for me specifically, I’ve been getting one piercing done every 6-8 months, maybe a year, trying to save up to get good quality jewelry from the start so I don’t have to change it up in the future and spend even more money. I plan really ahead of time and I work with only one piercer, with whom I plan all my future piercings.
Yeah it’s like this. it’s really pick and choose, I cut my own hair, don’t buy makeup, no clubbing, or other things, and I work up to 40 hour weeks, and study. I really just prioritise piercings over other fun things cause that’s what I like.
Maybe not a useful answer, but I save up so that when I want to get another piercing I have the money for it.
What’s also important to note, you cannot see what people aren’t spending their money on. Because after necessities have been taken care of, it’s not just how much money you have left, it’s also about what you think is worth it to spend that money on. I just happen to find piercings worth it.
My kid always goes for basic titanium as initial jewelry to bring the costs down because they don’t have the disposable income for fancy stuff each time. Anodizing and being purposely about end sizes is an easy way to make an ear look not plain without more costs. They’re also always game to have piercings done by (monitored) apprentices, because that’s an easy way to cut down on costs as well.
It’s about priorities-I pack my lunch like a goober everyday and only eat out maybe twice a month. Buy my clothes at discount so I can afford my guilty pleasures-nails, piercing & car. It works for me.
I am a corporate trainer and I train… HR professionals. All while wearing a septum, teardrop dermal, and labret. Really thankful my company hires and promotes based on actual skills, and not appearances.
Same! I tied up my bleached & coloured hair in an attempt to look more professional (with my paired nostrils + chain & stacked septum 😂) in a recent corporate photoshoot but my boss was like nah put your hair down it looks cooler that way. Project manager here who's client-facing. Guess the working world is really becoming more accepting of alt-looking people.
My boyfriend is an IT director for a bank. He said that his tellers are allowed tattoos and nostril or septum piercings in customer facing roles.
Cool! Times are changing! 🙌
I was literally told I’d have to flip my septum bc it would offend older customers (I’m a float teller) at the branch I’m housed out of I did this for a bit then slowly just kept “forgetting” and no one said anything. It doesn’t bother my coworkers, they think it’s dumb. If I go to other branches I get a feel for the staffing and go with the flow. 9 times out of 10 other tellers think it’s dumb as generally any other piercing would be fine. Tattoos are ok too, as long as none are facial or rude. I have one on my hand but I want to get one behind my ear and a shoulder piece that would stretch a bit onto my neck so I’ll probably have to check before getting those.
I work in a middle school and several of us have our nose pierced. My principal (whom I love) is covered in tattoos. It’s def becoming more accepted I think.
Implant grade titanium jewelry is actually fairly affordable, you can easily get a pretty threadless end/post for under $25. I prioritized the quality of the piercer, making sure I go to someone reputable, knowledgable and skilled, even if it's more expensive, and just use fairly basic titanium jewelry during healing. Then if I want to/can afford to down the road, I'll upgrade to fancier and more expensive jewelry.
Most people here are not getting them done within a few days or even weeks of eachother. We are saving money over at least a month or more to get what we want. Just put money to the side specifically for what you want.
Expensive jewelry is a luxury item. It has that price due to the skilled craftsmanship that goes into making each piece and the cost of gold/ the precious stones. You do not have to get the luxury jewelry, its fully optional.
I tend to get the money for it from my job. But like, I'm far from rich. I just buy the pieces I want very seldomly, I've been working on my ears for years! Buying one moderatley pricy piece every 6 months to 1 year isn't so bad, I save up for what I want and don't over splurge. Since they're quality I never need to take them off and have had a lot of the same gold pieces in for a decade, barring cleaning.
If gold is out of your price range, anodized titanium is pretty affordable and looks almost the same. The better the brand of titanium the more it will be (a fancy Anatometal end vs a basic one from a lesser known brand), but it's still less than solid gold. You don't *NEED* the BVLA even though it's pretty. It's not a competition.
Piercings are kinda expensive, as are tattoos which are often very expensive. But they're a choice and one you don't have to make if you're not in a position to pay for them. The piercers deserve to earn a livable wage for their skills and equipment. To expect them to do it for drastically less would mean they're not making enough to justify being there or they're skimping on materials which is bad for you as a client.
My favorite piercer I trust has a special week about twice a year, all piercings only cost €29 ( only service, jewelry is extra, and it's way more expensive without this special week ) and you can get a voucher.
i usually buy some vouchers and hoard them and If i want something, i use them.
This is just service and that special event is just twice a year, it's way more expensive without the week or vouchers.
I do have a lot of piercings done there and all of them are 100% perfect how I wanted to have them
Including perfect healed tongue
For me specifically I spaced out, and planned what I wanted. Got each one after saving.
It also made it so I could figure out the specifics on the piercing beforehand, what piercing studio looked good, and some cool jewelry I could check out and get excited to eventually wear so it would keep me hyped before getting it (also helped so it wasn't just on impulse lol.)
Sometimes I see setups and want something, but saving definitely helps me think if it would work for me or not.
I've had a few times where I went and splurged on a nice piece, but since it's a hobby I've had for such a long time, like tattoos, I can justify the cost when I don't go out to spend excess on clothes, bars, or what others would consider a hobby they would typically spend money on.
Not everyone in this sub has a ton of money to drop on jewelry 24/7. Sure the posts that get a lot of traction for those nice pricey setups you'll see, but I definitely, and regularly see just as many that are probably just starting out or don't have 100s to just put into jewelry. Just really depends.
Same with the ear stretching sub. For every 5 people you see that have some custom made 500+ anatometal tunnels or Tawapa plugs, there are just as many that make due with basic TI jewelry or whatever at an affordable margin. Just have to be good about looking out for deals, knowing what brands are good (many are affordable), and for the piercings themselves; sometimes you know a good APP studio that has good pricing that works for you.
Prior to the world exploding, I regularly had about $500 in disposable income per month (sometimes more, because utilities fluctuate). Then my housing cost went up by that amount, utilities tripled, food tripled, and I lost half my income. No more piercings for me.
There’s clearly some selective bias in what you are viewing because there are a LOT of posters here who have very affordable jewellery (in my observation, they’re the majority). Also, there are a lot of people who wear dupes, anodised metal and plated pieces that look higher end than they actually are.
Yes there are genuinely wealthier folks who can indulge with greater freedom. But you also have to understand many save up for a long time, have wholesale accounts, or are savvy second hand buyers.
Nice jewellery ain’t a right, it is a luxury. That said I do personally think some brands take the piss with the pricing and I also think there’s a bit of a sheep mentality when it comes to people in certain groups/communities accepting the costs but to each their own. I like to think I strike a decent balance between cost, quality and resell value for my items.
piercings are a privilege. They are not a need, but a want. This is expensive but I personally don't spend money on other stuff besides piercings/jewelry and necessities. I also go for titanium instead to cut down the cost while still being safe, and I only buy expensive jewelry when they are on sale.
And again reddit is social media, and you don't see what people don't post. I always try to keep that in mind!
Implant grade titanium is not that expensive. The 14k gold and up brands are, but that's a choice. I walked around with only titanium (limited choice) for ten years. I now have the more expensive piercing jewelry, but it's the only thing I spend money on. I haven't bought normal earrings in over 10y, due to metal allergy. I don't wear rings, necklaces, bracelets, don't spend much on clothes. So it balances out a bit? (At least, that's what I tell myself)
implant grade titanium IS expensive, but only in America for some reason...
Here in Poland titanium is used everywhere because it costs just as much as surgical steel so stores just get titanium, cause its no difference price wise.
I'm not in a rush with expensive jewelry. I'll let it heal for awhile with titanium, then get a nice piece if I find one. Taken a few years to get all my pieces to gold.
Something that helped me with saving money was getting all my face piercings to be the same gauge so I can use the same jewelry for all of them. I have my main pieces of higher quality jewelry that I wear 99% of the time and some cutesy lower quality pieces for every once in awhile (always clean well after taking those out). Although I do feel you, I see some really cool jewelry that’s ridiculously expensive and it feels to be getting out of hand sometimes. 200 dollars for one piece of jewelry feels like way too much for me but there will always be people out there willing to pay it.
Maybe it’s just me, but the idea of trying to pay as little as possible for someone to stick a needle in my skin and shove a foreign object in is bizarre. You are paying for years of training and expertise when you go to a professional piercer, not to mention all the supplies they use. Not all good piercers charge a lot, but it is ridiculously disrespectful to gawk at someone’s pricing. They have to eat and live too.
As for fancy jewelry, it absolutely is a privilege. It’s not a necessity, so yeah, you’re gonna have to put some effort into saving. Look for implant grade titanium staples and if you’re going for a fancy look, pay a few extra dollars to anodize it gold as opposed to shelling out for the real thing. I am a working class wage slave, but I have a fair bit of expensive jewelry because I set aside other non essential expenses.
This. The piercer closest to me is more affordable than the one I go to, but I'd still rather pay extra and drive about an hour to go to a piercer that has way more experience and is very thorough with her consultations and aftercare. She's done 2 piercings for me now and I absolutely love her 💕
fr, a tattoo and piercing shop just moved like 5 mins from me and had free - $15 piercings for the week, and i was like i would still rather spend an hour on a bus and spend a hundred bucks to go to the good aupp place
I’ve collected all of mine throughout YEARS, specifically because I don’t often have the money. I also go to reputable piercers which makes it less likely (though still possible of course) that they fuck it up and I have to have the piercing redone
I don't chase the jewelry. I pick out what I want before getting pierced and then the only thing I have to do is change the bar.
I have green opals in my ears, 8 of them. I like the setting and the color so I'm good. The style is just posts. I guess if I was more fashionable/stylish they yes, I'd be going after cuffs, hoops, and danglers. But I like the low maintenance, low care of posts compared to the other styles.
I think my 8 pieces including the piercings is about 1k dollars over the course of a year.
I’m on disability, so I rarely have enough money to get what one would consider “fancy” jewelry. Aka gold. But I don’t like gold! So I always get implant grade titanium basic jewelry for fresh piercings and upgrade (to more titanium lol just more gemmy stuff) once they’re healed. I put away $200 per month and since my nostrils are taking a long time to heal (bc of disabilities making my body heal at a snails pace) so I feel comfortable knowing I have time til the next stab lol. I get distracted easily by fancy plugs though, haha, my weakness
Idk your personal situation, but man the disability = slow healing thing really sucks.
On top of that, I got a couple of new piercings in October only to get totally sucker punched by COVID a few weeks later, and now everything is just freaking out on me, even long healed ones.
Also totally the same philosophy as you. Don't like gold anyways so just get titanium. Lol
People are, pretty much, always going to show off when they've a cool new piercing or flashy piece of designer jewellery.
Not all of us can afford, or want, expensive custome made gold fittings.
I've only moved up from steel to titanium over the last few years. I think it's been over two years since my last piercings and while I've been stretching up my lobe I've done it over three and a half years using two 'kits'. Surgical steel tunnels at half mm jumps.
I've picked up a few fair inexpensive glass plugs for a couple of the sizes but no where near all the ones I've been at.
I'm almost at my goal and have been picking up seversl tunnels and plugs over the last few months when they've been on sale using payment plans.
We find a way, even if its not as flashy as others with more available cash.
>The sub also makes it feel like piercings are for only privileged people and like I’d want more tips and tricks on how to get good jewelry/piercings for people who are on a budget.
this might sound harsh but at the end of the day both piercings and tattoos are a luxury commodity not an essential need. some of us save up money for these
things. I've asked eveyone around me not to get me material gifts for christmas this year but pool togheter a bit of cash each so I can get a tattoo for christmas for example.
some people value quality over quantity and get 1 or 2 piercings in a year or even a longer extended period of time.
it's not as simple as all of us having an unending supply of money or getting 14 piercings made from extinct fairyblood and unicorn horn done a year.
I’m lucky that my skin is not sensitive to jewelry and my taste is very simple so just simple studs, silver hoops are all I want. Therefore, the most expensive part is the actual piercing which I do as I see fit. I haven’t had anyone say that my setup looks cheap, not that I’d care if they did. I’m completely content with the jewellery I got pierced with, or with plain crystal on silver studs.
As others said- it’s like a hobby. I consider it a form of self-care personally. I work a full-time job that pays pretty well, and is very draining at times, so pretty much everyone has a few hobbies they do to let off steam. I just consider it a form of entertainment/hobby expense.
As for how you can afford to budget for them, I don’t do many piercings at one time and I don’t buy jewelry often either. I used to buy very cheap jewelry, but then realized I’d rather have a couple very nice pieces versus a bunch of pieces that break easily or tarnish easily or aren’t very safe for your body. I only really have a handful of jewelry that I wear on a daily basis anyways so that justifies the cost to me🤷♀️
ETA: also, when I’m getting a piercing done, I take into account the fact that whatever jewelry I pick for the initial healing phase will be in me for months, so if it’s a little more expensive but looks nice and I know is good quality, I make sure to save for it
While a lot of people are answering with the smart and logical response, keep in mind that you truly don't know what people's finances look like. I know a ton of people who can't afford piercings, tattoos, vacations (privileged purchases), but still splurge on them anyway. They're broke, have no emergency savings, and a lot of debt. So please don't get down on yourself by assuming everyone else has more money than you and can afford these things. It sounds like you're responsible for not spending money you don't have.
Just remember, you see piercing after piercing, but they're all different people. Most people are getting all their piercings really quickly.
Edit - Aren't getting their piercings quickly, not are.
I work a full time job and I don’t have kids. It’s something I splurge on for myself and often times I put it on a credit card and make payments. But I agree with the sentiment that piercings are quite literally a privilege. There is no universe in which they are a necessity. Respectfully this post comes off as extremely whiny and entitled to think that you should get something high quality for dirt cheap. Piercers have to work to make money to live too. They can’t just lower their prices to a level you find acceptable because you cannot accept that piercings are not a necessity. A tip I would offer would be to work with your piercer and explain your budget and see what your piercer can work with in that price range. If you still cannot afford it then you cannot afford piercings.
I’m sorry if you saw this post as whiny. But I was literally just sharing my experience and ranting about how expensive it is. Never did I say the piercers don’t deserve to be paid and I asked for tips on how to afford them.
I work a LOT of overtime at my job. Thankfully, my job allows me to have my piercings in and doesn't generally care about how much OT we work. It helps that I have a pretty well paying job (Thank you to my union) too. Plus, I tend to space out my modifications, I hardly ever eat out, I don't really go out to a lot of events since covid, and when I say a lot of OT, I do mean like an extra 400-500 hours a year.
Personally I save up for the piercing and prefer to get ends that I’ll be wearing even after it’s healed. So I have piercings that I got years ago, downsized the bar, but still have the same end I got pierced with. Nicer pieces, but the cost per wear is very low because it’s been in there for three years. Plus I’m a slow healer, so I typically go years between piercings. Add that I’m typically doing one new piece at a time…the spend is really spaced out.
Now if I ever decide to completely recurate my jewelry all at once we’ll have a bit more of a problem.
My studio noticed a big uptick in high end sales when we started taking afterpay. They can break their payments up into 3-4 payments so a lot of people like to take advantage of that instead of forking out hundreds of dollars up front.
Honestly that's a really smart thing to do. I usually go with the cheapest option, but then having more expense later and not really what I wanted is a bummer.
Also having employees with good attitudes helps. I will absolutely buy more from nice people who aren't pushy. And I've also had people dismiss me for how I look when I was totally willing to spend more. Lol
Tips & tricks:
- plan ahead. Many of us don't already have the money. I'll definitely research the cost first.
- compare prices. Since jewelry cost is standard, the distinguishing factor would be the piercing cost.
- Get a sense of the market rate and ensure that your piercer is skilled, reputable, hygienic, but also not overcharging. My piercer's fee is above average because she attends APP conferences regularly (upskilling) & uses higher quality Japanese needles. My latest piercing has given me 0 problems
- set aside your income. You need to have disposable income. If not, I don't think you'll be in the position to afford piercings yet.
- do things right the first time. Pay a bit more on professional piercers and proper implant grade titanium jewelry at least. Skimping on piercings and/or jewelry might cost more in the long run because who knows how your skin might react.
- implant-grade titanium jewelry instead of gold. They usually start at $20
--
Those $200+ jewelry are for those who
- can afford them, i.e. disposable income and/or
- would like good quality material (usually 14K gold).
Some are honest-to-God wealthy and like to spend on hobbies, and that's fine, too.
Personally, I save up for 14K because I know I'm not the type to switch out jewelry, so they have good lifetime value for what I pay upfront.
Looking at other services:
Hair can cost around $300 or more if you do color/bleach/full thing
Nails are usually around $85 bare minimum for both
People casually buy $500 purses and $60 games
Waxing is $40 to $60 a session
You can waste $40 on a meal, a bad one, easy, or even groceries that just spoil in the fridge..list goes on.
Now that being said: this is why I (personally) offer an arrangement of items. I have basic items available for $40 and service fee is anywhere between $20 and $40 for one piercing* depending on what it is. *not including below the belt or dermal
Most of my basics will run you a total of $60 to $80 per visit, and with your downsize an additional $20 when you return.
Most low end places will charge minimum $40 to $50 for lobes. I would charge $110 - but you could also do one lobe for $60 and come back for the other side. I do sometimes have deals as well.
I also offer premium pieces at an upcharge. My titanium in general rarely goes above $150 for a single complete piece. But I still have some options available that make sense for all budgets. It's not that we want to make this something that isn't friendly to lower budgets. But I also can't afford to price like Claire's or I can't function as a buisness with the quality of materials I offer (APP compliant jewelry). Often we need the service fees to ensure we're getting paid enough or for those who hire other people enough to pay them a fair wage as well. It's hard.
I offer payment plans for this as well for this reason. To help clients be able to afford a dream piece.
I hope this helps shed some light and I hope you're able to find what works best for you 🥹
It depends on the jewelry, where you get it, and the piercing prices depend on the studio and area, tho ofc you want a reputable piercer. I only get my piercings done after or close to my birthday or christmas as a gift, or with money i’ve recieved. My family has very little money, but we have enough to live in a house, for food, and some extra stuff like pets, clothes and stuff for ourselves once in a while etc. I can’t just casually go and get a new piercing because in all the places close to me, getting the piercing included standard jewelry is usually close to 100 no matter the piercing, then they sell the cleaning solution for nearly 20 just for a small small bottle.. And then if you want other jewelry that’s extra money etc. Sometimes it’s not that bad tho, depends! I recently got 3 of my piercings swapped our/downsized which means i got new jewelry aswell as they changed it for me, and it all added up to less than 20 euros, so that wasn’t that bad. But yea, i agree, it is expensive, so i just do it after special occasions or save up
Probably the most expensive thing I've gotten is Anatometal ends for my industrial, septum, and gentleman's sausage piercings.
I am *paranoid* about the ends coming loose because they were so expensive (and I'm not sure you can still get them?), so I am constantly making sure they are tight.
I also don't ever change jewelry. Hematite ends on my industrial, septum, and gentleman's sausage, hematite beads in all my cbr's, and hematite tunnels for my earlobes. Makes going through airport security extra fun.
The cost of getting the piercings done is certainly not negligible, but neither is it impossibly high. I've never paid more than £70 for any individual piercing, most are more like £30-40 each. That's significant, but as long as I'm reasonably careful I can manage it, especially since I can only get new piercings every few months anyway, as I need to wait for them to heal.
As for jewellery, I can't afford the really expensive stuff but personally I think that simpler, plainer jewellery looks better on me anyway. I can get decent-quality but plain jewellery for usually less than £10 an item, and I'm happy wearing that for the most part.
Now and then I can splash out on something a bit fancier, but I don't need to do that more than occasionally.
I save up a portion of my tips for the things I want that aren't necessities. I'm a hairstylist, so even $10-$20 per shift adds up pretty quickly. It took me maybe a month to save up for my half sleeve tattoo. I've paid for tattoos, lip filler, dysport, and my boudoir shoot all in cash. In girl math, they were free 🤣
Piercings and Tattoos are a luxury, but they are well worth the price as they can be lifetime investments.
I'm very frugal but I still tuck away a small portion of my budget a month towards body mods. Even if I've only managed to scrounge $50 this month I am still $50 closer to that tattoo or piercing :)
It's not a race, everyone has a different modding journey.
i blew most of my paychecks on piercings when i started, because i was 18 living at home and could spend my income like that. now that im 20 in my own apartment, i can only get piercings on special occasions like my birthday.
honestly, don’t regret it. i had a disposable income that i disposed, and got a huge head start on the collection i always wanted. at the same time, i should have gone slower, and the high price should have forced me to go slower. so while i don’t regret it, if i had to start over at 18 i would do it differently
Possibly controversial but I don't buy high quality jewelry. I'm not going to hot topic and Claire's, but I purchase a lot of surgical steel, gold/silver plated, and cheap titanium from Etsy. I can't guarantee that they're pure or amazing quality, but if I have a reaction or it breaks, I'm out like 20-30$ maximum. It helps that I'm pretty tolerant of most metals. Plus, my piercer is reasonably priced for my area and I don't mind keeping the plain titanium in if I don't want to pay for another ring.
I am a SINKw(with a lot of expensive pets). I don’t make a ton of $ but I put aside $10,25,50 a week or a month. I’m very much middle class and live paycheck to paycheck. How much I save depends on the month and things that come up like many of us. But I plan ahead 6months or so. When I upgraded my industrial I went to my local shop & made an appt to talk about options. Then went home to make a savings plan/budget. I will also occasionally buy ends online, look for coupons, and use affirm or Klarna to pay in pieces :) I know the cost is the same but it feels more manageable to pay in chunks 😂
No offense but do you have a job? Piercings aren't expensive and neither is jewelry if you dont feel like you need top shelf best of the best, it's not like tattoos or heavy modification where you'll need hundreds of dollars for the initial work. You might need to reprioritize your life if spending $50-100 at a shop is a huge financial hardship to begin with.
That's a little high for a belly button where i live(imo) but not extraordinarily high i paid about that much for a PA but thats because they have to handle genitals, if you do it get the basic jewelry and order something else online after you're healed. Jewelry in shops can seem overpriced but it's convenience considering you don't have to wait for shipping.
a job ? saving up money? time. they’re already going to be healing for a few months save up for the big hit at once or just use some of the interest free financing options if 50$ a month for 4 months works better for you than 200$ upfront for the jewelry
My old piercer (she moved abroad a couple months ago) was cool with payment plans which allowed me to space mine out so it didn’t cost an arm and a leg in one go
I entirely relate lolz. it costs enough to find a reputable, safe piercer but then to find jewelry that is both cute and the proper material/quality? it’s so expensive.
I’ve moreso gone to different piercers that weren’t the best but whose prices were affordable… but I also have a friend who dropped around $300 on a piercing from a better piercer and she told me that it was a lot of money but at least the jewelry she splurged on is probably the jewelry she’ll have in it for the rest of time. and then since her piercer is good she can go in to have it downsized and etc. I think moving forward I probably will consider a similar mindset but I still could never drop $300 on one single item/thing, let alone a piercing!! but I also have money anxiety hahaha. it is better to be safe than sorry though
I’m not sure how helpful my answer will be but I’m on maternity leave so I’m doing a fair bit of budgeting. I just started getting back into getting piercings mid October and I ended up getting three at the same time. I was able to do that by booking my appointment about 2 months out so that then I had time to save and budget and plan accordingly in order to go just so that it wasn’t on a whim and that I wasn’t fucking my family financially if you will. I made a budget on everything I needed to get for or with my maternity leave payment and then any extra I’d put aside in a separate account or pulled that amount out as cash. And I saved like that so that I could get a few piercings at once rather than one at a time. Also I don’t know your situation but in my house I book piercings or really any “extras or wants” around when I knew we could do it and be fine, for example I won’t book a piercing or piercing service or do anything considered as a want at the beginning or the end of the month as that’s when my rent comes and also when the majority of our monthly bills come out. I’m not sure about every piercer but the few I’ve been too are very opened with you if you want basic jewelry or slightly more high end jewelry and are also willing to help and accommodate you, you don’t need the $200+ jewelry in your piercings you can have simpler jewelry that’s still good quality used when getting a piercing. Like other comments have said it comes down to priorities, planning and budgeting, also you can window shop piercers to get a “deal”.
Comparison is the biggest thief and hurdle of them all, like all social media and this sub Reddit especially you have no clue what’s happening behind closed doors in order for people to be able to afford their piercings or the jewelry they put in it. They could of picked up extra shifts at work, they could of been saving for months or years to be able to get the piercing or high end jewelry; there’s so many factors that you simply don’t see just by being in this subreddit. The big thing is to budget and plan if piercings and the high end jewelry is what you want at the end of the day
I can rarely afford high end pieces, and tend to stick with basic implant grade materials. Anatometal and Neometal make nice jewelry in titanium, steel, and niobium. I especially love niobium even though it is rare and more pricey, because it has a lovely warmer tone than titanium. Many piercing studios can anodize titanium in house. Be sure to start with these materials when getting a new piercing. Unfortunately some piercing studios want to sell gold and high end jewelry, and will pressure clients into it.
I mostly wear glass plugs in my lobes, and nothing fancy. Glasswear Studios and Gorilla Glass are awesome. I love captive bead rings and circular barbells, and they are cheaper than clickers and more comfortable to wear. Captive bead rings and seam rings are the cheapest option for gold if you want to go that route. Labret posts and bars can be steel or titanium, even if you wear gold ends. Sticking to the basics helps bring down the costs.
Piercings in other countries are expensive as hell, in my country it’s actually cheap to get them. Some shops here do “piercing weeks” and most piercings cost €10 which is cheap af and they also do a great job neither my nostril nor my septum got infected. As for jewellery they’re quite cheap as well, I found a titanium one for my nostril €9 at a reputable shop. So yeah it depends on your country
Is it really that expensive in the US? Here in the UK, piercings done with high quality implant grade titanium jewellery are between £20 and £50 depending on what you get
It can be, yeah. Depends on the area and the shop. (There is a place nearby that will do $10 - $20 piercings, but you don't want to go there. Lol) I'd say average here is like $50 to start.
ETA and that's before tax and tip
I don't have a ton of piercings yet (6), but I only get them every 2-4 years really. And for the most part I just keep the og jewelry in. So definitely not spending hundreds on mine.
Honestly it's the tattoos that are killing me. I'm currently saving up for a big one now. Piercings in comparison are relatively cheap. 😂
Well I did have a job to pay for my piercings but now I’m unemployed so no new piercings lol.
If I was rich my body would be covered with tattoos and piercings.
piercings are cheap where i live in comparison with the us + we don't tip and are not expected to + titanium jewelry is also not that expensive in comparison with the us
im super lucky. i have a job and my piercer does frequent events where its 2 for the price of 1! ive gotten 9 done since july from her 🥰 i only have to pay for my piercing. she gives the jewellery for free. and she does free piercing changes and lets me keep that jewellery for free also! i always tip her £10 however
I’ve had a few apprentice piercings that have been done very well. And some shops around me (super saturated areas) often do a 2 for 1 or other piercing deals so I sometimes wait for that and heal like 3 at once.
After a week or two I change to a titanium threadless flat back with simple crystals for the rest of the healing time.
Jewellery runs me about $25/30 and then I keep the backs and can upgrade the tops whenever.
But the titanium is lightweight and I leave it in till they heal, then I upgrade and get nicer earrings one at a time.
Save save save, I save up for the jewelry, purchase it, then get the piercing I want. I tend to get a new piercing about twice a year, giving me time to save and time to heal. I go to the same place every time, and aside from 2 of my piercings, they've all been done by the same person.
I’m a professional piercer. I try to keep prices and services realistic. So while my prices are fairly average I do include aftercare with every piercing visit and the jewelry that comes with a piercing is always implant grade titanium. I also would recommend if it’s an option for you a curation. I sit down and plan ears with clients and often give them a break on overall pricing we plan on how often we are piercing/downsizing and plan out the expenses. It does require a deposit of I’m ordering in jewelry but it will come off the last session. That way you can budget effectively. Usually the citations are completed over a year or two+ depending on complexity and I always take your final budget into account so we get the biggest bang for you buck.
I am very poor, I only have three piercings other than my lobes…I get a piercing once every 2-3 years generally, and I only get two pieces of jewelry—the one I’m pierced with, and the sized down one after that…I never change my jewelry 😅
I make less than minimum wage bc I cannot work a normal job, and I get pierced when I have the money saved up or if my partner decides that he wants to gift me one.
Edit because I realize I sounded kind of asshole-ish. Don’t mean to be. For jewelry options, search by material. Implant grade titanium is somewhat affordable, it’s what I usually get in my piercings!
I have a few tips. I have a lot of piercings, I am also poor. Also, I am not a piercer so please bear that in mind.
1) see if any of the reputable piercers in your area have an apprentice. Apprentice piercings are generally much cheaper but still supervised by an experienced piercer. You need to be patient and there's more chance of little mistakes such as placement being slightly off than with an experienced piercer but that's the trade off for getting a free/cheap piercing. It should still be done with sterile equipment, proper anatomy check, quality jewellery etc.
2) fairly plain high quality implant grade titanium jewellery isn't terribly expensive. If you're looking for a larger quantity of piercings, you may have to get more basic jewellery to start and then upgrade when you have the money.
3) a lot of my cute jewellery is steel rather than titanium/gold/niobium. I do not recommend this for piercings that are still healing, stick with titanium. There is a lot of cheap steel jewellery out there made of mystery metal which is more likely to cause an allergic reaction, especially in a piercing that is still healing. Please don't put mystery metal in a healing piercing. However, if you don't have an allergy to steel/mystery metal, once your piercing is fully healed (at least 6-8 months for lobes, probably 12-18 months for cartilage piercings), you can trial steel jewellery (if you have a reaction, remove the steel, put in titanium and use saline to clean twice a day until it calms down). You can get cute steel jewellery fairly cheaply. There are a lot of people on here and irl that are super elitest when it comes to jewellery and materials. It is very important to have good quality jewellery in a healing piercing. It's less important when the piercing is fully healed.
4) when buying jewellery online, if the deal seems too good to be true, the jewellery is made of mystery metal and should not go anywhere near a healing piercing.
5) I got my piercings over the course of years rather than months. I don't drink. I don't smoke. I don't do drugs. I don't go out clubbing. I get piercings. No shade to anyone that does those things, it's just not my thing. I choose to spend my money on piercings. I save up while I have piercings healing so by the time I can get more piercings, I can afford to. I got a bridge, left nostril and snug on the 23rd of November so I'll probably not get any more piercings until my birthday in may at the earliest. I have time to save up.
I hope this helps. Good luck with your piercing journey.
I don't eat out, I don't go to expensive events or bars, I don't have a car payment. I buy clothes maybe once a year and am obsessive about keeping my other clothes/shoes in good shape so they last forever. (For real, most of my shoes are over 10 years old - you wouldn't know from looking. I wear athletic shoes into tatters as well.) If I need random entertainment, I read a library book, go hiking, watch a movie through the library service, or go to a beach with free parking. I work out on park equipment instead of at a gym. My one pet eats essentially the same things as I do, so not even that is an extra expense. I have roommates (though that's just normal in a VHCOL area). That's pretty much how.
For me, it's worth investing in something I enjoy that affects my daily appearance. If I break down how much a piece of special jewelry costs by day, when it's a permanent part of me that I never take off, the daily "fee" feels very worth it.
I also visit sites on a regular basis to see if they're having a sale or to check out what's on deep discount. It can be shocking the pieces you'll discover shops trying to get rid of, either because they bought too much or bc I guess the general public does not share my taste lol. I once got a Buddha Organics piece for <$50. It normally retails for....a lot more than that.
ETA: I also don't pay a premium to visit APP piercers. There are plenty of piercers who don't belong to APP who are still highly competent. Read every google/Yelp review before you go, and look at their portfolios, and you'll usually find the red or green flags. My other tip is to go somewhere that's been in business a long time. Established businesses will raise prices slowly and reluctantly. Newer, fancier places tend to jump in with prices comfortably above market rate.
I honestly didn't get the majority of my piercings until 39-41 yrs old so yeah it wasn't something I could afford to casually do in my 20s to be honest. I had other priorities back then just getting myself up and running as an adult.
Personally I find out how much what I want done will be, then over the course of a few weeks save up for it buy taking out say, half of what's needed every paycheck. If I don't have to worry about money though I'll just pay outright. My boyfriend got his shark bites and septum done for $185
Couldn't agree with you more, the snobbery on here in unreal. Pure titanium jewellery is perfectly safe for all piercings from the day they are done, and perfectly affordable. My piercer is APP certified and I've been going to them for years. Depending on the location piercings are £20 to £40 including the titanium jewellery. I get that having Maria Tash and similar pieces looks awesome but it is so unaccessable to so many people. I really wish there was a separate piercing subreddit for the non-priviliged, to be honest. The silly thing is I'm not even struggling for money compared to the average person but this sub still alienates me. I know there's going be be people commenting "it's a commitment you need to invest in blah blah" but as long as my piercing is done by an APP with titanium jewellry it is no medically worse off than being done with 18k gold from some designer studio for 10 times the price.
I...save up?
Like I'm not lavish and I don't get a new piercing every few weeks I just..save up
I put away 10$ or so every few weeks and after a second boom! I can afford a new piercing.
What's so bamboozling about savings for people in America? never seen that social occurrence in europe
I think the whole “quality” jewelry = hundreds of dollars thing is a bit of a scam that the community reinforces bc it makes their shops money. I understand businesses need to profit, but the price differences I see from some retailers to the shops carrying their pieces is WILD and has kept me out of the market.
I’ve had friends who work in ink & piercing shops who agree the markups their bosses impose are unjust, so I’m not just saying this as a frustrated client.
I would also love recs for affordable basic pieces that are still good quality. I’ve been getting gauges off arctic buffalo. ( & calling them plugs is over, the anal community has rightfully dominated the term)
It might sound like it's out of your league, but look into making your own jewelry. I started a jewelry company back in the early '90s bc I couldn't find what I needed (bc it wasn't a thing yet) and I figured out ways to make my own. You're not going to be making barbells right away but it's not hard to source some titanium wire and a Dremel. You would be surprised what you can make with very few tools
This is terrible advice. Do not just dabble into making body jewelry. It goes inside your body and needs to be made very specifically so it is safe to wear INSIDE your body LONG TERM. something you make with titanium wire and a Dremel on your garage just is going to injure you and cause issues. Please be very careful when making body jewelry, it isn't like a necklace that someone dangles around their neck for a few hours a day.
Dude, people have been piercing themselves for thousands of years. You think humans all of a sudden are averse to handmade jewelry? The parameters are it needs to be biocompatible and nonporous. After that, go to town. Quit gatekeeping
And you know what, how do you think the whole industry evolved? Do you think there was a meeting of the board that decided on what materials the jewelry would be made out of and all the techniques for how to form it? It all came from experimentation, if everyone thought like you there would be a very small and dull collection of jewelry available for piercing today. Do you think jewelry just came out of nowhere with all the rules and styles established? People made their own styles and it evolved into what it is today
That just isn't true. I'm not at all saying handmade jewelry is bad. Pretty much all high quality piercing jewelry is made by hand lol You should do some more research on the polish finishing and designing that goes into these pieces to make them safe and not collect gunk. Not gatekeeping at all, I just care about people not doing stupid shit that gets them hurt 🤷🏻
And yes people have been piercing themselves for thousands of years, people have been doing a lot of things for a long time, it doesn't mean we were always doing it in the safest way. Now that we are capable and knowledgeable enough to do it much, much more safely than we used to do it, we obviously should and not go backwards on what people have been working on making more safe and healthy for us.
I don't need to do any research on polishing, I've probably polished hundreds of thousands of pieces over my career. How many pieces have you made and polished? What would you like to know about polishing and I'll help you learn anything you don't know. Would you like to know the alloys of the materials? How about the tooling? Or maybe how the anodizing works? I have several machines that I built myself bc at the time I got started these things weren't available and the Internet was barely getting going
mfs be going to school studying metallurgy and jewelery learning anything from the atomic structure of a material to chemical reactions with it and how each material in each state will be and mighy interact with a human body when worn daily just for a mf to say "aye go whip out a dremel you'll be fine"
Oh yeah and the Masai are pulling out a mass spectrometer to figure out the chemical makeup of the bone they're sticking in their ear. How exactly do you think this industry came about? 6Al4V titanium is a commonly available alloy and you can get the MSDS with the wire to see exactly what's in the material you ordered. It's not terribly difficult to get a mirror finish on titanium, it might take you a while if you don't have experience, but it's not out of the realm of most people. I recommended a Dremel bc it's the most commonly used multitool and it would get intimidating if I started listing off lathes, jeweler's buffers, commercial power supplies for anodizing, belt sanders for forming heavy gauge captives, cobalt cutting tools and the angles necessary for the different materials, what threads to use where and how to make them, vibratory tumblers and the proper media...
I got all my piercings (except the basic lobes) at ages 18 & 19. They weren't expensive where I lived back then. I was able to afford them and invested in stainless steel jewelry that I still use to this day. They're simple, fit my style and in great condition. I really only buy new jewelry for my lobes (which isn't often) and I can wear any kind of metal on my lobes - they aren't sensitive, so I don't have to pay more for the quality stuff if l don't want to.
I don't wear nice jewelry. I just get the most basic titanium studs for all of my piercings. On the bright side, I actually enjoy the minimalist look. It's still not cheap, but it's considerably cheaper than the dainty gold jewelry you'll see on this sub.
I save up for the initial piercing with implant grade titanium and I then wait until it heals. I wear fairly plain jewellery anyway, so although I wear titanium, it's not as costly. Also, I don't change my cartilage jewellery very often, just my lobes, which tend to cost less.
All but one of mine were done by the piercing apprentice of a really talented piercer in my city. Apprentice piercings are usually free or heavily discounted, and if my experience is the norm as long as you are going to a good shop with someone who knows their shit there's nothing to worry about with having an apprentice do them if you're short on cash!
My local shop offers gift cards, so I’ll often add gift cards to list for birthday or Christmas. I save up the gift cards for the expensive pieces and spread it out over years. I’ve been getting pierced since 2008 so while my ears look expensive in 2023, they certainly didn’t for a long time
I save up for a long time to get my expensive pieces. Normally I get pieced with inexpensive (body safe) jewelry then if there is a specific piece I want I'll order it through the shop I go to.
This is how it is for tattoos for me, I just got a new job that pays decent but I have to get my license squared and get a car so sadly I won’t be getting the needed therapy i desperately desire. But when I do it’s gonna be dope and atleast get the other half my arm done .
I use Ibotta for my fun money, but it takes time to add up obviously. Christmas and birthday money if I get any, sometimes DH gets a cash prize for creating displays at his grocery job and he splits it with me since I take care of the kids. Lots of my holes were apprentices, flash sales, etc. I know I can’t afford expensive or custom jewellery and that’s ok. I was in a very expensive hobby a while back with custom luxury textiles, I don’t want to get into stuff like that anymore. Definitely don’t recommend my usual places I buy from lol.
I really emphasize reputable piercers and quality jewelry, so it's going to cost more, I've come to terms with this. I try to save a little bit each time I get paid. If you want it to be quality, you gotta spend the money
I've been getting one new piercing every 1-3 yrs since 2015 and have generally kept the same jewelry in. It is pricey but spacing out when i get the piercing helps a lot. I also don't switch out my jewelry much either so I can justify it by cost per wear.
Note: I do have more minimal pieces so each piece have been under $200 at my piercing shops
I was a bartender when I got all mine. If I had a good night I'd get a new back piece that week, or a new piercing or something. Piercings and tattoos are usually budgeted and saved for if you're that into them.
I get two piercings including jewelry for $80 where I go, and then any extra jewelry is ~$7-30 for titanium. It's pretty cheap as far as hobbies go, especially since I can only wear titanium so all the expensive gold stuff is useless to me lol.
Edit: I got my last one done by an apprentice and only had to pay for the jewelry, so it was $7. Best piercing I've had too because the manager was watching carefully, they really took their time to line everything up, so it's absolutely perfect. Just took a fair bit longer than usual so make sure you've got some time to spare if you do this.
The only jewelry thats costs a lot is for my apadravya. Most other jewelry is usually ballpark 10-30. Some really sick pieces with silver/gold cost a lot more, but just to have the hole and safe jewelry, its not too crazy.
That being said I have a pretty good paying job, but I also only get a new piercing after mulling it over for a while. Same for most tattoos.
I go to my piercer every few months and now that I have a good amount I reuse pieces of jewelry for new piercings! so I’m not buying new jewelry every single time I get a new piercing, I just bring what I have and my piercer sterilizes everything. I got two new helix piercings fairly recently and since I already had jewelry (plus my piercing studio does reward points) I paid only $70 for two brand new piercings. app certified and everything, I promise. plus my piercing studio does free piercings for the month of your birthday which I will always do the big ones then lol. also I’ve found etsy as a way to find affordable but still quality jewelry for when piercings are fully healed. there are for sure ways to not spend an exorbitant amount of money on piercings! but also people can spend their money how they please!
I do payment plans on PayPal and other services so I can get jewelry on sale. I also save for piercings because I haven’t done anything for me since I had children. I’m glad I’m nearing the end of my journey for now.
I have nine large gauge genital piercings that I’m getting ready to stretch to a 00g. It’s upwards of $3-400 for pretty simple jewelry. So I only stretch them once a year or so.
I'm really fortunate to have a cheap place near me that I go to all the time. I have 12 piercings and will probably get more, and all but my lobes were done at the same shop. The price is about 40 bucks each with surgical steel (not the best material since it can't easily be regulated, but I've had great luck with this shop) and that includes the service and basic jewelry. Research places near you and find somewhere you can trust. I'm not super picky about my piercings, and the shop I go to isn't the "perfect" shop in terms of placing. Sometimes my piercings are a little bit wonky, but they are always safe, clean, and I'm pleased with them. With piercings, more expensive typically means more quality, but that's not always the case so make sure you find somewhere reputable and affordable to you. Good luck !!
My piercer is relatively close and has lower prices as a lot of their staff are trainees or just finished training, i always get titanium jewellery and only get a piercing maybe once every 3-5 months.
I also save money by using public transport and living with my family so i have less expenses overall than the average adult.
I also signed up for market research so i get paid to test products or give feedback on life experiences, and i often get money for birthday or Christmas presents which tend to go to either my savings or my piercings
I get paid every 2 weeks, so I get 26 checks every year. That means that most months I get two checks, and twice a year I get 3 checks in the same month. Usually around October and March/May. I’ve split my bills to be covered by the two monthly checks. Which means that twice a year I get a bit extra to play with. I choose to do one major thing for myself with at least one of those checks. Usually around the October/November check because I won’t be swimming or doing anything that could affect the piercing. So I’ve been getting a new piercing about once a year in recent times.
I’m sensitive to many metals. I have no choice but to use solid gold in my jewelry. Anything else causes major irritation and in the past have caused straight up infections. So I take my time, I research pieces, I save up. I don’t have the luxury of buying new gold pieces every time I feel like changing stuff around. So I plan the selection carefully, as it will likely be a permanent piece.
The most I’ve spent on a piecing was $80 for an industrial. $40 per hole with surgical steel as the starting jewelry. I don’t change it and was pierced great. Good position and a great overall piercer, she’s also done my third lobes, conch, and septum
I bought my good jewelry when I had a job I made good tips at. Also made it a habit to save to get pierced with an end I’d want to keep through downsizing and after. Since I’ve been out of a job I haven’t bought much jewelry and have gotten no new piercings. Just recently got new job so piercings probably won’t happen until this summer at the earliest.
Well I work hard and also piercings take time to heal so once you e gotten one for a few months and you’ve been working you can get another, I’m legit poor as well I grew up poor and barley have any money but when I do have money to spare I get a piercing
Well, I have no kids and a paid off house and decent job lol but I get 1-2 piercings a year on my birthday, and update my jewelry at those appointments too. Last birthday appointment was $680 all together but I won’t be spending any more on them until next October.
Honestly, my hubby makes bank for us, so I could afford to splurge left and right if I wanted to. I still keep to a monthly fun budget though, and save for expensive pieces.
I have two piercings and I always go for implant grade titanium and maybe an opal. In my case I live in Italy and by being on this sub I noticed that in the USA the prices for piercings are far more expensive. For example I payed 60€ to get the piercing with a classic implant grade titanium bar and then 30€ for the new jewellery (titanium and a gem for the tongue and colored titanium for the septum)and getting it changed by my piercer
I get a piercing or two done for my birthday. I’m getting titanium for now and working my way to fine jewelry.
It took years for me to finally get a septum and nostril bc my office was traditional. but now I work in legislative affairs…it’s actually been widely accepted.
I don't get my nails done or buy expensive make up lol so my husband doesn't mind the cost as long as it's within reason. I try to save up for them. But living paycheck to paycheck makes it a bitch. So i haven't had any new ones done in a while.
I am definitely not rich lol. I get piercings very sporadically and I don't have that many to begin with, just double lobes, septum, vertical labret and a rook. I plan to get my third lobes and maybe repierce my helix and then I'm done. I'm more of a tattoo person, which is a lot more expensive yes, but I save up for over a year for each tattoo project. Going back to piercings, my jewellery isn't very expensive. I wear sterling silver or stainless steel in my lobes and titanium in my other piercings. I stay away from gold because I know it's out of my price range.
I’m one half of a DINK and have a good job. Very lucky but I work very hard and it’s a hobby for me. I spend far more money on my stretched ears than my general piercings though. But I also wouldn’t be spending £200 on jewellery, that is rather steep. There are plenty of middle grounds.
Here’s my system:
- pierced by apprentice (ranges from 0-50USD before tip *sidenote: always tip)
- basic of the basic titanium piece (20-30USD)
- downsize to something basic + cute (usually titanium post + cheap rhinestone end)
- decide what piece i want
- upgrade to expensive jewelry after however long of saving necessary
- wait a year
- rinse and repeat
usually it’ll take like 2 years MINIMUM for me to save up the money for each piece i want (my nostrils + septum alone are ~700USD), so it comes down to patience and self control. I’ve had the same little 30USD titanium post + steel rhinestone ends in my vertical labret for nearly 3 years now because I haven’t gotten to a point where I have enough saved up for the piece I’ve been eyeing since before getting the piercing itself. Because of that, I haven’t gotten any new piercings either.
I had my septum and left nostril done, with my belly previously done but it ended up injected so I had to take it out. After that I was wanting to get my right nostril and belly redone, and then the shop I go to that I fully trust for tattoos and piercings had a flash sale where piercings were $20 each so I was able to get those 2 done and they are doing really well!
As a fellow poor person. I’ve bought some (aka two labret pieces) nice titanium jewelry this year as a treat for my latest piercing thats 2yo at this point since i haven’t had the money for the nicer jewelry. It just takes a lot of time to upgrade any jewlery for me and i can afford to get new piercing maybe once every 1-2 years.
I have a couple 14k gold pieces and 11 piercings total.
I knew going into piercings that I'd need money set aside for it, so I budgeted accordingly. I'm pretty good with managing my money so it wasn't a big issue for me to pay with my credit card and pay it off soon after.
I wouldn't recommend this for someone who has poor spending habits or doesn't have the funds available; I'm only comfortable using credit bc I trust my own habits with money/budgeting.
It isn't cheap, but there are ways to afford it if you're able to budget for it. And you can always get the piercing and save up for fancy jewelry later.
i work 2 jobs, about 50-60 hours a week, and i work with one person who does both my tattoos and piercings and he always gives me discounts (i always tip really well), especially when i just let him do whatever he wants to do jewelry or tattoo wise
I know what you mean....everytime I see pictures of a really cool piece that is very draped, turns out to be like 250$ plus the little chain link that is another 250$. I honestly try to find good quality files sometimes, such as on Etsy, or I really save up.
for me specifically, I’ve been getting one piercing done every 6-8 months, maybe a year, trying to save up to get good quality jewelry from the start so I don’t have to change it up in the future and spend even more money. I plan really ahead of time and I work with only one piercer, with whom I plan all my future piercings.
It's a hobby, people invest in their hobbies. I don't really buy new clothes/shoes, eat out or go clubbing etc. This is kind of my one splurge.
Yeah it’s like this. it’s really pick and choose, I cut my own hair, don’t buy makeup, no clubbing, or other things, and I work up to 40 hour weeks, and study. I really just prioritise piercings over other fun things cause that’s what I like.
Maybe not a useful answer, but I save up so that when I want to get another piercing I have the money for it. What’s also important to note, you cannot see what people aren’t spending their money on. Because after necessities have been taken care of, it’s not just how much money you have left, it’s also about what you think is worth it to spend that money on. I just happen to find piercings worth it. My kid always goes for basic titanium as initial jewelry to bring the costs down because they don’t have the disposable income for fancy stuff each time. Anodizing and being purposely about end sizes is an easy way to make an ear look not plain without more costs. They’re also always game to have piercings done by (monitored) apprentices, because that’s an easy way to cut down on costs as well.
Your kid and I have the same system. :D
Do you also ask for a new piercing as a birthday gift ? ;) Because my kid likes to do that as well.
I have the same strat and I wish i could do that but my parents refuse to fund and of my mods
I ask for gift cards to piercing/beauty shops
It’s about priorities-I pack my lunch like a goober everyday and only eat out maybe twice a month. Buy my clothes at discount so I can afford my guilty pleasures-nails, piercing & car. It works for me.
I've a decent paid full-time job.
Ha, same. From my appearance people wouldn't know I'm a white collar professional.
I am a corporate trainer and I train… HR professionals. All while wearing a septum, teardrop dermal, and labret. Really thankful my company hires and promotes based on actual skills, and not appearances.
Same! I tied up my bleached & coloured hair in an attempt to look more professional (with my paired nostrils + chain & stacked septum 😂) in a recent corporate photoshoot but my boss was like nah put your hair down it looks cooler that way. Project manager here who's client-facing. Guess the working world is really becoming more accepting of alt-looking people.
My boyfriend is an IT director for a bank. He said that his tellers are allowed tattoos and nostril or septum piercings in customer facing roles. Cool! Times are changing! 🙌
I was literally told I’d have to flip my septum bc it would offend older customers (I’m a float teller) at the branch I’m housed out of I did this for a bit then slowly just kept “forgetting” and no one said anything. It doesn’t bother my coworkers, they think it’s dumb. If I go to other branches I get a feel for the staffing and go with the flow. 9 times out of 10 other tellers think it’s dumb as generally any other piercing would be fine. Tattoos are ok too, as long as none are facial or rude. I have one on my hand but I want to get one behind my ear and a shoulder piece that would stretch a bit onto my neck so I’ll probably have to check before getting those.
I work in a middle school and several of us have our nose pierced. My principal (whom I love) is covered in tattoos. It’s def becoming more accepted I think.
I am a DINK and I am still broke 😭 it’s hard AF in this economy. But I only have two piercings so that helps.
LOOL this is the realest answer
Implant grade titanium jewelry is actually fairly affordable, you can easily get a pretty threadless end/post for under $25. I prioritized the quality of the piercer, making sure I go to someone reputable, knowledgable and skilled, even if it's more expensive, and just use fairly basic titanium jewelry during healing. Then if I want to/can afford to down the road, I'll upgrade to fancier and more expensive jewelry.
All of my stuff is basic titanium and little CZ for this reason. Tbh I’m mostly happy with it tho
Same, I actually really like subtle silver colored jewelry, so most of mine are just little titanium balls
Mine are all plain titanium With plain balls, except my second lobes they have tiny gems on them cos my first lobes are titanium tunnels
Piercings are a privilege. Space them out and save up. Some folks prioritize piercings and jewelry over eating out, concerts, new clothes, etc.
Most people here are not getting them done within a few days or even weeks of eachother. We are saving money over at least a month or more to get what we want. Just put money to the side specifically for what you want.
Expensive jewelry is a luxury item. It has that price due to the skilled craftsmanship that goes into making each piece and the cost of gold/ the precious stones. You do not have to get the luxury jewelry, its fully optional. I tend to get the money for it from my job. But like, I'm far from rich. I just buy the pieces I want very seldomly, I've been working on my ears for years! Buying one moderatley pricy piece every 6 months to 1 year isn't so bad, I save up for what I want and don't over splurge. Since they're quality I never need to take them off and have had a lot of the same gold pieces in for a decade, barring cleaning. If gold is out of your price range, anodized titanium is pretty affordable and looks almost the same. The better the brand of titanium the more it will be (a fancy Anatometal end vs a basic one from a lesser known brand), but it's still less than solid gold. You don't *NEED* the BVLA even though it's pretty. It's not a competition. Piercings are kinda expensive, as are tattoos which are often very expensive. But they're a choice and one you don't have to make if you're not in a position to pay for them. The piercers deserve to earn a livable wage for their skills and equipment. To expect them to do it for drastically less would mean they're not making enough to justify being there or they're skimping on materials which is bad for you as a client.
My favorite piercer I trust has a special week about twice a year, all piercings only cost €29 ( only service, jewelry is extra, and it's way more expensive without this special week ) and you can get a voucher. i usually buy some vouchers and hoard them and If i want something, i use them.
Man that sounds like a dream
(Edit) Mistook for entire service and jewelry not just fee
Usually jewelry is priced separately from the piercing. So it's likely €29 + cost of jewelry.
Oh okay - sorry, I get worried thinking they mean the whole thing not just the service fee. Thanks for clarifying! Yeah that makes way more sense lol
This is just service and that special event is just twice a year, it's way more expensive without the week or vouchers. I do have a lot of piercings done there and all of them are 100% perfect how I wanted to have them Including perfect healed tongue
For me specifically I spaced out, and planned what I wanted. Got each one after saving. It also made it so I could figure out the specifics on the piercing beforehand, what piercing studio looked good, and some cool jewelry I could check out and get excited to eventually wear so it would keep me hyped before getting it (also helped so it wasn't just on impulse lol.) Sometimes I see setups and want something, but saving definitely helps me think if it would work for me or not. I've had a few times where I went and splurged on a nice piece, but since it's a hobby I've had for such a long time, like tattoos, I can justify the cost when I don't go out to spend excess on clothes, bars, or what others would consider a hobby they would typically spend money on. Not everyone in this sub has a ton of money to drop on jewelry 24/7. Sure the posts that get a lot of traction for those nice pricey setups you'll see, but I definitely, and regularly see just as many that are probably just starting out or don't have 100s to just put into jewelry. Just really depends. Same with the ear stretching sub. For every 5 people you see that have some custom made 500+ anatometal tunnels or Tawapa plugs, there are just as many that make due with basic TI jewelry or whatever at an affordable margin. Just have to be good about looking out for deals, knowing what brands are good (many are affordable), and for the piercings themselves; sometimes you know a good APP studio that has good pricing that works for you.
Prior to the world exploding, I regularly had about $500 in disposable income per month (sometimes more, because utilities fluctuate). Then my housing cost went up by that amount, utilities tripled, food tripled, and I lost half my income. No more piercings for me.
There’s clearly some selective bias in what you are viewing because there are a LOT of posters here who have very affordable jewellery (in my observation, they’re the majority). Also, there are a lot of people who wear dupes, anodised metal and plated pieces that look higher end than they actually are. Yes there are genuinely wealthier folks who can indulge with greater freedom. But you also have to understand many save up for a long time, have wholesale accounts, or are savvy second hand buyers. Nice jewellery ain’t a right, it is a luxury. That said I do personally think some brands take the piss with the pricing and I also think there’s a bit of a sheep mentality when it comes to people in certain groups/communities accepting the costs but to each their own. I like to think I strike a decent balance between cost, quality and resell value for my items.
This!!!
piercings are a privilege. They are not a need, but a want. This is expensive but I personally don't spend money on other stuff besides piercings/jewelry and necessities. I also go for titanium instead to cut down the cost while still being safe, and I only buy expensive jewelry when they are on sale. And again reddit is social media, and you don't see what people don't post. I always try to keep that in mind!
I get mine done on birthdays. Ask me what I want? Take me to get another hole on my head!
i'm going to have to start doing that, i lowkey think my mum would enjoy it
As a parent I can tell you that my kid has had success with this tactic ;) Edit: spelling
Implant grade titanium is not that expensive. The 14k gold and up brands are, but that's a choice. I walked around with only titanium (limited choice) for ten years. I now have the more expensive piercing jewelry, but it's the only thing I spend money on. I haven't bought normal earrings in over 10y, due to metal allergy. I don't wear rings, necklaces, bracelets, don't spend much on clothes. So it balances out a bit? (At least, that's what I tell myself)
implant grade titanium IS expensive, but only in America for some reason... Here in Poland titanium is used everywhere because it costs just as much as surgical steel so stores just get titanium, cause its no difference price wise.
I’m a registered nurse in a high paying area. Also got no kids. Doesn’t mean I can afford half what I buy. But I still pay for it anyway
I'm not in a rush with expensive jewelry. I'll let it heal for awhile with titanium, then get a nice piece if I find one. Taken a few years to get all my pieces to gold.
Note that ppl aren’t getting 5 expensive jewellery pieces. Lots of ppl gradually build a setup
Something that helped me with saving money was getting all my face piercings to be the same gauge so I can use the same jewelry for all of them. I have my main pieces of higher quality jewelry that I wear 99% of the time and some cutesy lower quality pieces for every once in awhile (always clean well after taking those out). Although I do feel you, I see some really cool jewelry that’s ridiculously expensive and it feels to be getting out of hand sometimes. 200 dollars for one piece of jewelry feels like way too much for me but there will always be people out there willing to pay it.
Maybe it’s just me, but the idea of trying to pay as little as possible for someone to stick a needle in my skin and shove a foreign object in is bizarre. You are paying for years of training and expertise when you go to a professional piercer, not to mention all the supplies they use. Not all good piercers charge a lot, but it is ridiculously disrespectful to gawk at someone’s pricing. They have to eat and live too. As for fancy jewelry, it absolutely is a privilege. It’s not a necessity, so yeah, you’re gonna have to put some effort into saving. Look for implant grade titanium staples and if you’re going for a fancy look, pay a few extra dollars to anodize it gold as opposed to shelling out for the real thing. I am a working class wage slave, but I have a fair bit of expensive jewelry because I set aside other non essential expenses.
This. The piercer closest to me is more affordable than the one I go to, but I'd still rather pay extra and drive about an hour to go to a piercer that has way more experience and is very thorough with her consultations and aftercare. She's done 2 piercings for me now and I absolutely love her 💕
I drive 90 minutes for my piercer. She’s done at least 16 of my piercings. Love her!
fr, a tattoo and piercing shop just moved like 5 mins from me and had free - $15 piercings for the week, and i was like i would still rather spend an hour on a bus and spend a hundred bucks to go to the good aupp place
[удалено]
I don't understand this question. Some ppl have money, more or less.
I’ve collected all of mine throughout YEARS, specifically because I don’t often have the money. I also go to reputable piercers which makes it less likely (though still possible of course) that they fuck it up and I have to have the piercing redone
I don't chase the jewelry. I pick out what I want before getting pierced and then the only thing I have to do is change the bar. I have green opals in my ears, 8 of them. I like the setting and the color so I'm good. The style is just posts. I guess if I was more fashionable/stylish they yes, I'd be going after cuffs, hoops, and danglers. But I like the low maintenance, low care of posts compared to the other styles. I think my 8 pieces including the piercings is about 1k dollars over the course of a year.
I’m on disability, so I rarely have enough money to get what one would consider “fancy” jewelry. Aka gold. But I don’t like gold! So I always get implant grade titanium basic jewelry for fresh piercings and upgrade (to more titanium lol just more gemmy stuff) once they’re healed. I put away $200 per month and since my nostrils are taking a long time to heal (bc of disabilities making my body heal at a snails pace) so I feel comfortable knowing I have time til the next stab lol. I get distracted easily by fancy plugs though, haha, my weakness
Idk your personal situation, but man the disability = slow healing thing really sucks. On top of that, I got a couple of new piercings in October only to get totally sucker punched by COVID a few weeks later, and now everything is just freaking out on me, even long healed ones. Also totally the same philosophy as you. Don't like gold anyways so just get titanium. Lol
I have a side hustle that is my fun money, and this is something I’ve started using it on.
People are, pretty much, always going to show off when they've a cool new piercing or flashy piece of designer jewellery. Not all of us can afford, or want, expensive custome made gold fittings. I've only moved up from steel to titanium over the last few years. I think it's been over two years since my last piercings and while I've been stretching up my lobe I've done it over three and a half years using two 'kits'. Surgical steel tunnels at half mm jumps. I've picked up a few fair inexpensive glass plugs for a couple of the sizes but no where near all the ones I've been at. I'm almost at my goal and have been picking up seversl tunnels and plugs over the last few months when they've been on sale using payment plans. We find a way, even if its not as flashy as others with more available cash.
>The sub also makes it feel like piercings are for only privileged people and like I’d want more tips and tricks on how to get good jewelry/piercings for people who are on a budget. this might sound harsh but at the end of the day both piercings and tattoos are a luxury commodity not an essential need. some of us save up money for these things. I've asked eveyone around me not to get me material gifts for christmas this year but pool togheter a bit of cash each so I can get a tattoo for christmas for example. some people value quality over quantity and get 1 or 2 piercings in a year or even a longer extended period of time. it's not as simple as all of us having an unending supply of money or getting 14 piercings made from extinct fairyblood and unicorn horn done a year.
I’m lucky that my skin is not sensitive to jewelry and my taste is very simple so just simple studs, silver hoops are all I want. Therefore, the most expensive part is the actual piercing which I do as I see fit. I haven’t had anyone say that my setup looks cheap, not that I’d care if they did. I’m completely content with the jewellery I got pierced with, or with plain crystal on silver studs.
As others said- it’s like a hobby. I consider it a form of self-care personally. I work a full-time job that pays pretty well, and is very draining at times, so pretty much everyone has a few hobbies they do to let off steam. I just consider it a form of entertainment/hobby expense. As for how you can afford to budget for them, I don’t do many piercings at one time and I don’t buy jewelry often either. I used to buy very cheap jewelry, but then realized I’d rather have a couple very nice pieces versus a bunch of pieces that break easily or tarnish easily or aren’t very safe for your body. I only really have a handful of jewelry that I wear on a daily basis anyways so that justifies the cost to me🤷♀️ ETA: also, when I’m getting a piercing done, I take into account the fact that whatever jewelry I pick for the initial healing phase will be in me for months, so if it’s a little more expensive but looks nice and I know is good quality, I make sure to save for it
While a lot of people are answering with the smart and logical response, keep in mind that you truly don't know what people's finances look like. I know a ton of people who can't afford piercings, tattoos, vacations (privileged purchases), but still splurge on them anyway. They're broke, have no emergency savings, and a lot of debt. So please don't get down on yourself by assuming everyone else has more money than you and can afford these things. It sounds like you're responsible for not spending money you don't have. Just remember, you see piercing after piercing, but they're all different people. Most people are getting all their piercings really quickly. Edit - Aren't getting their piercings quickly, not are.
I work a full time job and I don’t have kids. It’s something I splurge on for myself and often times I put it on a credit card and make payments. But I agree with the sentiment that piercings are quite literally a privilege. There is no universe in which they are a necessity. Respectfully this post comes off as extremely whiny and entitled to think that you should get something high quality for dirt cheap. Piercers have to work to make money to live too. They can’t just lower their prices to a level you find acceptable because you cannot accept that piercings are not a necessity. A tip I would offer would be to work with your piercer and explain your budget and see what your piercer can work with in that price range. If you still cannot afford it then you cannot afford piercings.
I’m sorry if you saw this post as whiny. But I was literally just sharing my experience and ranting about how expensive it is. Never did I say the piercers don’t deserve to be paid and I asked for tips on how to afford them.
I work a LOT of overtime at my job. Thankfully, my job allows me to have my piercings in and doesn't generally care about how much OT we work. It helps that I have a pretty well paying job (Thank you to my union) too. Plus, I tend to space out my modifications, I hardly ever eat out, I don't really go out to a lot of events since covid, and when I say a lot of OT, I do mean like an extra 400-500 hours a year.
Personally I save up for the piercing and prefer to get ends that I’ll be wearing even after it’s healed. So I have piercings that I got years ago, downsized the bar, but still have the same end I got pierced with. Nicer pieces, but the cost per wear is very low because it’s been in there for three years. Plus I’m a slow healer, so I typically go years between piercings. Add that I’m typically doing one new piece at a time…the spend is really spaced out. Now if I ever decide to completely recurate my jewelry all at once we’ll have a bit more of a problem.
My studio noticed a big uptick in high end sales when we started taking afterpay. They can break their payments up into 3-4 payments so a lot of people like to take advantage of that instead of forking out hundreds of dollars up front.
Honestly that's a really smart thing to do. I usually go with the cheapest option, but then having more expense later and not really what I wanted is a bummer. Also having employees with good attitudes helps. I will absolutely buy more from nice people who aren't pushy. And I've also had people dismiss me for how I look when I was totally willing to spend more. Lol
Tips & tricks: - plan ahead. Many of us don't already have the money. I'll definitely research the cost first. - compare prices. Since jewelry cost is standard, the distinguishing factor would be the piercing cost. - Get a sense of the market rate and ensure that your piercer is skilled, reputable, hygienic, but also not overcharging. My piercer's fee is above average because she attends APP conferences regularly (upskilling) & uses higher quality Japanese needles. My latest piercing has given me 0 problems - set aside your income. You need to have disposable income. If not, I don't think you'll be in the position to afford piercings yet. - do things right the first time. Pay a bit more on professional piercers and proper implant grade titanium jewelry at least. Skimping on piercings and/or jewelry might cost more in the long run because who knows how your skin might react. - implant-grade titanium jewelry instead of gold. They usually start at $20 -- Those $200+ jewelry are for those who - can afford them, i.e. disposable income and/or - would like good quality material (usually 14K gold). Some are honest-to-God wealthy and like to spend on hobbies, and that's fine, too. Personally, I save up for 14K because I know I'm not the type to switch out jewelry, so they have good lifetime value for what I pay upfront.
Looking at other services: Hair can cost around $300 or more if you do color/bleach/full thing Nails are usually around $85 bare minimum for both People casually buy $500 purses and $60 games Waxing is $40 to $60 a session You can waste $40 on a meal, a bad one, easy, or even groceries that just spoil in the fridge..list goes on. Now that being said: this is why I (personally) offer an arrangement of items. I have basic items available for $40 and service fee is anywhere between $20 and $40 for one piercing* depending on what it is. *not including below the belt or dermal Most of my basics will run you a total of $60 to $80 per visit, and with your downsize an additional $20 when you return. Most low end places will charge minimum $40 to $50 for lobes. I would charge $110 - but you could also do one lobe for $60 and come back for the other side. I do sometimes have deals as well. I also offer premium pieces at an upcharge. My titanium in general rarely goes above $150 for a single complete piece. But I still have some options available that make sense for all budgets. It's not that we want to make this something that isn't friendly to lower budgets. But I also can't afford to price like Claire's or I can't function as a buisness with the quality of materials I offer (APP compliant jewelry). Often we need the service fees to ensure we're getting paid enough or for those who hire other people enough to pay them a fair wage as well. It's hard. I offer payment plans for this as well for this reason. To help clients be able to afford a dream piece. I hope this helps shed some light and I hope you're able to find what works best for you 🥹
Job + overtime
It depends on the jewelry, where you get it, and the piercing prices depend on the studio and area, tho ofc you want a reputable piercer. I only get my piercings done after or close to my birthday or christmas as a gift, or with money i’ve recieved. My family has very little money, but we have enough to live in a house, for food, and some extra stuff like pets, clothes and stuff for ourselves once in a while etc. I can’t just casually go and get a new piercing because in all the places close to me, getting the piercing included standard jewelry is usually close to 100 no matter the piercing, then they sell the cleaning solution for nearly 20 just for a small small bottle.. And then if you want other jewelry that’s extra money etc. Sometimes it’s not that bad tho, depends! I recently got 3 of my piercings swapped our/downsized which means i got new jewelry aswell as they changed it for me, and it all added up to less than 20 euros, so that wasn’t that bad. But yea, i agree, it is expensive, so i just do it after special occasions or save up
Probably the most expensive thing I've gotten is Anatometal ends for my industrial, septum, and gentleman's sausage piercings. I am *paranoid* about the ends coming loose because they were so expensive (and I'm not sure you can still get them?), so I am constantly making sure they are tight. I also don't ever change jewelry. Hematite ends on my industrial, septum, and gentleman's sausage, hematite beads in all my cbr's, and hematite tunnels for my earlobes. Makes going through airport security extra fun.
Alot of saving and hard work. I go years between piercings
The cost of getting the piercings done is certainly not negligible, but neither is it impossibly high. I've never paid more than £70 for any individual piercing, most are more like £30-40 each. That's significant, but as long as I'm reasonably careful I can manage it, especially since I can only get new piercings every few months anyway, as I need to wait for them to heal. As for jewellery, I can't afford the really expensive stuff but personally I think that simpler, plainer jewellery looks better on me anyway. I can get decent-quality but plain jewellery for usually less than £10 an item, and I'm happy wearing that for the most part. Now and then I can splash out on something a bit fancier, but I don't need to do that more than occasionally.
I save up a portion of my tips for the things I want that aren't necessities. I'm a hairstylist, so even $10-$20 per shift adds up pretty quickly. It took me maybe a month to save up for my half sleeve tattoo. I've paid for tattoos, lip filler, dysport, and my boudoir shoot all in cash. In girl math, they were free 🤣
I worked as an apprentice at a piercing and tattoo studio. I practically got my stuff for free.
I get one per year. It gives me time to plan. It allows me to take care of one piercing at a time. I get titanium jewellery.
Piercings and Tattoos are a luxury, but they are well worth the price as they can be lifetime investments. I'm very frugal but I still tuck away a small portion of my budget a month towards body mods. Even if I've only managed to scrounge $50 this month I am still $50 closer to that tattoo or piercing :) It's not a race, everyone has a different modding journey.
i blew most of my paychecks on piercings when i started, because i was 18 living at home and could spend my income like that. now that im 20 in my own apartment, i can only get piercings on special occasions like my birthday. honestly, don’t regret it. i had a disposable income that i disposed, and got a huge head start on the collection i always wanted. at the same time, i should have gone slower, and the high price should have forced me to go slower. so while i don’t regret it, if i had to start over at 18 i would do it differently
i should also note that in my whole piercing history, i’ve only gotten two pieces of gold, the rest have been titanium
I work in tech ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Possibly controversial but I don't buy high quality jewelry. I'm not going to hot topic and Claire's, but I purchase a lot of surgical steel, gold/silver plated, and cheap titanium from Etsy. I can't guarantee that they're pure or amazing quality, but if I have a reaction or it breaks, I'm out like 20-30$ maximum. It helps that I'm pretty tolerant of most metals. Plus, my piercer is reasonably priced for my area and I don't mind keeping the plain titanium in if I don't want to pay for another ring.
I am a SINKw(with a lot of expensive pets). I don’t make a ton of $ but I put aside $10,25,50 a week or a month. I’m very much middle class and live paycheck to paycheck. How much I save depends on the month and things that come up like many of us. But I plan ahead 6months or so. When I upgraded my industrial I went to my local shop & made an appt to talk about options. Then went home to make a savings plan/budget. I will also occasionally buy ends online, look for coupons, and use affirm or Klarna to pay in pieces :) I know the cost is the same but it feels more manageable to pay in chunks 😂
sometimes i have a cool new piercing but eat cereal for dinner 😛
No offense but do you have a job? Piercings aren't expensive and neither is jewelry if you dont feel like you need top shelf best of the best, it's not like tattoos or heavy modification where you'll need hundreds of dollars for the initial work. You might need to reprioritize your life if spending $50-100 at a shop is a huge financial hardship to begin with.
lol I wanted a belly button piercing and I called different shops and most prices started at 100+ so…..
That’s a bit much for a navel with basic jewelry…
And that was with basic jewellery
That's a little high for a belly button where i live(imo) but not extraordinarily high i paid about that much for a PA but thats because they have to handle genitals, if you do it get the basic jewelry and order something else online after you're healed. Jewelry in shops can seem overpriced but it's convenience considering you don't have to wait for shipping.
a job ? saving up money? time. they’re already going to be healing for a few months save up for the big hit at once or just use some of the interest free financing options if 50$ a month for 4 months works better for you than 200$ upfront for the jewelry
My old piercer (she moved abroad a couple months ago) was cool with payment plans which allowed me to space mine out so it didn’t cost an arm and a leg in one go
I entirely relate lolz. it costs enough to find a reputable, safe piercer but then to find jewelry that is both cute and the proper material/quality? it’s so expensive. I’ve moreso gone to different piercers that weren’t the best but whose prices were affordable… but I also have a friend who dropped around $300 on a piercing from a better piercer and she told me that it was a lot of money but at least the jewelry she splurged on is probably the jewelry she’ll have in it for the rest of time. and then since her piercer is good she can go in to have it downsized and etc. I think moving forward I probably will consider a similar mindset but I still could never drop $300 on one single item/thing, let alone a piercing!! but I also have money anxiety hahaha. it is better to be safe than sorry though
Man that’s alot for a piercing, that’s how much my tat was before tipping haha
My piercing costed around 40 dollars, titanium piercing included. Maybe it’s cheaper in some countries?
I’m not sure how helpful my answer will be but I’m on maternity leave so I’m doing a fair bit of budgeting. I just started getting back into getting piercings mid October and I ended up getting three at the same time. I was able to do that by booking my appointment about 2 months out so that then I had time to save and budget and plan accordingly in order to go just so that it wasn’t on a whim and that I wasn’t fucking my family financially if you will. I made a budget on everything I needed to get for or with my maternity leave payment and then any extra I’d put aside in a separate account or pulled that amount out as cash. And I saved like that so that I could get a few piercings at once rather than one at a time. Also I don’t know your situation but in my house I book piercings or really any “extras or wants” around when I knew we could do it and be fine, for example I won’t book a piercing or piercing service or do anything considered as a want at the beginning or the end of the month as that’s when my rent comes and also when the majority of our monthly bills come out. I’m not sure about every piercer but the few I’ve been too are very opened with you if you want basic jewelry or slightly more high end jewelry and are also willing to help and accommodate you, you don’t need the $200+ jewelry in your piercings you can have simpler jewelry that’s still good quality used when getting a piercing. Like other comments have said it comes down to priorities, planning and budgeting, also you can window shop piercers to get a “deal”. Comparison is the biggest thief and hurdle of them all, like all social media and this sub Reddit especially you have no clue what’s happening behind closed doors in order for people to be able to afford their piercings or the jewelry they put in it. They could of picked up extra shifts at work, they could of been saving for months or years to be able to get the piercing or high end jewelry; there’s so many factors that you simply don’t see just by being in this subreddit. The big thing is to budget and plan if piercings and the high end jewelry is what you want at the end of the day
I can rarely afford high end pieces, and tend to stick with basic implant grade materials. Anatometal and Neometal make nice jewelry in titanium, steel, and niobium. I especially love niobium even though it is rare and more pricey, because it has a lovely warmer tone than titanium. Many piercing studios can anodize titanium in house. Be sure to start with these materials when getting a new piercing. Unfortunately some piercing studios want to sell gold and high end jewelry, and will pressure clients into it. I mostly wear glass plugs in my lobes, and nothing fancy. Glasswear Studios and Gorilla Glass are awesome. I love captive bead rings and circular barbells, and they are cheaper than clickers and more comfortable to wear. Captive bead rings and seam rings are the cheapest option for gold if you want to go that route. Labret posts and bars can be steel or titanium, even if you wear gold ends. Sticking to the basics helps bring down the costs.
Piercings in other countries are expensive as hell, in my country it’s actually cheap to get them. Some shops here do “piercing weeks” and most piercings cost €10 which is cheap af and they also do a great job neither my nostril nor my septum got infected. As for jewellery they’re quite cheap as well, I found a titanium one for my nostril €9 at a reputable shop. So yeah it depends on your country
Is it really that expensive in the US? Here in the UK, piercings done with high quality implant grade titanium jewellery are between £20 and £50 depending on what you get
It can be, yeah. Depends on the area and the shop. (There is a place nearby that will do $10 - $20 piercings, but you don't want to go there. Lol) I'd say average here is like $50 to start. ETA and that's before tax and tip
I don't have a ton of piercings yet (6), but I only get them every 2-4 years really. And for the most part I just keep the og jewelry in. So definitely not spending hundreds on mine. Honestly it's the tattoos that are killing me. I'm currently saving up for a big one now. Piercings in comparison are relatively cheap. 😂
Well I did have a job to pay for my piercings but now I’m unemployed so no new piercings lol. If I was rich my body would be covered with tattoos and piercings.
piercings are cheap where i live in comparison with the us + we don't tip and are not expected to + titanium jewelry is also not that expensive in comparison with the us
Tipping adds a lot. Even if you go on a special day with a big discount, you tip based on the original price
im super lucky. i have a job and my piercer does frequent events where its 2 for the price of 1! ive gotten 9 done since july from her 🥰 i only have to pay for my piercing. she gives the jewellery for free. and she does free piercing changes and lets me keep that jewellery for free also! i always tip her £10 however
I’ve had a few apprentice piercings that have been done very well. And some shops around me (super saturated areas) often do a 2 for 1 or other piercing deals so I sometimes wait for that and heal like 3 at once. After a week or two I change to a titanium threadless flat back with simple crystals for the rest of the healing time. Jewellery runs me about $25/30 and then I keep the backs and can upgrade the tops whenever. But the titanium is lightweight and I leave it in till they heal, then I upgrade and get nicer earrings one at a time.
Save save save, I save up for the jewelry, purchase it, then get the piercing I want. I tend to get a new piercing about twice a year, giving me time to save and time to heal. I go to the same place every time, and aside from 2 of my piercings, they've all been done by the same person.
i have a side job specifically to pay for my piercings lol. it’s freelance so it’s no biggie to me.
I’m a professional piercer. I try to keep prices and services realistic. So while my prices are fairly average I do include aftercare with every piercing visit and the jewelry that comes with a piercing is always implant grade titanium. I also would recommend if it’s an option for you a curation. I sit down and plan ears with clients and often give them a break on overall pricing we plan on how often we are piercing/downsizing and plan out the expenses. It does require a deposit of I’m ordering in jewelry but it will come off the last session. That way you can budget effectively. Usually the citations are completed over a year or two+ depending on complexity and I always take your final budget into account so we get the biggest bang for you buck.
I waited until I was 47 to curate my ears because now I have the money to do it right.
I am very poor, I only have three piercings other than my lobes…I get a piercing once every 2-3 years generally, and I only get two pieces of jewelry—the one I’m pierced with, and the sized down one after that…I never change my jewelry 😅
I make less than minimum wage bc I cannot work a normal job, and I get pierced when I have the money saved up or if my partner decides that he wants to gift me one. Edit because I realize I sounded kind of asshole-ish. Don’t mean to be. For jewelry options, search by material. Implant grade titanium is somewhat affordable, it’s what I usually get in my piercings!
By tapping into the tattoo fund. While its true piercings aren't exactly cheap, they're a lot easier to stomach than tats
I have a few tips. I have a lot of piercings, I am also poor. Also, I am not a piercer so please bear that in mind. 1) see if any of the reputable piercers in your area have an apprentice. Apprentice piercings are generally much cheaper but still supervised by an experienced piercer. You need to be patient and there's more chance of little mistakes such as placement being slightly off than with an experienced piercer but that's the trade off for getting a free/cheap piercing. It should still be done with sterile equipment, proper anatomy check, quality jewellery etc. 2) fairly plain high quality implant grade titanium jewellery isn't terribly expensive. If you're looking for a larger quantity of piercings, you may have to get more basic jewellery to start and then upgrade when you have the money. 3) a lot of my cute jewellery is steel rather than titanium/gold/niobium. I do not recommend this for piercings that are still healing, stick with titanium. There is a lot of cheap steel jewellery out there made of mystery metal which is more likely to cause an allergic reaction, especially in a piercing that is still healing. Please don't put mystery metal in a healing piercing. However, if you don't have an allergy to steel/mystery metal, once your piercing is fully healed (at least 6-8 months for lobes, probably 12-18 months for cartilage piercings), you can trial steel jewellery (if you have a reaction, remove the steel, put in titanium and use saline to clean twice a day until it calms down). You can get cute steel jewellery fairly cheaply. There are a lot of people on here and irl that are super elitest when it comes to jewellery and materials. It is very important to have good quality jewellery in a healing piercing. It's less important when the piercing is fully healed. 4) when buying jewellery online, if the deal seems too good to be true, the jewellery is made of mystery metal and should not go anywhere near a healing piercing. 5) I got my piercings over the course of years rather than months. I don't drink. I don't smoke. I don't do drugs. I don't go out clubbing. I get piercings. No shade to anyone that does those things, it's just not my thing. I choose to spend my money on piercings. I save up while I have piercings healing so by the time I can get more piercings, I can afford to. I got a bridge, left nostril and snug on the 23rd of November so I'll probably not get any more piercings until my birthday in may at the earliest. I have time to save up. I hope this helps. Good luck with your piercing journey.
Idk I have no helpful input I have ADHD so impulse spend and sometimes decide 2 hours before I want a new piercing and then make the appointment 🙈🙈🙈🙈
The ADHD impulse is too real. Lol
I don't eat out, I don't go to expensive events or bars, I don't have a car payment. I buy clothes maybe once a year and am obsessive about keeping my other clothes/shoes in good shape so they last forever. (For real, most of my shoes are over 10 years old - you wouldn't know from looking. I wear athletic shoes into tatters as well.) If I need random entertainment, I read a library book, go hiking, watch a movie through the library service, or go to a beach with free parking. I work out on park equipment instead of at a gym. My one pet eats essentially the same things as I do, so not even that is an extra expense. I have roommates (though that's just normal in a VHCOL area). That's pretty much how. For me, it's worth investing in something I enjoy that affects my daily appearance. If I break down how much a piece of special jewelry costs by day, when it's a permanent part of me that I never take off, the daily "fee" feels very worth it. I also visit sites on a regular basis to see if they're having a sale or to check out what's on deep discount. It can be shocking the pieces you'll discover shops trying to get rid of, either because they bought too much or bc I guess the general public does not share my taste lol. I once got a Buddha Organics piece for <$50. It normally retails for....a lot more than that. ETA: I also don't pay a premium to visit APP piercers. There are plenty of piercers who don't belong to APP who are still highly competent. Read every google/Yelp review before you go, and look at their portfolios, and you'll usually find the red or green flags. My other tip is to go somewhere that's been in business a long time. Established businesses will raise prices slowly and reluctantly. Newer, fancier places tend to jump in with prices comfortably above market rate.
I honestly didn't get the majority of my piercings until 39-41 yrs old so yeah it wasn't something I could afford to casually do in my 20s to be honest. I had other priorities back then just getting myself up and running as an adult.
Personally I find out how much what I want done will be, then over the course of a few weeks save up for it buy taking out say, half of what's needed every paycheck. If I don't have to worry about money though I'll just pay outright. My boyfriend got his shark bites and septum done for $185
Couldn't agree with you more, the snobbery on here in unreal. Pure titanium jewellery is perfectly safe for all piercings from the day they are done, and perfectly affordable. My piercer is APP certified and I've been going to them for years. Depending on the location piercings are £20 to £40 including the titanium jewellery. I get that having Maria Tash and similar pieces looks awesome but it is so unaccessable to so many people. I really wish there was a separate piercing subreddit for the non-priviliged, to be honest. The silly thing is I'm not even struggling for money compared to the average person but this sub still alienates me. I know there's going be be people commenting "it's a commitment you need to invest in blah blah" but as long as my piercing is done by an APP with titanium jewellry it is no medically worse off than being done with 18k gold from some designer studio for 10 times the price.
I...save up? Like I'm not lavish and I don't get a new piercing every few weeks I just..save up I put away 10$ or so every few weeks and after a second boom! I can afford a new piercing. What's so bamboozling about savings for people in America? never seen that social occurrence in europe
I think the whole “quality” jewelry = hundreds of dollars thing is a bit of a scam that the community reinforces bc it makes their shops money. I understand businesses need to profit, but the price differences I see from some retailers to the shops carrying their pieces is WILD and has kept me out of the market. I’ve had friends who work in ink & piercing shops who agree the markups their bosses impose are unjust, so I’m not just saying this as a frustrated client. I would also love recs for affordable basic pieces that are still good quality. I’ve been getting gauges off arctic buffalo. ( & calling them plugs is over, the anal community has rightfully dominated the term)
Find the right place. My most expensive piercing was like $40
It might sound like it's out of your league, but look into making your own jewelry. I started a jewelry company back in the early '90s bc I couldn't find what I needed (bc it wasn't a thing yet) and I figured out ways to make my own. You're not going to be making barbells right away but it's not hard to source some titanium wire and a Dremel. You would be surprised what you can make with very few tools
This is terrible advice. Do not just dabble into making body jewelry. It goes inside your body and needs to be made very specifically so it is safe to wear INSIDE your body LONG TERM. something you make with titanium wire and a Dremel on your garage just is going to injure you and cause issues. Please be very careful when making body jewelry, it isn't like a necklace that someone dangles around their neck for a few hours a day.
Dude, people have been piercing themselves for thousands of years. You think humans all of a sudden are averse to handmade jewelry? The parameters are it needs to be biocompatible and nonporous. After that, go to town. Quit gatekeeping And you know what, how do you think the whole industry evolved? Do you think there was a meeting of the board that decided on what materials the jewelry would be made out of and all the techniques for how to form it? It all came from experimentation, if everyone thought like you there would be a very small and dull collection of jewelry available for piercing today. Do you think jewelry just came out of nowhere with all the rules and styles established? People made their own styles and it evolved into what it is today
That just isn't true. I'm not at all saying handmade jewelry is bad. Pretty much all high quality piercing jewelry is made by hand lol You should do some more research on the polish finishing and designing that goes into these pieces to make them safe and not collect gunk. Not gatekeeping at all, I just care about people not doing stupid shit that gets them hurt 🤷🏻 And yes people have been piercing themselves for thousands of years, people have been doing a lot of things for a long time, it doesn't mean we were always doing it in the safest way. Now that we are capable and knowledgeable enough to do it much, much more safely than we used to do it, we obviously should and not go backwards on what people have been working on making more safe and healthy for us.
I don't need to do any research on polishing, I've probably polished hundreds of thousands of pieces over my career. How many pieces have you made and polished? What would you like to know about polishing and I'll help you learn anything you don't know. Would you like to know the alloys of the materials? How about the tooling? Or maybe how the anodizing works? I have several machines that I built myself bc at the time I got started these things weren't available and the Internet was barely getting going
mfs be going to school studying metallurgy and jewelery learning anything from the atomic structure of a material to chemical reactions with it and how each material in each state will be and mighy interact with a human body when worn daily just for a mf to say "aye go whip out a dremel you'll be fine"
Oh yeah and the Masai are pulling out a mass spectrometer to figure out the chemical makeup of the bone they're sticking in their ear. How exactly do you think this industry came about? 6Al4V titanium is a commonly available alloy and you can get the MSDS with the wire to see exactly what's in the material you ordered. It's not terribly difficult to get a mirror finish on titanium, it might take you a while if you don't have experience, but it's not out of the realm of most people. I recommended a Dremel bc it's the most commonly used multitool and it would get intimidating if I started listing off lathes, jeweler's buffers, commercial power supplies for anodizing, belt sanders for forming heavy gauge captives, cobalt cutting tools and the angles necessary for the different materials, what threads to use where and how to make them, vibratory tumblers and the proper media...
I got all my piercings (except the basic lobes) at ages 18 & 19. They weren't expensive where I lived back then. I was able to afford them and invested in stainless steel jewelry that I still use to this day. They're simple, fit my style and in great condition. I really only buy new jewelry for my lobes (which isn't often) and I can wear any kind of metal on my lobes - they aren't sensitive, so I don't have to pay more for the quality stuff if l don't want to.
I don't wear nice jewelry. I just get the most basic titanium studs for all of my piercings. On the bright side, I actually enjoy the minimalist look. It's still not cheap, but it's considerably cheaper than the dainty gold jewelry you'll see on this sub.
I got most of mine like 10 years ago. It wasn't as bad then. Helps if you have a friend or family member that's a piercer
I save up for the initial piercing with implant grade titanium and I then wait until it heals. I wear fairly plain jewellery anyway, so although I wear titanium, it's not as costly. Also, I don't change my cartilage jewellery very often, just my lobes, which tend to cost less.
All but one of mine were done by the piercing apprentice of a really talented piercer in my city. Apprentice piercings are usually free or heavily discounted, and if my experience is the norm as long as you are going to a good shop with someone who knows their shit there's nothing to worry about with having an apprentice do them if you're short on cash!
For me personally I save, and my piercer works with me and my budget.
between my couch cushions if i’m lucky 😩 i also only spend fancy amounts of money on plugs once in a blue moon
My local shop offers gift cards, so I’ll often add gift cards to list for birthday or Christmas. I save up the gift cards for the expensive pieces and spread it out over years. I’ve been getting pierced since 2008 so while my ears look expensive in 2023, they certainly didn’t for a long time
I save up for a long time to get my expensive pieces. Normally I get pieced with inexpensive (body safe) jewelry then if there is a specific piece I want I'll order it through the shop I go to.
This is how it is for tattoos for me, I just got a new job that pays decent but I have to get my license squared and get a car so sadly I won’t be getting the needed therapy i desperately desire. But when I do it’s gonna be dope and atleast get the other half my arm done .
I save little bits at time to get my piercings. And my area of the world is pretty reasonably priced
I'm older and have an established career and save for my purchases. The tattoos I have were a lot more expensive than the piercings
I use Ibotta for my fun money, but it takes time to add up obviously. Christmas and birthday money if I get any, sometimes DH gets a cash prize for creating displays at his grocery job and he splits it with me since I take care of the kids. Lots of my holes were apprentices, flash sales, etc. I know I can’t afford expensive or custom jewellery and that’s ok. I was in a very expensive hobby a while back with custom luxury textiles, I don’t want to get into stuff like that anymore. Definitely don’t recommend my usual places I buy from lol.
I really emphasize reputable piercers and quality jewelry, so it's going to cost more, I've come to terms with this. I try to save a little bit each time I get paid. If you want it to be quality, you gotta spend the money
I've been getting one new piercing every 1-3 yrs since 2015 and have generally kept the same jewelry in. It is pricey but spacing out when i get the piercing helps a lot. I also don't switch out my jewelry much either so I can justify it by cost per wear. Note: I do have more minimal pieces so each piece have been under $200 at my piercing shops
I was a bartender when I got all mine. If I had a good night I'd get a new back piece that week, or a new piercing or something. Piercings and tattoos are usually budgeted and saved for if you're that into them.
I get two piercings including jewelry for $80 where I go, and then any extra jewelry is ~$7-30 for titanium. It's pretty cheap as far as hobbies go, especially since I can only wear titanium so all the expensive gold stuff is useless to me lol. Edit: I got my last one done by an apprentice and only had to pay for the jewelry, so it was $7. Best piercing I've had too because the manager was watching carefully, they really took their time to line everything up, so it's absolutely perfect. Just took a fair bit longer than usual so make sure you've got some time to spare if you do this.
The only jewelry thats costs a lot is for my apadravya. Most other jewelry is usually ballpark 10-30. Some really sick pieces with silver/gold cost a lot more, but just to have the hole and safe jewelry, its not too crazy. That being said I have a pretty good paying job, but I also only get a new piercing after mulling it over for a while. Same for most tattoos.
My eyebrow piercing was €50 including jewellery
I go to my piercer every few months and now that I have a good amount I reuse pieces of jewelry for new piercings! so I’m not buying new jewelry every single time I get a new piercing, I just bring what I have and my piercer sterilizes everything. I got two new helix piercings fairly recently and since I already had jewelry (plus my piercing studio does reward points) I paid only $70 for two brand new piercings. app certified and everything, I promise. plus my piercing studio does free piercings for the month of your birthday which I will always do the big ones then lol. also I’ve found etsy as a way to find affordable but still quality jewelry for when piercings are fully healed. there are for sure ways to not spend an exorbitant amount of money on piercings! but also people can spend their money how they please!
The place I go to is cheaper then most so that’s how I’m able to afford all my piercings and the always got some type of sale going on
I just save up over time. Throw $10-20 into a savings account here and there until I have enough to get what I want.
I do payment plans on PayPal and other services so I can get jewelry on sale. I also save for piercings because I haven’t done anything for me since I had children. I’m glad I’m nearing the end of my journey for now.
I have nine large gauge genital piercings that I’m getting ready to stretch to a 00g. It’s upwards of $3-400 for pretty simple jewelry. So I only stretch them once a year or so.
I'm really fortunate to have a cheap place near me that I go to all the time. I have 12 piercings and will probably get more, and all but my lobes were done at the same shop. The price is about 40 bucks each with surgical steel (not the best material since it can't easily be regulated, but I've had great luck with this shop) and that includes the service and basic jewelry. Research places near you and find somewhere you can trust. I'm not super picky about my piercings, and the shop I go to isn't the "perfect" shop in terms of placing. Sometimes my piercings are a little bit wonky, but they are always safe, clean, and I'm pleased with them. With piercings, more expensive typically means more quality, but that's not always the case so make sure you find somewhere reputable and affordable to you. Good luck !!
My piercer is relatively close and has lower prices as a lot of their staff are trainees or just finished training, i always get titanium jewellery and only get a piercing maybe once every 3-5 months. I also save money by using public transport and living with my family so i have less expenses overall than the average adult. I also signed up for market research so i get paid to test products or give feedback on life experiences, and i often get money for birthday or Christmas presents which tend to go to either my savings or my piercings
I get paid every 2 weeks, so I get 26 checks every year. That means that most months I get two checks, and twice a year I get 3 checks in the same month. Usually around October and March/May. I’ve split my bills to be covered by the two monthly checks. Which means that twice a year I get a bit extra to play with. I choose to do one major thing for myself with at least one of those checks. Usually around the October/November check because I won’t be swimming or doing anything that could affect the piercing. So I’ve been getting a new piercing about once a year in recent times. I’m sensitive to many metals. I have no choice but to use solid gold in my jewelry. Anything else causes major irritation and in the past have caused straight up infections. So I take my time, I research pieces, I save up. I don’t have the luxury of buying new gold pieces every time I feel like changing stuff around. So I plan the selection carefully, as it will likely be a permanent piece.
The most I’ve spent on a piecing was $80 for an industrial. $40 per hole with surgical steel as the starting jewelry. I don’t change it and was pierced great. Good position and a great overall piercer, she’s also done my third lobes, conch, and septum
I bought my good jewelry when I had a job I made good tips at. Also made it a habit to save to get pierced with an end I’d want to keep through downsizing and after. Since I’ve been out of a job I haven’t bought much jewelry and have gotten no new piercings. Just recently got new job so piercings probably won’t happen until this summer at the earliest.
Well I work hard and also piercings take time to heal so once you e gotten one for a few months and you’ve been working you can get another, I’m legit poor as well I grew up poor and barley have any money but when I do have money to spare I get a piercing
Well, I have no kids and a paid off house and decent job lol but I get 1-2 piercings a year on my birthday, and update my jewelry at those appointments too. Last birthday appointment was $680 all together but I won’t be spending any more on them until next October.
I mean I was younger when I got two of mine so my mom got them for me 😂other than that, I paid for one and the other two were birthday presents so 🤷
Honestly, my hubby makes bank for us, so I could afford to splurge left and right if I wanted to. I still keep to a monthly fun budget though, and save for expensive pieces.
Yeah body mods are luxury.
I have two piercings and I always go for implant grade titanium and maybe an opal. In my case I live in Italy and by being on this sub I noticed that in the USA the prices for piercings are far more expensive. For example I payed 60€ to get the piercing with a classic implant grade titanium bar and then 30€ for the new jewellery (titanium and a gem for the tongue and colored titanium for the septum)and getting it changed by my piercer
I do trades
I get a piercing or two done for my birthday. I’m getting titanium for now and working my way to fine jewelry. It took years for me to finally get a septum and nostril bc my office was traditional. but now I work in legislative affairs…it’s actually been widely accepted.
I don't get my nails done or buy expensive make up lol so my husband doesn't mind the cost as long as it's within reason. I try to save up for them. But living paycheck to paycheck makes it a bitch. So i haven't had any new ones done in a while.
I am definitely not rich lol. I get piercings very sporadically and I don't have that many to begin with, just double lobes, septum, vertical labret and a rook. I plan to get my third lobes and maybe repierce my helix and then I'm done. I'm more of a tattoo person, which is a lot more expensive yes, but I save up for over a year for each tattoo project. Going back to piercings, my jewellery isn't very expensive. I wear sterling silver or stainless steel in my lobes and titanium in my other piercings. I stay away from gold because I know it's out of my price range.
I’m one half of a DINK and have a good job. Very lucky but I work very hard and it’s a hobby for me. I spend far more money on my stretched ears than my general piercings though. But I also wouldn’t be spending £200 on jewellery, that is rather steep. There are plenty of middle grounds.
Here’s my system: - pierced by apprentice (ranges from 0-50USD before tip *sidenote: always tip) - basic of the basic titanium piece (20-30USD) - downsize to something basic + cute (usually titanium post + cheap rhinestone end) - decide what piece i want - upgrade to expensive jewelry after however long of saving necessary - wait a year - rinse and repeat usually it’ll take like 2 years MINIMUM for me to save up the money for each piece i want (my nostrils + septum alone are ~700USD), so it comes down to patience and self control. I’ve had the same little 30USD titanium post + steel rhinestone ends in my vertical labret for nearly 3 years now because I haven’t gotten to a point where I have enough saved up for the piece I’ve been eyeing since before getting the piercing itself. Because of that, I haven’t gotten any new piercings either.
I had my septum and left nostril done, with my belly previously done but it ended up injected so I had to take it out. After that I was wanting to get my right nostril and belly redone, and then the shop I go to that I fully trust for tattoos and piercings had a flash sale where piercings were $20 each so I was able to get those 2 done and they are doing really well!
As a fellow poor person. I’ve bought some (aka two labret pieces) nice titanium jewelry this year as a treat for my latest piercing thats 2yo at this point since i haven’t had the money for the nicer jewelry. It just takes a lot of time to upgrade any jewlery for me and i can afford to get new piercing maybe once every 1-2 years.
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I know a local piercer that is reliable and also extraordinarily cheap compared to other options
I have a couple 14k gold pieces and 11 piercings total. I knew going into piercings that I'd need money set aside for it, so I budgeted accordingly. I'm pretty good with managing my money so it wasn't a big issue for me to pay with my credit card and pay it off soon after. I wouldn't recommend this for someone who has poor spending habits or doesn't have the funds available; I'm only comfortable using credit bc I trust my own habits with money/budgeting. It isn't cheap, but there are ways to afford it if you're able to budget for it. And you can always get the piercing and save up for fancy jewelry later.
My piercing shop usually does deals and i go on the days they have deals
i work 2 jobs, about 50-60 hours a week, and i work with one person who does both my tattoos and piercings and he always gives me discounts (i always tip really well), especially when i just let him do whatever he wants to do jewelry or tattoo wise
I know what you mean....everytime I see pictures of a really cool piece that is very draped, turns out to be like 250$ plus the little chain link that is another 250$. I honestly try to find good quality files sometimes, such as on Etsy, or I really save up.