Buy jewelry here only if you're dying to be ripped off.
I am a journalist investigating non-APP piercers to compare their practices with APP member piercers. I wanted to see how the seller would treat someone he thought was an easy mark.
I told the seller I needed to get the hoop now while I had some money and carried cash in hand, clearly visible so he would believe he knew what I expected to pay.
The dusty display case where the unpriced jewelry was housed held some suitable hoops in it but when I asked about them the seller did not even offer to show them to me stating, "We're almost out of those" and suggesting instead that I go with a basic stainless one from his back room stock. .
I agreed and he returned with a piece from a prepackaged wholesale lot of jewelry.
This type of jewelry is bought in bulk and is most often the jewelry used when one is quoted an "all inclusive" price on a piercing, basically meaning that you pay for the piercing and the jewelry is free.
They can afford to do this because these pieces are bought in large wholesale lots which results in an investment of only a few cents on each individual piece.
I had in my hand, again, clearly visible, a $5 bill and a $20 bill. Somehow, amazingly enough, the total, including tax on the piece, was exactly $20. Twenty dollars for a piece that costs a few cents.
I fell it obvious that the seller directed to the jewelry in back as he believed me an inexperienced, gullible mark and an easy way to unload some old jewelry while simultaneously making an exponential profit on dusty back stock.
Always shop around. Always do research. Compare prices, even if friends recommend a place. And never assume that because I shop does decent tatts that it will provide equally good service for piercings. It is best to drive to a specialty APP piercing parlor where you can feel confident about the safety of your piercing and what you put in the hole left behind.
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