Nowadays, there seems to be tattoo and piercing studios opening on every corner. Typically, in business, competition results in expanded choices, higher quality products and a more budget friendly pricing. Unlike typical businesses, this is not so much the case in the body modification industry. In the world of consumer goods, a rise in sales volume results in increased purchasing power for the company itself, leading to lower prices which can then be passed on to the consumer. The vast majority of materials used for tattoos and piercings are at set prices, and even volume purchasing has little to no benefit as to lowering costs. The amount of products needed to properly perform a tattoo or piercing is substantially more than you may think. Most clients only take notice to the obvious supplies such as gloves, needles, ink and jewelry. The average client never takes into account the cost of tray liners, ink caps, tattoo machines, piercing implements, anti-microbial solutions and wipes, disposable tubes, autoclaves, autoclave pouches, clip cord covers, barrier film, paper towels, marking pens and so on. The true cost of each tattoo or piercing is staggering when the actual products used for the procedure is taken into account.
This leads to one of the most important questions you need to ask yourself when seeking your next tattoo or piercing. Why are the prices so much lower at one place than another down the street? In order to perform a $20-$30 tattoo or piercing with jewelry included in that price, you have no choice but to cut costs. There are only 2 reasonable possibilities to drastically cut costs for a tattoo or piercing. The first is to use substandard equipment or materials. The negatives to using substandard materials is obvious, for example:
When cleaning up after a procedure, an antimicrobial such as cavicide, Optim 33TB or opticide must be used. One of the easiest ways to reduce costs is to use a spray bottle rather than wipes, but keep in mind that when you spray the contaminated area, the spray causes the contaminants to spread to areas that were previously uncontaminated. A good example would be spraying a hose on a muddy sidewalk. It does not remove the mud, it just moves it to another area.
The main way to cut jewelry cost, is to use low quality imported steel products with a high nickel content which are not meant for long term wear in even healed piercings, let alone a fresh piercing. All piercers who care about the health and safety of their clients will only order true implant grade body jewelry and are able to provide mill certificates upon request to ensure that only the highest standards are being held. So if a piercing is $20-30 including jewelry, there is no chance that the jewelry being used meets the proper standards.
The second reason may be the fact that many tattooers and piercers are willing to work for next to nothing and care only about the persona that many attribute to being a tattooer or piercer. It's more about looking cool than anything else. When you go for that cheap tattoo or piercing, think about this:
The vast majority of us have bills to pay and families to support, so working for next to nothing is not an option. People walk through the door every day looking for nothing but the absolute lowest price on a tattoo or piercing. This tells me that not only do they have no respect or appreciation for what we do, but they also have no appreciation for their own bodies. The other side of this, is that those who are willing to perform these procedures so cheaply, have no respect for their art form, themselves or the person standing in front of them.
When it comes to price.....THINK!!!!
This leads to one of the most important questions you need to ask yourself when seeking your next tattoo or piercing. Why are the prices so much lower at one place than another down the street? In order to perform a $20-$30 tattoo or piercing with jewelry included in that price, you have no choice but to cut costs. There are only 2 reasonable possibilities to drastically cut costs for a tattoo or piercing. The first is to use substandard equipment or materials. The negatives to using substandard materials is obvious, for example:
When cleaning up after a procedure, an antimicrobial such as cavicide, Optim 33TB or opticide must be used. One of the easiest ways to reduce costs is to use a spray bottle rather than wipes, but keep in mind that when you spray the contaminated area, the spray causes the contaminants to spread to areas that were previously uncontaminated. A good example would be spraying a hose on a muddy sidewalk. It does not remove the mud, it just moves it to another area.
The main way to cut jewelry cost, is to use low quality imported steel products with a high nickel content which are not meant for long term wear in even healed piercings, let alone a fresh piercing. All piercers who care about the health and safety of their clients will only order true implant grade body jewelry and are able to provide mill certificates upon request to ensure that only the highest standards are being held. So if a piercing is $20-30 including jewelry, there is no chance that the jewelry being used meets the proper standards.
The second reason may be the fact that many tattooers and piercers are willing to work for next to nothing and care only about the persona that many attribute to being a tattooer or piercer. It's more about looking cool than anything else. When you go for that cheap tattoo or piercing, think about this:
The vast majority of us have bills to pay and families to support, so working for next to nothing is not an option. People walk through the door every day looking for nothing but the absolute lowest price on a tattoo or piercing. This tells me that not only do they have no respect or appreciation for what we do, but they also have no appreciation for their own bodies. The other side of this, is that those who are willing to perform these procedures so cheaply, have no respect for their art form, themselves or the person standing in front of them.
When it comes to price.....THINK!!!!
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