To be shocked at prices for a tattoo?

[iamarobot]

My DB is shopping for a tattoo at the mo, and he mentioned to me that he expects to spend £80+p/h!! I nearly spat out my tea! Is this normal or AIBU?

YANBU! Though I think with tattoos you get what you pay for, so I would assume they'd be awesome for that price.

depends how big the tattoo is and how intricate it is?

I spent £200 on a piece 4 inches high and 6 inches across. Took 3 hours and I got mates rates!!

I'd rather pay through the nose for a very good artist with all the proper qualifications and clean facilities.

I want something that is going to look good, not done on the cheap.

£80+ a hour sounds very reasonable to me.

Normal as far as I know. I have the opposite my DH is getting one removed at £150 per session (which only lasts 10 bastarding expensive minutes )

Normal, unless you want some cheapo arschgeweih/ barb-wire armband equivalent.

If you think of it as cost per wear it will work out quite cheaply unless he regrets it in 2 years time and has to have it removed. Not so cheap then, in fact, a lot more expensive.

You pay for the artist. Better artists cost more. You can get cheaper, but it's not really something you want to cut corners on, you have to look at it for the rest of your life. 80ph is reasonable.

I agree. If you are going to have it for the rest of your life (and want someone reputable with clean needles!) then I don't think it's something you want to economise on. If it turns out rubbish it will cost a lot more to get rid of it!

I wish someone had advised my lovely, but thick nephew. He has one with two spelling mistakes and a misplaced apostrophe.

I LOVE misspelt tattoos

www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/28/misspelled-tattoos-perman_n_439993.html

That sounds quite cheap to me, my DH paid that 10 years ago. Not what I'd choose to spend MY money on tbh, but you get what you pay for. I'd rather he went to a reputable artist and got what he wanted than get something he didn't! I'd rather have a day in the spa!

This blog is great as s/he translates the Chinese and Japanese tatts that people get.
Some are freaking hilarious!!

I saw a man on the subway recently with a sniggersome tattoo.

A heart and arrow and words along the lines of 'I will always love you Mum, the only man who has never let you down'.

I had one done about 15 years ago for £25. it was pretty small and it cost me £200 to get it removed.

That's cheap actually. I would insist on seeing the Artists book. Good portrait quality tattoo's can be in the hundreds.

Think about it. It's a permanent mark on his skin FOR EVER, not a new shirt!

I'm paying £60 per hour for mine next month so sounds about right, my first one cost £5 for about ten minutes work but that tattoo parlour wasn't the best and it was almost 12 years ago.

It depends on how long it takes. My first was £40 for a 45 minute tattoo and my second was £180 for 2 hours.

Oh I've just realised it's £80 per hour, not £80 for a tattoo so perfectly normal price IMO.

A fella my DP works with has a 12" tat of a giraffe going up his back, goes all the skew-whiff at the mouth bit. Seriously, if he could see it he'd be prepared to spend a bit more to get a decent artist!

That sounds about right for a piece of art you'll wear for the rest of your life. I don't think cheap n' cheerful is the way to go when you're talking permanent body modification!

If I ever get a tattoo, I'd expect to pay that or more for it. I would WANT to spend a lot on it, seeing as its going to be on my skin for the rest of my life, I will want to make sure I'm getting something good, by an artist who is experienced and trustworthy.

You get what you pay for.

I paid £60 an hour for mine in 2008, came to £90 alltogether and was from a small independant tattooist who was very good.

I think thats quite cheap too, mine was £85 an hour 10 years ago, was £180 in total.

Sounds quite cheap to me. You do tend to get what you pay for. I know one fantastic artist who specialises in a particular genre and his time is much more expensive but you're not just paying for the time it takes to do the tattoo. He hand draws each design which takes hours in itself. His work is amazing and when you consider that the wearer will have it for a lifetime, it's worth paying whatever it takes to get something completed to the highest standard possible.

I currently pay £120 ph with one artist and £100 ph with another. But my tattoos are amazingly done.

I was paying £70/80 ph 5/6 years ago so you are getting a bargain! LOL