I just came back from Subway. I eat there pretty much every day. It’s at the point where they start making my sandwich the moment I walk through Wal-Mart’s doors.
There wasn’t any customers there but me, and over the last couple years me and the manager have gotten real friendly, so we got to talking. The guy they just hired a few days ago broke in asking about my tattoos. Then he asked the question I don’t like: how much did they cost? A) That’s none of you business, B) that’s beside the point. But it’s not annoying enough for me to be a dick about it, so I told him:
Zombie Squid: $600. I only paid $400, the rest was a birthday gift.
Wrist Gauntlet: $100
Zombies kissing: $75
Cyborg Squid: $800 ($600 so far, next session $200)
“I Feel Pretty”: $300
Back piece: $1000
At that point, the dude lost his mind. He couldn’t believe I paid $1000 for a back piece that covers my entire shoulder blades edge to edge. To prove what an idiot I was, he showed me his back piece. It was in the center of his back, was about a quarter of the size of mine, and had raised, scarred areas. It was nothing but black line work, in the shape of the Grateful Dead skull. The fill was inconsistent and fading to green in places.
He proudly informed me he paid $20 for it, and a six pack. That’s how you’re SUPPOSED to get ink done, by your buddy. I didn’t really need to do it, but I prodded him for info and found out it was done in a living room with a home made machine.
I told him to enjoy his hepatitis, and informed him of every flaw I saw in the piece, from the wavy lines, the fading to green areas, to the fact that even though the Grateful Dead skull is an icon, if he hadn’t told me what it was, I’d never had known due to its poor execution.
Then I showed him my back piece, which he had to admit is pretty killer.
I gave him my artist’s card and told him to call Lambadi City when he was ready for the cover up. He insisted he never would be, but the kid’s seventeen so we’ll see.
The thing is, this isn’t the first time I’ve had this conversation. People who go to scratchers seem to be abnormally proud of their work, and are often insulting about the prices those of us who go to legit artists pay. It goes without saying around these parts that you want high quality work because your ink is with you for life. That costs money. Tattoos are one of the few things where you almost directly get what you pay for.
And I was wondering, am I the only one who gets this? People telling you you’re a fucking retard for paying shop prices for tattoos? And does it make you want to blast them in the face?
Love. Peace. Metallica.
I don’t get it much but my friend around 2years ago got a tattoo by our friend who has never tattoo’d before and he did he’s name on he’s rist “Luke” now trust me when i say this.. It looks like it’s done on microsoft paint no word of a lie it’s honestly that bad that it’s impossible for me to explain how bad it is.
i have gotten the question of “how much” a few times and people are surprised when i say i have over a thousand in it so far. i havent had anybody tell my thats too much or anything similar because every one that sees it likes it, they’re just surprised i guess.
to be honest i dont keep track of how much i have spent. i do know its over $1k but thats about it. i dont think i would like to know the exact figure myself lol
You’re definitely not the only one who gets that, I have gotten it a few times.. Hell I couldn’t even tell what some of that tattoos this one guy had, and after he told me that he got it for free because his friend just randomly bought a tattoo gun.
I just say fuck it, they have to live with shitty ink for the rest of their lives, and we have something to be proud of
I think I may havea worked it out.
The people you are talking about are really stupid.
Think about it they got crap ink for all the wrong reasons and cant see its crap because it was cheap and cheap is good right? Then along come you with your fancy pants “proper” tattoos rubbing that big ol stupid nose in how good your stuff is. What will a stupid person do every time? Thats right fight back with retarded coments.
Watch 15 minutes of daytime TV before you tell me Im wrong LOL
Love and peace on a beautiful day people.
Had a guy at RaceTrac (gas station) a while back tell me that I was an idiot for paying $80 for my Punisher skull… His “boy” does tattoos at his house, and I could’ve gotten a whole sleeve for $20 with lots of skulls… He also told me my Atomic POS tattoo was “well done.” It was humorous to me.
I think this is pretty common with any special interest area. I’ve had similar experiences with my tats and people with crappy ink. I’ve also had people tell me I was insane for paying $175 for a Gregory backpack; they got their shitty Wal-Mart backpack for $20 which of course must be the same. The jaws really drop when I tell people what I paid for one of my German Shepherds. They got their dog for 1/10th the price – “oh but we had to put him down when he was 7 because he was blind, had severe hip dysplasia, and bad knees … and while he was alive he had a really unstable temperament.”
I think it just makes people feel better to thumb their noses at things they don’t understand.
I get the same thing from people about my dogs. I have English Mastiffs. The first thing I get asked all the time is “How much did you pay for your dog?” now I just answer them with $12 per pound. Stupid people usually shut up when they’re forced to do math.
As for my tattoos; I just tell people that I lost track.
Okay, back to TATTOOS! :p It has long been my contention that people in general are dumber than dirt. I have had one guy ask me, (back when I was scratching, mind you, and I wasn’t disgustingly terrible), “Can you do this chick’s name on my hand? I don’t want any scraggly lines or anything.” Now, half of this lowlife’s ink was so bad a prison scratcher with a thread wrapped piece of glass would have denied doing it, but he didn’t want anything “low quality”. Was he willing to go to a shop to get it done right? Why pay that kind of money, right? People are stupid! (I’m no exception, folks, I’m people, and I am also stupid. It’s the curse of humanity.) Anyway, I see someone with a kick ass sleeve, and I ask what they gave for it, they tell me it was a, I don’t know, 700 dollar piece, but they got it for 5. I say, “Yeah you got a deal, bro, that shit is sick!” If I think their stuff sucks, I don’t comment on it. Cornish pretty much nailed it. People feel stupid for getting crap, but feel better when they can delude themselves into believing that they “got a deal”. Don’t get offended when people ask what you paid, (except that zombie thing, that dude shoulda paid YOU! :D) tell them, and if they think you’re nuts, they’re idiots. If you get offended, then maybe you agree with them a little? This message brought to you by Doctor Dave. 😀
This is something I get a lot with people.
It usually falls into the 3 main categories;
Those without tattoos who see my ink as a waste of money. (As opposed to the million other wastes 😉 ).
Those who always tell me that they could have or know somebody who would do it at a fraction of the cost of what I have had done. (Where I ask why they are not body suited then?).
Those that tell me that my ink is not worth what I paid and I was ‘robbed’. (Which I point out that it is only robbery if it is against my will).
I had this discussion at my gym today with a guy who went how much was your backpiece?
I said it is not important but he kept pressing the issue. I told him it cost me £3000 sterling (Approx $4,845).
Before he could work his way upto one of the above 3 categories I just stopped him and said;
‘What price would you put on personal happiness?’ He responded with ‘Well I wouldn’t put a price on it’.
I said exactly my ink makes me happy and if I wanted to spend double the cost on my backpiece and had the money then as long as it makes me happy, why would I care what you think of the cost?
I have found that the main root in any issue is that ppl struggle to either admit a mistake (bad ink, poor clothes fit etc) or simply are jealous of the choice you made as an individual.
Take Care
Matthew
PS KH I am having that dragon koi and victorian fob watch leg piece in Sept which I was always threatening so will post up when done.
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