Price Shoppers

As seen in the September 2009 Issue of Intense Ink
 

The economy sucks right now and even tattoo/piercing studios feel the pinch. Customers are forgoing the large tattoos for smaller ones. Leaving the big name shops for smaller quaint studios. In one way this is helping smaller shops gain some recognition of there work, but at the same time it is causing an issue in the industry of "price shopping". These customers are now driving from shop to shop, not looking at portfolios of the artists work, but looking at which artist will give them the lowest price.

For customers this is a double edged sword. To them they think they are winning one over on the industry. But the reality is, if the tattoo is cheap, the the work is probably cheap and the artist probably cut corners or is pretty new and unskillful. Studios want to be known for their great work, not how cheap their prices are. I am not saying you can not get great work at a low price, but good artists have set prices for there work. Most will budge some with their price to do the work, but customers these day have some unrealistic prices set in their mind on how cheap they want a tattoo.

This also crosses into the piercing prices. Yes basic body jewelry is not that expensive, but once you add up the cost of the basic jewelry, needle, skin prep material, set up material, break down cleaning product, you are looking at nearly $20 for equipment and overhead. So when you see studios doing piercings for this price or less it should raise a red flag in your head. They are either cutting corners somehow, using cheap jewelry or having unskilled people pierce.

You should never try to haggle an artist over the price of their work. This is art that will be on your body for the rest of your life. Do you really want to upset your artist? Check the artists portfolio out. If he has great work then he is worth the money to spend on him to get that great work. If you want a cheap tattoo, go to a cheap artist but be prepared for the consequences that go with it; bad work, cheap equipment and even a chance to catch an infection or disease.

Written By: Piercing Pete
Copyright ©2009 By The Intense Media Group. All Rights Reserved.