4 ms·

$50-100 for an average sized tattoo. So that's the price before you even pay the artist to do the work. Quite a big premium. I'd say the 'average' sized tattoo

$50-100 for an average sized tattoo. So that's the price before you even pay the artist to do the work. Quite a big premium. I'd say the 'average' sized tattoo (something large on your bicep but not fully covering it or wrapping around it) is probably $300 and most of that cost is labour. Add the price of this expensive ink and you're paying $350-400 - for something that's going to disappear after a year.

jfoutz 10y ago
So, a handful of fancy dinners? a cheap road trip? people pay a lot for an experience. Having the experience in a long term consequence free way will entice lots of people to try it out, i think.
mbillie1 10y ago
Not to nitpick but $50-100 buys you typically an extremely small, single-color tattoo in many places. My last tattoo was a simple flag about 2x3" with 3 colors and a geometric design and cost around $120. Not sure what an "average" size tattoo is, but you're already looking at $350-400 for say, a 3x6" full color tattoo of any appreciable complexity.
- scott_s 10y ago
  I think you misunderstood k-mcgrady. The $50-100 is for the new ink, as per the company developing it. k-mcgrady quoted about the same as you for the existing cost for a tattoo.
- k-mcgrady 10y ago
  As scott_s pointer out $50-100 was just the price of this special ink. So for the extremely small tattoo price you're quoting this ink doubles the total cost and only lasts 1 year.
jbpetersen 10y ago
If tattoos are suddenly much more accessible, then there's going to be a lot more competition driving the price down, including a lot more opportunity for people to gain experience tattooing.
- KingMob 10y ago
  But also a lot of inferior talent flooding the market, and lowered artistic standards since it's impermanent. I predict a ton of shitty tattoos if this takes off. Meanwhile, my tattoo artist still keeps a huge blade in his drawer from when parlors in NYC were illegal, and prime targets for robberies. To be an artist then required a commitment.
- k-mcgrady 10y ago
  I disagree. Tattoo's may be more accessible for the person buying in that more people are willing to take the plunge - but the number of artists isn't going to increase. And the time a tattoo takes to complete isn't going to decrease. Essentially demand will increase (quite significantly) and supply will remain the same. So prices will increase. It takes many years to become a good tattoo artist and even a small tattoo is quite a time consuming procedure. There's little that can be done on the supply side to increase it.
turbostyler 10y ago
It's a very big premium indeed. I have a half-sleeve that I've spent around $2000 on. Sure it's "cool" that I could replace it with something else, but would I have sat through all those hours and spent all that money for something that was going to disappear in a year? Absolutely not.

jfoutz 10y ago

So, a handful of fancy dinners? a cheap road trip? people pay a lot for an experience. Having the experience in a long term consequence free way will entice lots of people to try it out, i think.

mbillie1 10y ago

Not to nitpick but $50-100 buys you typically an extremely small, single-color tattoo in many places. My last tattoo was a simple flag about 2x3" with 3 colors and a geometric design and cost around $120. Not sure what an "average" size tattoo is, but you're already looking at $350-400 for say, a 3x6" full color tattoo of any appreciable complexity.

scott_s 10y ago
I think you misunderstood k-mcgrady. The $50-100 is for the new ink, as per the company developing it. k-mcgrady quoted about the same as you for the existing cost for a tattoo.
k-mcgrady 10y ago
As scott_s pointer out $50-100 was just the price of this special ink. So for the extremely small tattoo price you're quoting this ink doubles the total cost and only lasts 1 year.

jbpetersen 10y ago

If tattoos are suddenly much more accessible, then there's going to be a lot more competition driving the price down, including a lot more opportunity for people to gain experience tattooing.

KingMob 10y ago
But also a lot of inferior talent flooding the market, and lowered artistic standards since it's impermanent. I predict a ton of shitty tattoos if this takes off. Meanwhile, my tattoo artist still keeps a huge blade in his drawer from when parlors in NYC were illegal, and prime targets for robberies. To be an artist then required a commitment.
k-mcgrady 10y ago
I disagree. Tattoo's may be more accessible for the person buying in that more people are willing to take the plunge - but the number of artists isn't going to increase. And the time a tattoo takes to complete isn't going to decrease. Essentially demand will increase (quite significantly) and supply will remain the same. So prices will increase. It takes many years to become a good tattoo artist and even a small tattoo is quite a time consuming procedure. There's little that can be done on the supply side to increase it.

turbostyler 10y ago

It's a very big premium indeed. I have a half-sleeve that I've spent around $2000 on. Sure it's "cool" that I could replace it with something else, but would I have sat through all those hours and spent all that money for something that was going to disappear in a year? Absolutely not.