What to send when you ask for a tattoo quote

If you write "hi, how much do you charge for a tattoo?", you will get one of two responses: silence, or a question. Neither is bad faith. Without details there is no possible quote, in the same way nobody can tell you what a trip costs without knowing where you are going.

The good news is that only five details are needed and you already have all of them. With one well-built message, most studios will come back with something concrete.

The five details

1. The idea, in one or two sentences. What you want tattooed. It does not have to be resolved: "a moth with detail in the wings" works fine.
2. The body area. Forearm, ribs, calf. It changes how long it takes, the technique, and sometimes who can do it.
3. The approximate size in centimetres. This is the one almost nobody sends and the one that weighs most on the price. Measure it against your arm with a ruler or compare it to something familiar: "about the size of a card", "elbow to wrist".
4. Colour or black. And whether you are open to a recommendation.
5. When you could come in. In weeks or months, not specific days. "From the second half of November" is a perfect answer.

And the references: send them all together in the same message. Three or four images of work you like, for how it is made rather than what it depicts.

The message, ready to copy

Hi, good morning. I would like a quote for a tattoo. Here are the details:

• Idea: [one or two sentences].
• Placement: [body area].
• Approximate size: [X by Y cm].
• Colour or black: [whichever you prefer].
• When I could come: [weeks or month].

I am attaching [number] style references. Could you tell me whether you do this, who would take it on, and a rough figure? Thanks.

It fits on one screen and can be answered in one go. That is all there is to it.

What you do not need to send

• Your medical history. A direct message is not the channel for health information. If there is something that could affect the session, raise it with the studio through whatever private route they point you to, and for any doubt speak to a healthcare professional. Every place also has its own requirements, and the studio will tell you theirs.
• Your maximum budget, in the first message. You can say it later, once you know what the work involves. Put it at the start and the conversation organises itself around that figure instead of around your idea.
• Eight references in eight different styles. They contradict each other and make it harder to understand what you want. Three or four that resemble each other work much better.
• Your address or personal details beyond your name and a way to reach you.

What you should get back

A useful reply usually carries, even roughly: whether the work is viable as you describe it, who would take it on, a range or an amount and what it includes, how many sessions they expect, and what would be needed to move forward.

If all you get is a bare figure, you can ask for the rest without any awkwardness: "does that price include the design? Are you counting one session or more than one?" Those are normal questions.

If nobody replies

It happens, and it almost never means you are being ignored on purpose. Small studios answer messages between sessions, and an inbox with a hundred open conversations buries things.

Wait a few working days and write once more, short, with the details again: "Hi, I wrote on [day] about a tattoo of [idea], [placement], [size]. Are you still taking work for [month]?" Repeating the details saves them hunting for the earlier message.

If there is still no answer after that second message, move on to another studio. It is not a slight: it means their calendar is full or that kind of piece is not for them. And if they do get back to you later, you can always pick it up again.

If they come back with a range in pesos

A range of the "between this and that" kind is not evasive. It usually means the final price depends on the detail, and that gets settled once there is a sketch. What is worth clarifying before you go further is what pushes it to one end or the other, and whether the amount is in Mexican pesos or another currency, especially if the studio takes clients from abroad.

Before you send your message

• ✓Idea in one or two sentences
• ✓Body area
• ✓Size in centimetres
• ✓Colour or black
• ✓A date range in weeks or months
• ✓Three or four references that resemble each other, all in the same message
• ✓No medical details and no unnecessary personal data

One more thing: write to two or three studios, not ten. Comparing three complete replies will tell you far more than ten half-conversations, and answering you costs studios real time.

Related: how to choose an artist beyond a single photo, how to read the quote they send back, what changes if you pick a flash design instead of a custom one, and what to ask before you pay a deposit.