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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think having to pay £30 more to change tattoo design before it has been done is ridiculous?

29 replies

FridaysOley · 06/01/2019 22:35

Found a decent tattooist, instagram/facebook popular, will be traveling a fair distance (hotel for the night) etc etc

Booked in for a tattoo, paid a deposit. Told them the design I wanted. A few days later I messaged and said oh could I just have a small bit changed, will the cost of the tattoo be the same. They said yes the price of the tattoo would still be the same but that an extra charge will be added because they already drew up my previous one on carbon paper so will need money for their time/carbon paper which will be £30??? I only asked for a small part to be changed.

AIBU to think this is unfair? It's not like I can cancel either as I'll lose my deposit.

OP posts:
wineandcheeseplease · 06/01/2019 22:36

That is crazy! I have worked with tattooists for mine and never been charged for adjustments

Princessmushroom · 06/01/2019 22:37

Yes it’s fair. Please don’t ask someone to work for free. Their time needs to be paid for.

Billballbaggins · 06/01/2019 22:37

Well what do you expect them to do when they’ve already spent time/resources on your first design? You expect them to change it (basically do work) for free? Come on now.

19lottie82 · 06/01/2019 22:37

Nah that’s shit. I book my tattoos I’m advance, and have an initial consultation with the artist, followed by a couple of emails back and forth to discuss the design and possible changes / new ideas re the design, and then usually make a couple of minor changes on the day.

He doesn’t charge me any extra.

ZeroFuchsGiven · 06/01/2019 22:38

Of course it's fair!

Elphame · 06/01/2019 22:38

I think that is quite reasonable of him. You are asking him to spend time altering your design because you’ve changed your mind. Why shouldn’t he be paid for the extra work?

19lottie82 · 06/01/2019 22:39

Please don’t ask someone to work for free
Their time needs to be paid for.

Minor adjustments take a few minutes at best. The OP is already paying the tattooist, and the artist should want their client to be 100% happy with the design and their work.

Isth · 06/01/2019 22:39

Well... I wouldn’t expect someone to work for free.

YippeeKayakOtherBuckets · 06/01/2019 22:40

That’s insane.

I recently had a large tattoo on my upper arm and we changed it loads after applying the transfer. He just used a pen to draw the changes. Any decent artist would.

Unless you’re talking about a completely new design, and even then I think he’s taking the piss. And why would he have printed it already? He’d have to size it to you.

None of this makes sense. Cancel. I wouldn’t trust them to do a good job. Fuck the lost money, it would cost you more to have it removed or covered.

Original poster
FridaysOley · 06/01/2019 22:41

Seems mixed.

Honestly I didn't expect him to have drawn up the full design. I said when I first booked in, do you need an exact image to copy and he said no what you've provided is enough and he'll tweak it here and there to match what I was after so I thought oh great, so messaged a few days later with a slight design change to be told he's already drawn it up to match what I was asking

OP posts:
19lottie82 · 06/01/2019 22:42

Well... I wouldn’t expect someone to work for free.

Hmm FFS, they’re not working for free.
It’s a couple of extra minutes (10 tops) to ensure the client is happy with the final design.

Fatasfook · 06/01/2019 22:42

If course it’s fair

19lottie82 · 06/01/2019 22:43

Quick question...... to all the people saying the OP is being unreasonable, have you ever had a decent sized tattoo?

MadameButterface · 06/01/2019 22:43

If they’re sitting down redrawing your design then that’s time they’re not earning money. Design is a skill, drawing is a skill - presumably if it wasn’t then you could draw your own design and just present it at any tatooist for them to trace? If you want a unique custom piece of art that is produced to your exact specifications and that you will see every day for the rest of your life then you have to pay for it.

Original poster
FridaysOley · 06/01/2019 22:43

He's not working for free. I'm paying him a lot for the tattoo (which of course includes his time etc)

OP posts:
arethereanyleftatall · 06/01/2019 22:43

How do posters know how much time the change will take?
I know nothing of tattoos, but could it be that he has to redo the entire carbon paper thing again, rather than just alter a bit?

19lottie82 · 06/01/2019 22:46

How do posters know how much time the change will take?

I’ve had 2 large tattoos and had changes to them both, on the day. Both 2 or 3 minor things. The OP said the change is minor so I’m assuming it will take 5-10 mins tops, based on my own experiences.

gimmeadoughnut123 · 06/01/2019 22:46

Never heard of an artist doing this. You kind of factor in design time in to your hourly rate, surely?
I have 4 decent sized tattoos. The last one, the guy charged £100 an hour. We spent a lot of time chatting, making tweaks to the design and placement...I still just paid him for the amount of hours the tattoo took to do.

kmc1111 · 06/01/2019 22:48

YABU. You’re asking him to do extra work, of course you need to pay for that work.

If you were a regular client of his he’d likely let it go, but you’re not. For all he knows you’re going to ask for half a dozen more changes before it’s done.

gimmeadoughnut123 · 06/01/2019 22:48

How do posters know how much time the change will take?
I know nothing of tattoos, but could it be that he has to redo the entire carbon paper thing again, rather than just alter a bit?

Most artists can draw up designs ridiculously quickly. I'm pretty sure they can just print on to carbon paper once it's redone. I had one of mine reprinted on to carbon about 6 times as the sizing never looked right with how it wrapped around my leg.

IWouldPreferNotTo · 06/01/2019 22:50

I work in software and we certainly charge for any changes no matter how small once work has been done. The drawing has been made which is one charge and alterations to it would be a second charge as they use billable time.

Haworthia · 06/01/2019 22:51

Most really good tattooists, doing custom work, are so busy they don’t draw a design for a client until the day before. So there’s no opportunity to even see the design in advance, let alone change it. The tattooist I went to always says “if you love my work then trust you’ll be happy with what I show you on the day”.

So for you to even see the design in advance is pretty good. If you want to make changes then yes, I don’t see why you shouldn’t be charged, because they’ll have to draw up your tattoo again from scratch.

Flamingchips · 06/01/2019 22:51

Had you previously ok-Ed the design?

Flamingchips · 06/01/2019 22:51

(And seen it?)

19lottie82 · 06/01/2019 22:52

I work in software and we certainly charge for any changes no matter how small once work has been done.

Yes, but the software and tattoos are not similar in the slightest....... bit of a bizarre comparison!

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