How To Make My Bag Easier To Spot On The Luggage Carrousel?

Brightly colored yarn tied to the handles, neon-colored luggage tags, painted design or name, bright-colored bag strap...

I agree with Nancy....ribbon tied to the handles work very well also.

Google "luggage identification strap" Most travel stores sell them, and they come in an assortment of colors---pick your favorite. Here's one:

http://traveloasis.com/luggage-straps-locks.html

Yarn tied to handles can come untied, or get caught in crevices on the belt or carousel.

Did you try wrapping the tape around the handle? Maybe duck tape would work better. It comes in many colors and patterns now. I have ribbon tied around my handle and a bright luggage tag.

Just make sure you attach items to both handles and make sure if you have a luggage tag that at least in a front pocket or the back luggage slot is another piece of paper with your address and phone # on it.

My boyfriend's luggage got on the wrong plane from Wash DC last week (to Boston). He didn't see it for almost 2 days because the handle on top (it was a nice bag too) got completely torn off with the ribbon, the cool red handle cover and the luggage tags (both the one we put on the bag and the checked baggage tag). The only reason he got his luggage back is because I had slipped a business card in the little slot in the back of the bag with his cell phone # on it that someone finally dialed.

I realize the odds of this happening are slim...but I never would have expected it between Wash DC and
Boston so better to be prepared.

Take a piece of card board, cut out a letter, or a symbol, tape it to the bag, a can of bright colored spray paint and spray the cut out. Can do it front and back. It is very durable -- will not scrape off, rub off, or melt.

Surveying tape, tied to handles or straps. It's non-adhesive and quite tough. Comes in fluorescent colors like orange, green, purple,... very easy to spot on the carousel. You can carry a tiny roll of it with you for replacing tattered pieces.

It's available at army/navy surplus stores, hardware stores, maybe Home Depot or Lowe's - not sure though. One of my black wheeled bags still has the original piece of orange tape that was tied on in 1998!

To expand on what Ali said - if I do check a bag somewhere (which I generally do not) I put a copy of my itinerary in it so I can be tracked down where ever I am.

After 3 trips abroad with checked luggage (none ever lost, thank god!) I realized that my first idea was too common - the ribbon on the handle, etc. Then I tried the colored luggage strap belt thing that you put around the middle. Still too many with the same color. So last time I used a sharpie marker and wrote my first Initial and my last name on the luggage strap belt thingy and it stood out because there were so many black bags with a pink belt, but only mine had my name on it! :) I considered getting a suitcase with a bright design on it, i.e. flowers, paisleys, etc.

I also put a page with my itinerary in it in case my luggage does get lost, with instructions to send it to my hotel and after a certain date (if its been "misplaced" a week or so), to my home instead.

I also tie a bright ribbon around the handle. What I worry about is another passenger taking my bag by mistake - it happened to me once.

My kids hated it when I bought a shocking pink suitcase at Woolworths, but when it came down the luggage carrousel, guess whose bag was easy to find?

We put Disney ID tags on our luggage. Our luggage is easy to spot and more tacky than an ugly Christmas sweater.

We put Disney ID tags on our luggage. Our luggage is easy to spot and more tacky than an ugly Christmas sweater.

A rainbow colored luggage strap will keep your bag more secure and make it easier to identify.

Alternatively, you can do what my mom does, wrap stripes of blue and gray duct tape around the bag. Not only does it make it easier to identify, the bag looks so bad no one is likely to steal it either.

I also agree with Nancy: brightly colored yarn on the handle(s)...

I used fabric paint and added some polka dots in various sizes to the back of my suitcase (they always come up on the carousel backside up) using various glasses out of the cupboards as templates. I also glued a piece of polkadotted ribbon across the front of the case in the off-chance it came up rightside up. Works like a charm and the paint doesn't come off (neither does the piece of ribbon).

I put some metallic curly ribbon on the edge of both of my bag's handles. Since it's curly, it's close to the handles and unlikely to get caught in anything. If you use tape, beware of sticky residue (i.e. don't put in on handles).

I recommend a brightly colored, unique luggage tag.
Shop on line, or just check your local Target or luggage store. They have a great selection in most cases.

One strategy we used in the past was to buy a set of the most ugly mustard-colored suitcases imaginable from a garage sale. No one would ever take those bags, accidentally or otherwise!

Now I generally don't travel with checked luggage, except for bringing a duffel bag of goodies home from Italy. While it's a plain black bag, I use a bright blue and polka-dotted luggage tag that seems to do the trick. Ironically, my bag hasn't come down the carousel either trip. The first time, it ended up on an earlier connecting flight somehow and was being stored at the airline's luggage office when I finally located it. The second time, the airline left the bags in Amsterdam and had to deliver the next day.

Well, I think I've come up with a solution, and since we're leaving for London tomorrow, we'll see how it works.
I went to the local Ben Franklin and bought a couple of yards of white elastic (enough for two large wheelie bags), about 1 1/2 inches wide. I used a magic marker to put my last initial about every six inches. I'm going to cut it into two pieces, and tie one piece around each bag, so that I can see it no matter what position the bag is in. I'll let you know how it works.