroy

I had one that said, "not your black bag"

Lasted two trips.

nk15

Yep, anything plastic will likely break soon, anything metallic will survive but may get stolen...

ScatterX

Suggest knife cord wrapping around the handle. It can be as unique and obvious as you like and is really durable.

Search "knife cord wrap" in Google images.

CitizenWorld

On the occasions that I have luggage, I use purple luggage locks on my grey bag. Pretty easy to spot if you know you're looking for it.

infinii

Agree with simply tying something to the handle. I use an old bandana, cheap, doesn't alter the luggage (if you're anal) and really stands out.

AsiaTraveler

One of my bags has a variety of pieces of cloth tied around the handle- usually yellow- from a number of trips that I have led with teenagers. I insist that everyone gets the same piece of cloth tied around their checked bag (makes the luggage carousel a whole lot easier, just designate a couple of people with good muscles to unload every bag they see with that tag), but just let them collect from trip to trip rather than taking them off.

One of my smaller bags has a luggage grip that I got from my alumni association around the handle. It's a velcro, cushy piece that is bright yellow- I guess it's to keep the handle of your bag from cutting into your hand, but since it's on a pretty new suitcase, I don't have that problem. But, I keep it on there as an identifier.

Paul56

Use different colors of duck tape, let the creative juices flow
and you will have a bag that is unique to you.

OskiBear

I have these handle wraps that are neon - they were giveaways at some conference I attended, but I see them being sold in the stores.

They aren't too obnoxious, but because someone has to physically grab them to get the bag, it should cause them to realize it's not their bag.

I'm astounded when I'm at the airport how many people pick up and put back bags on the carousel.

Yes, I realize bags look alike, but they are not identical. If you give me 5 identical bags (one of which is mine), I can likely tell you which one is mine - even without the weird handle wrap. Are people really that clueless about their own property?

simmons44

Haha, I like this - whatever works!

gobluetwo

A majority of the people that grab the wrong bags are likely to be infrequent travelers. They probably see that bag once or twice a year. These aren't anal retentive FTers we're dealing with