The UBrand Blog

"Carousel Crooks" and What To Do About Luggage Theft - WSJ

Here's another hassle to consider the next time you head through an airport on to your next destination: Luggage theft. The Wall Street Journal's Scott McCartney recently reported that luggage theft is on the rise throughout the world. Case in point: A Phoenix couple was recently found with 1,000 pieces of stolen luggage and belongings piled floor-to-ceiling in their home. They had been taking the bags off carousels at the airport. And its not just everyday people pilfering the baggage carousels. Several Portland, Oregon baggage handlers were recently caught stealing items and posting them for sale on Ebay...from an airline-owned computer no less!

The article states that baggage theft reports were up nearly 50% in 2009. With more security resources going toward monitoring cargo and reduced patrols thanks to cost-cutting, passenger baggage is more vulnerable than ever. What can you do? Here are some tips from the WSJ:

Avoiding Baggage Theft
Baggage theft hits many travelers. Here's how to protect yourself:

• Never put anything of value in checked luggage. Airlines don't cover it. Small, easily pocketed items are most at risk, from jewelry and electronics down to battery chargers and golf balls.
• If you can't carry valuables onboard, ship them separately. With shipping companies, you can insure your valuables and get tracking information.
• Don't rely on luggage locks. They are easily broken or bypassed.
• If you do find something stolen, report it immediately to the airline, to the TSA and to local airport police.
• Mark your bag with colorful ribbon or straps (that won't get caught in conveyor belts) so it can be spotted easily on a crowded carousel. That lessens the chances someone else will walk off with it, intentionally or by accident.

That last bullet point highlights the reason UBrand came to being. After seeing someone nearly walk away with my own luggage, I knew there needed to be a more obvious alternative to baggage identification. Black luggage is popular because it is not trendy and hides dirt well, but its ubiquity makes it hard to spot in the airport's endless flow of luggage. I have seen for myself how ribbons and straps get caught in conveyor belts. I am going to send this reporter some UBrand labels to try for himself.

Read the article for yourself - Latest Airport Hassle: Carousel Crooks

Water Bottle? UBrand it!

How cute is this? An emailed photo from one of our customers shows her creativity goes beyond the bag. She says she put one on before a trip to Europe, hand washed it every night (even in the dishwasher once!) and now that she's back in the states, it's good as ever. Our Sticklast Technology is made to last. We have friend who stuck a Stick Tag on the very hip and trendy Sigg water bottle she keeps at her office desk so that there's never a question of whose Sigg is who's around the office!

Makes us think of all the other ways we can use our UBrand Stick Tagz.  Of course, we've already got a few ideas up our sleeves. How can you put the UBrand functionality to work in your own lifestyle?

Good HouseKeeping Magazine Recommends UBrand Stick Tagz as a "Best Stocking Stuffer"!

The Good Housekeeping Magazine Research Institute just put out their "Approved Stocking Stuffer Gift Guide: Best Stocking Stuffers - Great Gadgets, All Under $20" for 2008, and (ahem), UBrand Stick Tagz just happened to be featured as a top gift to fill the stockings of those you love...and those you like, or want to please, or show that despite that little, recent argument--you're willing to give a great, new gift in the spirit of the holidays and refresh and renew that relationship  (we've got a peace sign Stick Tag that might be handy for those interested in this purpose). 

Good HouseKeeping Magazine has set the stage, and we want to throw in UBRand's Top 4 reasons why  Stick Tagz make a great gift or stocking stuffer.  Drumroll...

1. Everyone, and we mean everyone, owns a backpack, piece of luggage, or bag of some sort.  Don't know what to get someone?  Done.  And done.
2. The UBrand Research Lab Team reports that 99.966668% of backpacks, luggage, and bags out there are crying out for differentiation, personalization, and a form of ID.  You bought the bag, shouldn't you have the right to really make it yours?
   
3. In a time when people may be feeling a little budget-conscious, Stick Tagz are a great, low-cost way to still give people something and share in the holiday spirit with them.
4. Stick Tagz are not socks (boring), batteries (functional - but boring), CDs (so 2002), candy (more lbs. to fight after your New Years Resolution), or chapstick (yeah--I got chapstick one year)

So as you put together your list of who's naughty and nice -- your family, friends, coworkers, community groups, weekend sports teams, favorite teachers, favorite students, that guy who is always friendly at your local store, and the little old lady who lives a few doors down and walks 1 mph, happily, we at UBrand, and now Good Housekeeping Magazine, hope you'll consider Stick Tagz.  Let the holidays begin!

Genuine Curiosity Genuinely ROCKS

As a recent winner of our Business Opportunities giveaway, blogger Dwayne Melancon, of the Genuine Curiosity blog, tried out UBrand's Stick Tagz and experienced what all the fuss is about.  Here are some of our favorite quotes from his experience, which you can read more about here:

"Since I have white letters on a black bag (my tried & true Briggs & Riley 22" Expandable carry-on) I can easily spot my bag. This came in handy this evening when I was trying to help the bellman find my bag in the bag check room..."

"My first impressions were great - the UBrand stickers look like very high quality items, and they come in a professional package. I decided to put them to use right away."

"I have been using bumper stickers but they sometimes tear or get worn. I now have the earth icon applied to my laptop and I think it looks pretty cool. I also feel like the UBrand sticker will last longer than a bumper sticker."

"The bottom line? I think these will be great to personalize my stuff. I also think these will make nice gifts for my traveling friends this holiday season."

Dwayne, we really appreciate the testing and response.  We hope your Stick Tagz continue to deliver value and fun for years to come. 

Stick Tagz: From Russia (and Slovenia) with Love

 

Everybody knows that UBrand's Stick Tagz get around. They are all over bags any chance they get.  And those bags often travel far and wide.  What...we weren't the only nation seeking a better way to make our bags the most distinctive ones on the baggage carousel?

Seriously.  It doesn't matter what language you speak or what flag you fly, your bags could probably use some LIFE.  The people of Russia and Slovenia know what I'm talking about.  High Five!

1000 Ideas blog in Russia and mladipodjetnik.si blog in Slovenia have written up UBrand's Stick Tagz.  Unfortunately, our Russian and Slovene language translation teams had already gone home for the day when this came to our attention.  So translations are pending.

But we can say a big, THANK U...or "Hvala lepa", and "Spasiba", to those dedicated to adding a little UBrand spice to this world, one bag at a time.

Confessions of a UBrand founder, Michelle Warford, at the Business Opportunities Blog

The motivation behind the invention of UBrand's self-stick designs and labels?

"I needed something cuter than duct tape that made my bag immediately obvious to me and everyone else around me."

Don't get me wrong, we love us some duct tape here.  But Michelle Warford, founder of UBrand, makes a good point that maybe there is something better out there to decorate that $200+ suitcase I just bought than the stuff that originally was meant to keep ammunition boxes sealed during WWII and my air conditioning ducts together.

Michelle's confessions go way beyond this at the interview at the Business Opportunities Blog. 

She talks kids, entrepreneurship, the "symptoms of business development", and most importantly--about the giveaway of UBrand Monogramming Letters they're holding over at the Business Opportunities Blog.

"Excuse me, sir...are your initials really ARU too?"  That's what I got to say to the guy who started making off with my bag at the luggage carousel at SFO last June.  Trust me--it works.  Git you some! 

NewsDay Newspaper Notices that UBrand Helps Bags, Backpacks, and Luggage, Far and Wide, "Stand Out"

Black bags of the East Coast...your days of boring conformity are officially numbered!

The calls began pouring in last Sunday.  Stars, frogs, Tikimans, Earth signs, and all kinds of our designs, including more letters than a Scrabble factory, went out to travelers, moms, seniors, students, athletes, office workers, and all kinds of people across the East Coast of the United States.  We're not sure if putting together all the designs was more fun, or chatting people up on the phone and hearing about their lives and what they planned to do with their new, UBrand designs and labels was the better time.

The reason?  Ronnie Gill, writer for the Travel section of Newsday newspaper, a highly circulated regional newspaper on the East Coast of the United States, wrote up her review of UBrand products in the Sunday, August 3, '08 edition of Newsday.    Ronnie's take?

Standing at the airport carousel, you realize just how ubiquitous black luggage is, especially when you are trying to spot your bag from a revolving sea of hundreds of similar-looking suitcases. The UBrand line of luggage labels makes your bag stylishly stand out from the crowd.

Read the full review here.

Indeed.  It was exactly the "sea of black luggage" carousel experience that inspired company founder and UBrand inventor, Michelle Warford, to create our products.  Obviously, she is not alone.  Black bags: beware.

UBrand: Just How Durable Are They?

Throwin' your bags in the trunk of the car?  No sweat.  Busy international airports, freezing baggage compartments on flights, and gruff baggage handlers?  Easy.  Kids throwing their backpacks around at school everyday?
Got to bring it harder than that to pull, tear, twist, or wrench UBrand products off of bags.  Just how hard?

How about dragged on the highway from a car at 40mph for 5 miles?

The UBrand lab team got out our white lab coats and clipboards and decided to find out (we like to get out of the office).

Using the latest in rope technology, we fastened a generic nylon lunch tote to a sedan and selected a number of our different designs to stick to the tote.  We revved up the engine and kicked it up to 40mph.  As we got into the first of five miles, we tried to ignore the drivers on the road giving us strange looks of "Uhhh.  Hey!  You've got a bag tied to a piece of rope dragging from your car buddy".

One mile.  Two miles.  Three...  Things looked good. The bag was skipping around on the highway behind us.

Upon hitting five miles, we stopped and took a look.  The bag was certainly starting to show some serious wear.  However, we had ear to ear smiles when we found that not only was every Ubrand design still on the bag, they were looking pretty good despite the asphalt treatment.

So we decided to take it up a few notches.

We placed a 15 lbs. piece of concrete into the bag and zipped it shut.  Surely, with some serious weight, the friction between the bag and the road would cause damage.  We drove 3 miles and stopped.  The bag?  Hurting badly.  UBrand designs?  Although pretty beat up--they were still on!  Hot!

There you go. 

Are UBrand products durable? 

From the UBrand Road Test Team--YES.

Dog's Best Friend

When Vickie of San Mateo, CA found her dog Zurich sitting next to an appropriately UBranded bag, she couldn't resist taking this picture. "We (Zurich included) love our UBrand labels, Vickie says.

Awwwww.

We're feeling the love - and loving your beautiful dog! Thanks for sharing Vickie!

UBrand on the Rhine

Pam from Portland, Oregon sent us this picture of her UBranded bag on a cruise down Germany's Rhine River. Pam writes:

"Once I stepped off the plane from Amsterdam and finally got through the long line at immigration, I entered the baggage claim room and was immediately overwhelmed by the sea of black bags stacking up as they dropped from the conveyor belt. I wasn't looking forward to pushing my way to the front of the crowd to grab my bag, either.

Then, the blue and white hibiscus sticker appeared, and all I had to do was stick my arm out and grab my gigantic backpack by the strap. I was out of there while most people were still scratching their heads and sifting through bags."