Pricing

Flash designs are designs that are pre-drawn, and are usually tattooed as is. This makes it easier pricing wise, because since the project parameters are set, you can just see the prices for each piece on my Venue.ink flash page with specifics for recommended size ranges!

A vast majority of tattoo shops have what is called a shop minimum. Our shop minimum is 100 USD.

Why would this price be applicable even for a small 1" tattoo, or even just a single line or dot? This is because this price covers materials, overhead, and setup and breakdown time. 

Even for a single dot, an artist would have to set up single-use needles (and boxes for high quality brands are not cheap), ink caps, a razor, a tongue depressor, glide, fill an ink cap (as trying to use a mostly empty ink cap would result in the needle potentially hitting the ink cap and bending, which is not safe), gloves, barriers for all items that are touched (the machine, greep soap bottle, bactine bottle, the station), and paper towels that would all be thrown away at the end of your session. An artist would spend 15-25 minutes setting up, and then another 15-25 minutes breaking down the station after your session, taking time to apply our hospital grade disinfectant over all surfaces (and give it appropriate time to disinfect). That time setting up and breaking down and tattooing would all be done at a station that artists pay rent for, in an establishment that needs to be up to date with licensing and health care codes, with an artist that also requires a license, yearly bloodborne pathogens training, and up-to-date vaccination records. That artist would also be driving to and from this location, eating, covering their own health care coverage, etc. 

At the end of the day, 100 USD really isn't a lot in California when distributed amongst the shop percentage, material costs, and artists' needs. But a minimum allows for artists to be able to sustainably include smaller projects in theirr routine without significant financial loss!

Pricing Flexibility

Most tattoo artists require a deposit to hold your place in their schedule. This is usually non-refundable, as it also partially covers drawing time in case of cancelations (as the drawing time is not paid for until the artist has finished the tattoo).

My deposits are 50 USD, and they go towards the price of your final tattoo! This means that you can take whatever price you were quoted with, subtract 50, and get the remaining balance that you would pay on the day of your tattoo.

Variables That Influence Pricing

Sometimes, you might receive a quote that doesn't 100% align with prices you might have seen for similar tattoos from someone else. A non-exhaustive list of some of the factors that can account for such changes from someone's project to another includes:

• location (as I am on the West Coast, cost of living is generally higher than it is in most of the US)

• placement (more difficult placements can require more time to complete a tattoo, as some placements don't saturate as easily as others - e.g.: ribs and sternums will always be more difficult than forearms or thighs)

• artist experience (as someone finishing the 2nd year of their apprenticeship, my prices are generally lower for now!)

• time period (someone sharing a price they paid 10-15 years ago will definitely not align with the prices you'll see today, due to the difference in COL and the artist's experience)

• complexity (sometimes similar styles can have a range in terms of how detailed they are, and how much is packed into a small space)

If you ever want to understand why a price is the way it is, please feel free to ask! I reward curiosity, and the more you understand the tattoo process, the better it is for all parties involved. :)