To Tip or Not to Tip - Tattoo Artists

[MoneyGuy]

I can't believe what you guys spend on tattoos.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

I can't believe what you guys spend on tattoos.

It's almost like we want to be sure that the person putting something permanently into our skin is good at what they do, and properly financially motivated (since that's how our society does it) to do a very good job of it or something...

You want to know why most intelligent people will spend a lot of money on tattoos? Go look at the 'work' of scratchers, and see what a discount tattoo looks like.

[ken0042]

I don't think his comment was meant to be a "slam"- I also didn't know how much tattoos cost; and am somewhat surprised. I thought they are in the $100-300 range.

Prior to this thread, if you had told me that the best tattoo artist in the world had offered me a free one, I would have passed. Now I might consider it- I wouldn't want to leave that kind of money on the table.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

It probably really also depends on where you are getting it and the mindframe you are in. When I got my 7 hour one, the guy had to keep waking me up, 'cause the only time I could make it work was after I'd worked a 12 hour shift and then waited 3 hours for the shop to open. It was on a low pain zone, and the buzzing drone of the gun kept helping me nod off.

The 5 hour one was also in a low pain zone, and I was awake through the whole thing and getting bored, honestly.

I'd think that it has a lot to do with where the tattoo is being placed.

Yeah, most of mine was on the outer arm and I found it more "uncomfortable" than painful. The only time it hurt was when we breaked for lunch and then restarted, but after a few minutes it was ok.

The small portion on the top of my shoulder sure woke me up though. It totally hurt more than the outer arm. The pain magnitude increased a lot. Fortunately, that part was only about an hour.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I don't think his comment was meant to be a "slam"- I also didn't know how much tattoos cost; and am somewhat surprised. I thought they are in the $100-300 range.

Prior to this thread, if you had told me that the best tattoo artist in the world had offered me a free one, I would have passed. Now I might consider it- I wouldn't want to leave that kind of money on the table.

If this refers to me, it wasn't a slam at all. I'm just shocked at the cost. I recently traveled with someone who has this beautiful eagle emblazoned across his chest. I don't know the time that went into that thing but it would have cost many thousands of dollars.

[Buff]

Yeah, I can't figure out how some people can afford all the tattoos they have. Once I learned how much tattoos cost I suddenly realised why a co-worker is always complaining about having no cash and never able to get ahead.

[saXon]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

I can't believe what you guys spend on tattoos.

I can't believe what you guys spend on fast food and all inclusive vacations only to crap and piss it out later, and only have a few photos to show for it.

Tongue in cheek of course

[Huntingwhale]

I have no tattoos, so I'm not really educated on the costs or the process.

But I will say that as someone who is observing this thread, having to tip for a tattoo blows. Seriously. Society should be moving away from this whole tipping thing. Instead, TIL that you should tip for a tattoo.

That sucks. I honestly had no idea that it was expected and probably would not have given one had I ever gotten one.

[WCan_Kid]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

I have no tattoos, so I'm not really educated on the costs or the process.

But I will say that as someone who is observing this thread, having to tip for a tattoo blows. Seriously. Society should be moving away from this whole tipping thing. Instead, TIL that you should tip for a tattoo.

That sucks. I honestly had no idea that it was expected and probably would not have given one had I ever gotten one.

Could go in the tipping thread, as well, but I don't tip the artist because I have to or because it's expected. I do it because I want to.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by saXon

I can't believe what you guys spend on fast food and all inclusive vacations only to crap and piss it out later, and only have a few photos to show for it.

Tongue in cheek of course

Yeah, I was thinking something similar.

I have friends that have been wasting their money making car payments for 20 years because they express themselves by driving new or fancy vehicles that they can't afford to buy.

I caught the bus for 10 years and never owned a brand new vehicle. Not really because I had to per se, but more because I saw it as unecessary expenses. Now that I am financially secure with no debts other than an affordable mortgage, I have chosen to express myself through art. $1,100 is small change compared to what many other people spend on frivolous things and I will always have it. I will probably get more (in fact, I am scheduled again at the end of this month, March and April to finish up).

But when you look the amount of money people waste on stuff they don't need, I don't see tattoos as a major expense if you can afford it.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by saXon

I can't believe what you guys spend on fast food and all inclusive vacations only to crap and piss it out later, and only have a few photos to show for it.

Tongue in cheek of course

Hey, no doubt that many people spend tonnes of money they don't have on stuff they don't need to impress people who don't matter and does nothing to improve their financial situation. I'm a financial advisor and see it.

Not tongue in cheek.