MusicCityGal

Thanks Dan! Yeah it gets old hearing negative feedback so often. This definitely helps me understand the pricing better though 👍

Thanks Dan! Yeah it gets old hearing negative feedback so often. This definitely helps me understand the pricing better though 👍

Not sure if I'm doing this right lol. In response to scottyg:
 
Thank you for responding and sharing your perspective! Honestly sometimes I wonder if I'm not just somewhat nervous about entrusting such a big decision to a perfect stranger. Especially since this is my first tattoo. Maybe it'll improve with time :) It doesn't help that anyone who knows how much I'm paying will constantly tell me I'm being ripped off. That's coming from friends with many tattoos that they've gotten from different artists all over the US. It feels disheartening. As for finishing the tattoo, that's a definite!! The question was never if I'll finish but if I'll stick with the same artist and how I'll finish (do one full sleeve or do both lower half sleeves then add the upper half later). It may seem odd to work on both the lower half sleeves first before completing them in full but I'm trying to cover a skin condition and I'd love to have both forearms complete so I can feel confident to wear short sleeves ASAP vs just one arm but not the other for an extended period of time. Due to the price I'm paying per hour I'm only doing 2 hour sessions every couple months so this is gonna take a little time to complete. Hope that makes sense. Anyway, thanks again! Really appreciate it. 

it's all relative, if you like an artist and it's a good tattoo that YOU like, then it was worth the money.
tattoo hourly rates vary from $100 to $700, I know a tattooer that says she needs $300 per hour with an 8 hour minimum,(UP FRONT),for anything !
I got a 9 hour one shot one time that cost me $3000., I was fine with that.
I know people that have paid $5000 and up for an arm sleeve.
those people that are saying that to you should keep their mouths shut.

Sorry you're having a bad experience/not the experience you want, but I'd say at the outset that nothing you describe sounds terrible/terribly out of the ordinary. A lot just sounds like a personality difference.
But: 1. if the artist is a true pro it's not so important about the planning: she knows what she's doing. the discussion is more on you to ask ask ask. (That said, I'm doing traditional Japanese where you only pick the subject of the tattoo and everything is up to the artist. So I come from a very different perspective on this.) 2. "touch-ups" in the context of still working on a large piece are different than if it were complete and you were going back months later. They're often necessary, and I would just chalk it up to getting the perfect piece. 3. $250 is a loooottta cash but yes that's what you'd pay for a unique top quality piece. Without seeing it it's hard to judge whether it's truly cookie cutter though, you know, rather than your feeling bad about it given the experience you're having? 4. yes it'd be an issue, and don't do it..... 5. finish what you started. You have to finish things in life.
That's my 2cents, others may disagree/have different interpretations.
Cheers and good luck!