Do it yourself and save!
You can find needles in a dressing room at the mall. While you’re there, steal a pen from the bank. The only thing you might actually have to pay for is a lighter. And you only need one of those if you’re wimpy about germs and stuff.
Yeah, you could do it that way too. It’s hard to work on your own back, though. Better get a friend to do that for you.
I had a huge post ready to go, and the board ate it. All this stuff about what to do and what not to do. Let me sum it up:
Check out the art. It’s one of the most important things. Nothing looks like crap like a bad tattoo.
Go to an artist that uses his/her real name as opposed to “Sling”, etc.
Go to a place that isn’t open all night and go early in the day (an hour or 2 after they open).
Forget about what the cost is. Chaep tatoos aren’t generally good, and good tattoos aren’t generally cheap.
The BARE MINIMUM cost of materials (no time) for a tat is about $45. Anything less than this and you are getting used equipment (RUN if this happens!)
Check this out: http://www.dannysancientart.com . In particular, check out the artist Shaun Carrol in Blacksburg. His art is amazing, and he happens to specialize in Celtic knots. My wife has a large pair of jumping koi with water on her thigh–it took about 5 hours, but it’s truly a masterpiece, done by Shaun.
I’m not saying you should fly out to VA or anything, but you should DEFINITELY talk to some people. Go to a place where tattooed people hang out and ask a few people with good ink where they got it done. You will be absolutely amazed how many of the good ones come from the same places, and same for the bad ones.
Finally, make sure it’s what you want. A friend had one removed in college, and he said it was about 10 times more painful than having it put on, and required many sessions.
I forgot to add: Make sure they have fully sterilized equipment. Look for a health certificate from the state, as well as an autoclave (sterilizing machine, looks like a small silver fridge). Tattoo needles can transmit all sorts of nasty stuff.
I also realized that I forgot to answer the OP:
It will be at least $75-100 for something small, and the price goes up exponentially from there. You should also tip about 15-20%.
It will hurt somewhat, but it’s bearable. Watch out, I’ve found that the outlining (done first) hurts a lot less than the filling in.
My first armband tattoo cost 500 bucks and roughly 5 hours in the chair. This didn’t include the tip. Tattoo artists expect to get tipped the same as waiters in the US. I am planning on getting another armband on the other arm soon. By the way, try to get something original. I can’t tell you how annoying it is to see yet another person running around with the stupid panther clawing up their body (typically the arm) with little “blood marks” at their claws. Pay for the extra time and have your tattoo designed for you.