Electric Ladyland Tattoo — Local services in New Orleans

Overpriced & Disappointing Experience – Beware of $300 Tourist Pricing! ⚠️

I recently visited Electric Ladyland Tattoo in New Orleans, and while I like my tattoo, I walked away feeling completely taken advantage of as a customer. I paid $300 for two small tattoos. If you’re a tourist, BEWARE! If you’re considering getting a tattoo here, read this before you book a small tattoo or ear tattoo!

This is a business as in not independent artist. These are employees who get paid hourly and have health insurance, the owner pays for all there taxes ect. The artist told me. I do think there should be a sort of guide line you actually stick to for employees.

1️⃣ False Promises & Bait-and-Switch- When I first walked in at noon, I specifically asked for an artist who specializes in small, detailed ear tattoos. The receptionist told me that Kallie or Chloe could do the job. I was told I could chat with an artist at 7 PM, or leave a $65 deposit, and expect a tattoo once talked about. While cost would be around $120 total (ear jewelry tattoo + small charm). This was a complete lie. And The shop charge starts at $80 fyi.

Throughout the day, the shop kept texting me for ideas, so I assumed they were preparing. And I sent them over. But when I returned at 7pm, to start. I was left waiting and waiting—no explanation. Finally, another artist, Hank, approached me around 815 pm and said she would take over for the other artist to talk about the project. No one ever explained to why my original artist bailed on me.

2️⃣ Unprepared & Lacking Skill for Ear Tattoos- I wanted a dainty jewelry-style ear tattoo cuz, I wear hearing aids and can’t wear earrings. Hank said she’s done ear tattoos before, and only wanted to use stencils instead of doing freehand designs. Which I told her I was open to creativity designs. And downplayed freehand work. She also talked me out of color, insisting it would fade—even though I have many many color tattoos that have healed perfectly fine.

The worst part? A simple design of dots and lines took her awhile to figure out on her smart tablet. I was there from 8:45 PM tattooing to almost midnight, and most of that time was spent on the ear tattoo—even though the small charm on my arm took only 20 minutes!

3️⃣ Poor Execution – Had to Keep Asking for It to Be Visible- When she finally tattooed my ear, it was so light I could barely see it. I had to ask 2-4 times for her to make it darker and more noticeable. She didn’t even finish all the dots on my lobe. It felt like she was hesitant and unsure the entire time. Arm charm: Simple, took only 20 minutes, yet was included in the outrageous $300 charge.

4️⃣ OVERPRICED – TOURIST TRAP PRICING- Now, here’s the real kicker. I was charged $300 for these tiny tattoos! Ear tattoo: Basic dots & lines. Small arm charm Mouse ears, (quarter-sized, simple design): Took only 20 minutes. It was clear that this shop prefers big tattoos. They kept trying to pressure my friends into making their tattoos bigger and more expensive. My friend got a 2”x3” tattoo for $200. Earlier that day one got a 3”x5” tattoo for $215. My tattoos were WAY smaller.

🚨 FINAL WARNING: THINK TWICE BEFORE COMING HERE 🚨

✅ If you want a large tattoo, you might have a decent experience. ⛔ If you want small, detailed, or ear tattoos, go somewhere else! ⛔ If you want fair pricing, this isn’t the place. I think, They upcharge tourists and push for bigger tattoos.

I left feeling ripped off and disappointed. Yes, I like my tattoo, but it should have cost MAX $100-$160, not $300. The experience was disorganized, overpriced, and the artist may have lacked experience.

👎 2/5 Stars – Only because the artist was nice, but that doesn’t justify the price...

I came here a few years back to get my first tattoo because I had heard they were one of the best studios in the area (I was 19). I don't recall the name of the guy I talked to at the front, but I told him I wanted three circles below the first knuckle of my right thumb (it's got a long story behind it). I had the full understanding that it might be difficult to work that small, especially with geometry. I also was aware of the level of commitment and the ramifications of getting a hand tattoo - I had thought about it carefully and made my decision. He handed me an expo marker and told me to draw it on myself and look at it. I thought it was odd, but went ahead and did it. I came back to him with it and he said "yeah, we can't tattoo you. It's a liability, I can't have your parents calling around. And you'll hate having a tattoo on your hand." He then went on for about 15 minutes, asking me what line of work I wanted to go into, then took back the question and said that a hand tattoo would make me unemployable and said that I was too young to understand what I was asking for and too young to know if I wanted a tattoo (even though I was old enough to join the military, drive a car and smoke cigarettes. Like, dude, I could be doing way worse things to my body.) He told me that it would be unethical to allow me to get a tattoo in his shop. I ended up going to the parlor down the block (I forget the name, but it had loads of five star reviews) and had someone who listened to my request, said they liked my idea, and executed it in a quick and competent manner with perfect sanitation practices. I still love the tattoo and get positive feedback on it four years later. I've had multiple jobs and internships and have gotten nothing but curiosity from employers.

I understand concern for one's shop's reputation, and I understand the need to keep all of your bases covered when it comes to dealing with young people. I can't say for sure the reason I was turned away - he said that the artist best known for his geometric line work was off that day as an endnote to the stern talking-to I received. Regardless, I was most definitely old enough to be signing off on my own decisions. I was moved out of my parents' and have definitely never asked their permission to change my appearance. I had invested a lot of time and thought into my idea, and I never take any decision lightly.

Artists have every right to pick and choose their clientele, and I have no problem with being told that I have to go elsewhere, especially if the best artist for the job isn't at work. All I ask is that I be turned away without a lecture and without being told to draw my tattoo design on myself with a dry...

Planning a trip to New Orleans months in advance I came across this tattoo studio. I did look at reviews, they seemed pretty positive. So I book 2 appointments. Kallie got back to me pretty quickly & I paid both our nonrefundable $85 for each deposit. Getting my friends tattoo discussion idea was easy, hers was a verse of a poem. Mine, a beluga whale seemed to pose them some problems. They called me several times to let me know my whale couldn’t be just pure white. I understood that, having 60+ tattoos & being dark completed, I got it. On the 3rd call about it I finally said I understand that it will not be a pure white whale, I’m the type of person who can comprehend that I’m not getting a pure white whale. There were many emails between us as well. Discussing the time, the ideas, what we wanted. As our st Patrick’s day appointment got closer, I asked for a quote & confirmation on our appointments. I didn’t get a reply about that until I asked the second time a week later. For my friends one verse of the poem, $400-500. For my beluga whale, $200-300. Not saying that’s outrageous! Or it wasn’t worth it! No Im saying I didn’t expect to pay that much for the 3-3 1/2 tall tattoo. It bothered me yes that amount. So I decided to go with just the outline of the beluga whale, my friend two words. That’s when Helen emailed me trying to educate me on how different artist charge different in different states, & how different artist do this and that to achieve a good tattoo. Like I haven’t been to at least 10 states where I’ve gotten a tattoo at each time & like I’m not covered in tattoos. I couldn’t get my deposit back & at that point I was becoming very uncomfortable on how they were treating us like we were getting our first tattoo. I just wanted to get that whale done, with a positive vibe and just leave. Then we had to run really late to appointments due to horrible weather, car accident, & a fellow traveler leaving her phone & purse on shuttle. I really appreciated how they still let us slide by on being late. They didn’t have to do that. Made me forgive them for thinking negatively about the email & call interactions, a little. But I still didn’t have enough cash to put color on whale. I do feel like they thought I didn’t know what I was talking about or had little experience with tattoos. When I have over a 100, I think. When they saw me I surely hope they understood that they lost money because they tried to rip me off. I paid the $85 deposit, & the tattoo itself was $65. My artist was Scott....