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Just got this one today. Thought I'd share. The artist is Dale at Frontline Tattoo in Oceanside, CA.

Don't know how I pissed anyone off. Walked in to the shop, told them what I wanted, the guy drew something up based on a design I found, the artist said it will cost this much, I said OK. I got exactly what I was looking for and I love it. Here's the before and after. There was no cheap-ass haggling. He asked what my bugdet was, I told him, he asked if I could go higher, I said sure and it was on. Very cool guy. His name is Dale at Frontline Tattoo in Oceanside. I'm no expert, but I'd recommend him. Might even go back myself. Anyway, here's the results. I'm sure someone will critique it to death, but I am VERY happy with the way it came out. Took about 2 hours total.

You hit the nail on the head. I want a tattoo. I don't want to be tattooed. I had to establish a price I'm willing to pay before going in to this. I make plenty of money to get a more expensive tattoo, but based on the tattoo I want I'm not sure I would be able to tell the difference between a good one and a great one. All I want is a simple traditional style eagle. Nothing real fancy. If tattoos were my passion I would surely come up with more money. By the way, my bike is on the low end of middle-of-the-road bikes. I ride with guys who spent $2000+ just on the wheels. High end bikes are in the $7,000-10,000 range. It's an expensive hobby when you throw in all the goofy clothes, carbon fiber shoes, pedals, constant upgrades, race tires...I can only afford one hobby. I'm sure some of you are sporting $10,000 in tattoos.

Really didn't mean to stir the pot. I will admit that tattoos are a lot more expensive than I expected. With the bike analogy, I started with a $400 bike, then decided I really liked cycling and sold it for $500 (yes I made $100 on a used bike) and put that towards a $1000 bike. Which I sold later for $1200 and applied to the new bike. I logged in over 3500 miles last year on the bike. It's something I love to do and I was willing to pay a bit to get a nice bike. Anyway, I have an appointment this Friday to get my tattoo. I never heard back from the girl in Escondido, so I decided to check out some places in Oceanside. Found one, talked to the artist and we came up with exactly what I am looking for. I can't freaking wait. I wanted to do it today, but he was booked. I appreciate everyone's honest input. This is absolutely the most mellow forum I've ever been on. I'll post pictures this weekend.

I understand your point of view, but keep in mind I am not a tattoo enthusiast. I just want a nice tattoo on my shoulder. I am not really concerned about how famous the artist is or that the shop is well known. Price is a big concern because I really do have to keep things in persepctive. I just spent $2,000 on a new road bike. I'm sure some of you would think that is crazy ($2000 for a bicycle?), but I am a cycling enthusiast and the price was worth it to me. That is my "thing". I'm sure your 13-session leg tattoo cost a small fortune as well, but that is your "thing". Please don't take any of this as a flame on tattoo enthusiasts. I'm just trying to explain my point of view. I'm just looking for a nice tattoo at a price that I am willing to pay. The artist's name is of no concern (I have no idea who did the two I already have). I think I found a good local shop and I hit it off with the artist. I told her what I want, gave her my price range and she said she could do it. We just need to come up with a final design.

The girl was so young looking that it caught me by surprise. I thought she was the receptionist. The tattoo school was just something that came up that I had no idea even existed. I've lived here for 5 years and have never heard of this place. The pig's feet pictures are a little creepy.

Thanks, but I'm going to keep it local to where I live in Escondido. Checked out a couple of places today. One was kind of creepy and one was very professional and just had a better vibe to me. Talked to the young lady behind the counter for a while and came up some ideas. Turns out that she's one of the tattooers, even though she looks like she's still in high school. Very friendly and has a really good portfolio. Going to send her some pictures of exactly what I'm thinking about and she said she would design something original and keep it in my budget. I also found out that there is a tattoo school in Escondido. I was actually contacted by one of their guys who is having their artists take a look at what I want. Anyone familiar with this school? Tattoo Schools | How to Tattoo | Learn To Tattoo | Tattoo School

I hear ya'. I'm definitely over-thinking this whole thing. Checking some places out tomorrow. The funny thing is with the two tattoos I have already, I didn't put much more that 5 minutes of thought in to them and they turned out pretty good. The first was after I finished basic training and decided "what the hell?". I was coming back from McDonalds and dediced to stop in at the shop outside Quantico. The second was about ten years later when a buddy came over to the house completely out of the blue and said "Hey, let's go get some tattoos". I said "OK" and off we went to the nearest shop right outside the gate. After reading some of my previous posts, I guess I am being a PITA.

I'm really not trying to be a PITA. Just trying to learn as much as I can. You guys have been very helpful and patient and I appreciate it. I am going to drop by a couple of shops tomorrow and check them out.

Yes, I can visit. The problem is that I live in Escondido and San Diego is a big place. A lot of the shops being recommended are all over the city. I really don't want to drive all over the place doing interviews with artists or get in with the guy 40 miles away and find out that a simple eagle is going to cost $500. I might even check out some street shops in Escondido. To be perfectly honest, I do not have a very critical eye when it comes to tattoos. I've looked at literally dozens and dozens of local portfolios and they all look pretty similar. A couple really stood out as superior (which I'm sure are out of my price range) and a couple were just real bad, but the huge majority seemed very much the same. How do you know when you've found the right guy?

I'm sure the guy does a ton of work with the Marines right there (holy crap do Marines love tattoos). My concern is that there are some really bad reviews on-line about the shop. Can't tell if it's just a couple of bitter clients or if there is a real issue.

His portfolio looks good and he charges $70/hour. Finally got an e-mail from Champ at Guru. He charges $150-200/hour and has over a 2 month wait.

Well, like almost every Marine Corps base Miramar has a few tattoo shops. Got my first tattoo at a shop outside the gate of MCB Quantico, the second was at a shop right outside the gates of NAS Pensacola.

I use several computers throughout the day and one of them won't let me post on this forum. I can post in other forums on that computer, but not this forum. Is there a computer setting somewhere I need to check?

Anyone familiar with Rose Tattoo in Miramar? A friend recommended the shop but when I looked it up it got a mixed reviews. The portfolio looks pretty good, but should I be concerned if there are a few bad reviews?

All, thanks for the pointers. Much appreciated. I think I can bump the budget up to the $300 range plus tip. I think if I went any more than that my wife would never let me hear the end of it. Got to put everything in perspective. I know it probably sounds very weenieish, but a $500+ tattoo is just out of the question for me. I think I'm going to just poke my head in to a couple of local shops and look around and talk to some tatooists. I'm still having a little difficulty figuring out exactly what I want, hopefully they can give me some ideas. I assume checking a place out in the day (like early afternoon) would better than at night when the walk-ins show up. I don't want to keep anyone from business with a ton of questions.

Cool, thanks. Checked out both those sites. This tattoo from Alessio at Avalon II really caught my eye. Instead of USA in the scroll, put USMC. Shrink it down a bit to fit the shoulder and that could be a winner!

Are California tattooist better?

I don't plan on having a lot of tattoos, but I'd like to have one really nice, unique piece. The ones I have are pretty tame. I think I can just add and eagle or a panther to the one on my shoulder and have something really cool.

I do have to keep it reasonable. I've been reading a lot of threads here and from what I gather it is important to establish a budget before deciding on what to get, or else I might end up with a $700 tattoo and end up not being able to feed the kids.

Yes, just the upper arm on the deltoid. I have to be able to cover it with a t-shirt. I'm not a real big guy, 5'8", 175lbs. About a 6X6 or 5X5 would be perfect. The more that I think about it, the more I want to just build something around the tattoo that is already there. I sent an e-mail to Champ at Guru with my budget and my ideas just to get his thoughts. Told him quality is more important than quantity, so if I have to go smaller and less complicated, that's fine.

Maybe I just need to incorporate my existing tattoo in to a new. Kind of build around what is already there instead of covering it up.

So is $200 not a lot for a shoulder sized tattoo?