Even before I had FT tags on all my bags, I was easily able to identify my Costco black bag.

Lets stop being so PC...the correct term is IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I agree on the kid thing, there is NO reason children should be anywhere near the baggage claim device, sorry to the "my children must experience everything in the world" parents but it is just rude to everyone else.

I'm the opposite of a claim jumper. I've stood at the carousel (at a respectful distance of course), watching my bag go 'round and 'round, until 20 minutes later the message sinks into my jet-lagged brain, "hey, dork, that's your bag."

Am I the only one? :)

How about a 'Samsonite Stroker'. Perhaps he needs some therapy.

Of course, he's probably lucky he doesn't get trampled by the mad rush of people to stand next to the carousel, as opposed to standing at a distance and walking up and getting your bag when you see it. I would hate to have to hipcheck granny, but I will.

Great point. I hang back, spot my bag, and woe be it to those "Carousel Bullies" in my way...I hope that a few of them have learned not to be such space hogs.

Same here... I stand 2-3 feet back from the carousel. If there are people lined up against the carousel when I have to take off my bag and the bag hits them, TOO BAD! :D. As for kids, I try to make sure there are none around.

I've been to a couple of conventions with my coworkers and we all have identical carry on bags that our company gave to us a couple of years ago (black with our logo on them).

Mine have a pair of hot pink crocheted slippers (bought at a craft fair in Hawaii -- unfortunately, I can only crochet bananas) dangling from the handle. None of the guys I work with have ever mistaken mine for theirs :)

I tend to agree with the previous suggestion of "idiots". Recently I saw a guy pick up every second bag that went past and inspect it before putting it back until he finally located his bag. The strange thing was that he picked up bags of many different colours and descriptions, it wasn't like he picked up a bunch of bags that actually looked similar.

I usually use a smallish Tumi suitcase which is the ubiquitous black in colour, but which has a Qantas platinum luggage tag (not all that common at IAH and SFO, which is where I'm usually picking it up), and another bright green tag that says "You're not my owner!", and therefore shouldn't be too hard to identify as "not mine" for everyone who isn't me. I recently had to grab it out of the hands of someone who looked perilously close to walking off with it (unfortunately it happened on one of those days when I just wasn't in the mood for any inconveniences, so I handled the situation with less grace than I probably should have).

My father. :p

He is pretty paranoid that someone else is going to walk off with his luggage if he doesn't get it off the carousel ASAP. For my first solo plane trip at the age of 16, he got the biggest permanent marker he could find and wrote our last name in 3-inch high letters on all four sides of my bag "to make sure no one thinks it's theirs." Fortunately, I have since replaced that bag. :D

Or better yet, when you're standing a few steps away from the carousel in order to keep from doing exactly what you describe, and someone comes up, usually with a baggage cart, and stands right in front of you. Worse yet, I find my usual tolerance for this kind of crap extremely lacking after a 14+ hour flight.

I have just tied colored ribbons onto all handles of my suitcases and my wife's suitcases...I actually noticed some other person back in June who had done the same thing, but this has made for easy and quick identification especially for my wife when she is travelling alone.

One time last year while I was getting the rental car I watched my wife almost kill some poor soul with one of our suitcases because the guy just had to be leaning over the luggage carousel like he would miss his bag and would not move and basically made it impossible not to hit him although with my wife I wouldn't bet against it not being just an accident :)

I've been trying to think of a better one than this for a while, and I can't.

Luggage straps
 

My husband and I use rainbow colored luggage straps to make our bags stand out. Very seldom do we see another bag that looks like ours.

There is a company that makes personalized luggage straps and I have thought about ordering one that says "Nacho Bag" or "Hands off my bag". Something like that. I wasn't sure I really wanted my name on the strap.

Years ago we marked our bags with duct tape. My mother puts a large yarn pompom on her bag. I am surprised that more people don't mark their bags uniquely (or at least distinctively) to avoid such confusion.

I'd be inclined to think this person was trying to decide which bag was most worth stealing.

I actually like claim jumper, but this term immediately makes me think of the guy who kicks back and grabs a coffee waiting for the luggage to start coming out of the chute. When the bags arrive, he then pushes his way through the folks bunched up at "the good spot" (the chute opening), saying "excuse me, that's my bag," etc. while a perfectly good open location on the conveyor belt is available about 30 feet down the line.

[flame retardant suit on]