I needed a tattoo redone and everyone I know said go to Players Ink. J.T was my tattoo artist and I liked him a lot. He took his time and almost 3 hours later my tattoo was done and it was absolutely beautiful! I was so impressed. Â I'm so happy with the work he did that it will keep me coming back.
Review Source:I came in here last weekend as part of my bachelorette party, I came in without an appointment and with several girls with me. I was helped right away. I told them that I wanted a tiny little "R" for my future husband.
I initially wanted it to be on my wrist and I wanted the end of the R to come to a little heart. I had a specific idea in my mind, the artist drew something up and it wasnt exactly what I wanted. So he did it a few more times until it was good. He decided the heart looked stupid and I agreed that the heart he drew on the R did look stupid, but that wasn't what I had in mind. I could have drawn him what my idea was but there was alot going on so I just went with dropping the heart.
I wanted it to be tiny, tiny...tiny. I didn't have any concern with the price I just wanted it tiny. He advised me that if it was too small it would bleed. But Im still on the fence about weather or not that is true...I agreed to his size but in the end I do wish it was smaller...like half as small.
I also wanted it on my wrist at first. He transfered it on me and the placement was just terrible, we moved it several more times and all though he kept saying its ok...I felt like a pain in the ass but if it was going to be right there where I could see it all day everyday I wanted it perfect! After several tried I said lets see it on the foot, he put it on my foot and I said "Perfect!"
So he did it, quick and painless. Looks great. Good steady hand. I love it, but I do wish that it either was smaller, or if its this big...I wish I could have also gotten a tiny heart...but I felt like because of the all the girls there and the fact that I made the artist redo this tiny tattoo over and over again that I was a little rushed.
The artist was nice, it was a good experience. It just wasnt a 5 star experience.
The ball of my tragus earring fell off and I came to the shop for some assistance.
Andre looked at my piercings and gave me the suggestion to use tea tree oil for the irritation and told me where I could purchase some. The tea tree oil has helped immensely and he replaced my earring for me.
He was very helpful. :) He said if I had any questions to call. If I end up sticking with this place for future piercings, I'll probably stick with him.
My Husband and I have been going to this shop for years! I have had my lip pierced by Adrian and my septum pierced by Ralph. Ralph tattooed my sparrows on me feets as well.
Skip did an amazing cover up on my Husband's forearm. He had a rose with his mom's name (it was old and faded), it was covered with a beautiful rose that morphs into a realistic heart with  a dagger piercing it. Again, his mom's name was put on the handle of the dagger.  The color and detail are great. Amazing piece.
Pete did a Sailor Jerry Girl in a Martini Glass on my husband's over forearm. Very clean work. Nice lines and color. It looks perfect! Pete is going to be doing another cover up this Sunday on my Husband's left shoulder. I'm very confident that it will turn out just as amazing as the other tattoos we have gotten here.
Great  clean shop, outstanding artists and great customer service!
Got my first and only tattoo here when I was 18 years old (now 24) and while I now think my design was super lame, the quality of the art is great. I wish I could remember the artist's name now, but he had a beautiful orange candle tattooed on his face (I know right? but I swear it looked amazing), had great bedside manner and a ton of patience with a squirmy girl getting her first ink. Minus one star for his coworker casually walking in to the room while I was getting done and making comments like "is that it?" then making fun of me for crying lol.
Review Source:My boyfriend got his first tattoo here. They were really helpful and accommodating. They took him as a walk in and drew up a custom design for him. It was very clean and reasonably priced. They even stayed open a little late to finish the piece because we came later in the evening. It is looking good still!
Review Source:Bought the $75 ink for $50 coupon and the guy who did my tattoo was too high to figure out how to enter it by the time our party of 3 was finished getting tattooed. Made me pay cash for it....so I got a refund thanks to Yelp!
Although Anthony did a good job on my tattoo despite being higher than a kite (and the only reason why they got 1 star) and leaving 4 times during my tattoo to take another hit, this place was every bad cliche about tattoo parlors. I wish I had realized what he was doing before I sat down because I would have left. Drugs are no bueno.
I just got a cover up tat on my leg.  Went to players ink to have a look.  Was greeted  by Anthony.  I had my own design and he suggested a little increase in size to properly cover up.  I decided to go with him and he had an opening so I got it done. Â
I work in the medical field and I liked his technique. Â He kept everything as clean as can be. Â Changed gloves often! He did a fine job on the tattoo and the price was very good too. Â He is a little on the hood side, but he's trying hard to better himself. Â I'll be back...
Worst customer service ever!!! Â
I had been wanting to come to players ink for the longest time and I finally made my decision to go this past weekend. Â i heard great things about them and I had even sat in on some of my friends getting inked. I came in on April 28th to make an appointment with Skip. Â He could not do it that weekend, but wrote me in his appt. book for 8pm on May 5th. Â
I get to the shop at 7:45 and I am surprised and shocked to see the shop closed, locked and lights off!!! Â The store hours are until 10pm in Saturdays. Â I saw a guy tattooing someone in his room, so I called the number. Â A guy picked up and I explained to him that I had an appointment and why was the store closed. Â He put me on hold. Â Then a girl got on the phone and and tried to tell me that my appointment was at 6 and not 8. Â
This was my first tattoo!!! Â Why would I be 2 hours late to something important like that??? Â The girl also had the nerve to ask if I wanted to reschedule!!! Â i said hell no and hung up...
I should have know it was a shitty place, when it took 15 minutes for someone to come a greet me to get a quote. Â There was a guy sitting behind a computer in the front and did not even say hello.
They may have a reputation of being a great tattoo shop, but they are not about customer service. Â
I ended up going to Death before Dishonor!!! Â They are really good and all about customer service! Â I'll be writing a review for them too.
Just recently came here with my friend to get her belly button pierced, and it was one of the more comforting tattoo/piercing shops that I've ever been too. The guys were real friendly and chill, and made you feel very welcomed. We also got an awesome check in deal for her piercing. She was very please with the work done. Overall, great place for a piercing or tattoo anyday!!
Review Source:So i went here for one of my tatts about 4 years ago and the guy Shawn messed up the drawing from the start. Sad thing is his own coworker told him the letters looked crooked and lines were too wavy. He took another 15 mins drawing something up that went across my arm. After he finished up, he specifically said there are some lines here that will fade out and this is my style. Then he mentioned not to worry because he is "established" and I can come back within 6-8 months if I needed a touch up or to fix something. Ok, that sounded great and trustworthy.
I come back 8 months later and OH, Shawn doesn't work here anymore. Now its not a Shawn problem, but to me, if they want more business (because I fuckin know half of San Jo), its a Player's Ink problem. Most  places in SF or LA will touch up for free knowing you went to their shop and spent $120. I had the proof and everything but they wouldn't fix it. Now I have uneven lines and blending. I will have a more professional artist fix this obviously but wouldn't recommend this place.
I really hope the place is in better shape.
i've got 4 tattoos, 3 of which i got at players ink... i love them all!! i've had work done by both ralph and andre as well as a few piercings by Adrian. eveything healed fine and they were totally sanitary. the first time i went in i was a walk in and it was my first tattoo back in 2006. i was scared but the lady at the desk was extremly nice and helped me relax. after that ralph sat me down and told me the design i wanted was relly intricate and i would lose alot of the lines after a while. He then proceeded to draw up a more simple but perfect design and actually listened to what i had to say. i have no regrets and i'm actually saving up for my next peice so i reccomend them to anyone who wants to get some work done.
Review Source:Went here for piercings with my sister on her 18th birthday. The piercer was a creepster and was hitting on her, which was gross considering how old he was :/ I got my cartilage pierced with a ring, which I didn't think was a great idea, but he reassured me it was fine. Anyway, it took forever to heal and I think I was right about not getting it done with a ring. Worse, he pierced my sister's belly button crooked and with the wrong jewelry so she had to switch out the jewelry a ton of times to get it to fit right, and needless to say, it's still crooked lol. Next time I would take the drive to Berkeley to go to my favorite piercing place, Industrial!
Review Source:I've gotten 2 of my piercings here. My belly button (about 2 years ago) was pierced by a guy named Chris who was real nice and kept me calm since I was nervous which was nice. My tongue was pierced by Adrian about 5 months later and was pierced crooked. Everything was really sterile and clean, they were quick and to the point. Overall experience was just so-so, it was nothing special and I probably won't be back. Oh and just a note; parking sucks! LOL
Review Source:Basic info- Came here in early August, 2011. This was my first tattoo and my artist was Skip.
****
I had researched the place a little before I actually got to the place and my roommate's boyfriend had gotten a tattoo done here before. Seeing as I was a walk-in, I was very happy at how quickly and happily they accepted us, even after we had been running around most of San Jose/Saratoga, and it was an hour before closing time. Yelp had some pretty skewed reviews about this place, but its as expected.
I had a complete design all ready, as my long-time friend had recently passed away and had drawn a zombie-bust for me in high school and was really detailed/intricate. When I came in with my roommate, the receptionist was rather friendly and greeted us both and asked what we wanted done: My roommate was looking for a quote on a tattoo on her side/rib-cage area and nothing more, I was wanting to get prices too, but was willing to get it done then and there if the price was right. Both receptionist/artist DID NOT pressure my roommate to getting anything done, and even suggested her looking around and finding something she was more comfortable with, which, in turn, made me feel more at ease.
After having Skip look at my drawing, he asked if I wanted anything extra and went on to suggest shading and a little more color, to which I gladly agreed. He gave me a price which was SIGNIFICANTLY lower than other places around the area, so I decided to get it done then and there.
The whole tattoo was complete in a little over 40 minutes, and Skip kept his cool and even carried on a very enthusiastic conversation. When finished, most of the staff looked and admired/complimented the design which I found really endearing and reassuring, as a tattoo is there for life (unless you zap it off).
After listening to proper tattoo-care, I left a tip for the great experience, and left very satisfied at how the tattoo came out. Overall, the experience and validity of a place's reputation is all on one's attitude. As the almighty internet states: Haters Gonna Hate. Â
If you actually read the reviews, like you're supposed to, on Yelp, MOST of the "bad" ones are from personal bias, or just random bitching. Take time to read the BAD before the good, and you can sum up your own personal judgement-call.
So i didnt wanna be mean and give one star but it wasnt like it was horrible and i was young when i went...so back then i thought this place was awesome. now seeing other shops and getting other work done i am satisfied with 2 stars.
I came in here 2010 and didnt use yelp, and now i do. So i figure with time passed now would be better to give a review.
The store it self seemed ok. Nothing screamed this place isnt safe. lol but the staff were kinda rude like they could care less whether i was there or not. I had an appt and everything. I was expecting to pay alot for a tattoo but didnt. I was ok with the way everything went, again first time experience so i had no background on what to expect or how they would be.
my artist was a guy dont remember his name. he used a air pressure gun....which i didnt care for. the artist actually took a smoke break and lets just say it wasnt camels.... which i dont care, just didnt think it was appropriate and being my first tattoo experience.
He went over my mole and and that hurt like a B*** i took great care of my tattoo and it healed ok but looks shitty now. I put sunscreen on my tats. But you can tell he did sloppy work. I was tempted to go back adn say something but i didnt wana deal with rude people.
I wouldnt go back...but then again this was a couple years ago..maybe and hopefully things changed....
Ali Walters is my tattoo artist, My tattoo came out so beautiful so happy with it. Everyone at the shop is so friendly and they just spent a lot of time fixing up the shop it look great and made it really comfortable to hang out after for a little bit. All the artist there are really good.
Go in and check them out :)
Went to breakfast at Flames on 4th and after drinking bottomless mimosas for hours my friends and I thought we were rockstars and came up with a brilliant idea to get a tragus piercing (the details of how we came up with that part of the body are still fuzzy). Â So we drove on over to the shop and after slamming more liquid courage (before we went in) we were greeted by Adrian who is a super chill dude...He gave me a discount since I was paying for myself and a friend (another affect from too much drinking)....j/k Janeen:-P and I was in the chair first. Â Even though I was yapping the entire time Adrien never lost his cool and kept the conversation flowing. Â By the time I was ready for the pain, he was cleaning everything up! Â Same thing happened with both of my girlfriends, they werent given the chance to process what was going on. Â But not in a crazy im-gonna-hurt-you-without-u-knowing kind of way, but a they're-giggly- and-they-wont-feel-a-thing-dont-wanna-freak-Âanyone-out kind of way. Â he was VERY professional and I am pleased with the results.
We are making plans for another Flames breakfast and the another Tragus piercing... Â the one we have looks awesome:-D
I have gotten tattood by Skip here, and I really had a great experience, so i went back for another tattoo recently. I asked for Skip but it was his day off so the guy at the front told me I could get tattood by Allie. I was just getting something small, so I figured that was fine. She was so rude though, and made me feel stupid just because I knew what I wanted. She tried to talk me out of getting what I wanted, and tried to convince me to get something else instead. I'm sorry but when it's something on MY body the rest of my life, I think I should be allowed to make my own decisions. I ended up leaving and I am going to go back to get the tattoo done by Skip, because I have always been happy with his work, and have sent quite a few friends to him as well and they always turn out great.
Bottom line: good shop, Skip is awesome, avoid Allie!
So me and my friend decided that we wanted to get lip piercings. I got my Monroe done before and it wasn't so bad. So i was thinking the pain for your lip was so bad, which was true it was basically just a pinch. Everyone here was really nice and answer all our questions. So the next morning I woke up and my piercing was sticking all the way out, I was super freak out. So I waited till 1 for the piercer and he pop it back in oh was it so painful. It was so swollen, but they were happy to help me. hopefully the healing process won't be so bad. It was 60 for me and 60 for my friends for stud and piercing.
Review Source:This place is alright I think it's a little lacking in the service department though. I feel like it's the kind of shop where people just come in for a spur of the moment tattoo, not the kind of shop where you sit down with the artist and they come up with something creative and original, but I may be wrong who knows. I came here awhile back for my first tattoo right when I turned 18, the tat is nice exactly what I wanted but I felt the experience was lacking. The tattooer barely spoke to me, although he was nice it just seemed he wanted me out of there quick. Also now that my tat is about four years old now it has significantly faded. When I see some of my friends tattoo's that have had theirs for longer, they are as bright as the day they got them. So what's up with mine?! At the time I even noticed that the colors weren't at vibrant as they should be. I think the artist was trying to be soft on me cause it was my first. Last summer I got my second tat down in San Diego and my tat had the exact same color palette as my first and was much more vibrant. There are defiantly some better shops out in San Jose that are much more worth giving a try.
Review Source:I got my first tattoo when I was 19 from Player Ink.
I was so excited to get it done because I choose to have a simple celtic symbol which meant women strength in the family (to symbolize women unity and strength in my family).
The tattoo took about 20 minutes to complete.
I had horrible pains in my back for about 2 weeks. Â the ink was coming out and I had to throw many shirts away because the ink would come out through the gauss.
Because this was my first tattoo I thought this was all normal, until I got my second tattoo another year later.
I went to O'reillys tattoo parlor in Santa Cruz. Â I have since then gotten 5 other tattoos. Â All which have healed amazing.
I decided to try and get my first tattoo touched up. Â Clem (from O'reillys) looked at my tattoo and wouldnt touch it. He said it had so much scare tissue on it that even if he tired to touch it up it would most likely still show.
I now have an important symbol to me on my back that I am embarrassed to show people.
I gave two stars because this is reviewing two different tattoos that I got a few months apart, both with different experiences.
1.) My first tattoo was my lip tattoo, "SUP QT". This was a pretty good experience. I was a walk-in and Andre was able to accommodate me pretty quickly. It was my first tattoo, so I was a little nervous, but if any of you have ever got a lip tattoo you know it doesn't hurt that bad, so I was fine. He was professional, funny, entertaining, and got the tattoo done quickly. The tattoo has since blurred but is still readable, but that's what happens to most lip tattoos, so I don't hold that against the shop. All in all, good experience, and I love the tattoo!
2.) My second tattoo was a heart on the side of my ribs, because I've had three heart surgeries and I wanted something to represent that time in my life. I chose to come back to Players Ink because my first experience was a good one and they got good ratings on here and were voted #1 in Metro a few years in a row. I made an appointment with Andre and when I showed up he was nowhere to be found. After the receptionist tracked him down, it turned out he had been 'smoking' out back and admitted to forgetting about our appointment. He said he would've taken me then, but he had already agreed to take a walk-in; not that I would've agreed to have him work on me then as he was obviously in no condition to do so. Frustrated, I left, but I decided to call later and make another appointment because my first tattoo was a god experience and we all make mistakes.
When I showed up for the second appointment, he had not yet drawn up my design and actually had to take a good five minutes to find it, as the receptionist, he claimed, had misplaced it. I sat and waited while he drew it up as it was a simple outline and would've only taken about ten minutes to draw up.
Finally, I was in the chair and getting tattooed, which was a general good experience if it hadn't been for all of the inappropriate jokes he was making due to the location of the tattoo, but I dealt with it because I was, after all, in a tattoo studio.
This would've been an okay experience except for this next part: for my next tattoo I chose to go somewhere else, Guru Tattoo, as I wasn't too impressed with Players anymore. My artist, Dave, asked to see my previous tattoos and I showed him, and he mentioned that the entire heart tattoo had scar tissue on it, which I thought was a normal thing for tattoos. Apparently not. Dave informed me that the only time you get scar tissue on a tattoo is when the artist presses too hard. (Side note: the work Dave did on me, which was notably more detailed and took close to 6 hours to complete, has not ONE BIT of scar tissue on it.) This bothered my quite a bit, and was sort of the last straw convincing me to never suggest Players Ink to anyone, and actually if someone wants to get a tattoo I will make it a point to mention that they should not go here.
Hmm Players Ink...
Back lets see five years ago, when I was just a wee little 16 year old girl I came here to get some piercings, and when I say piercings I mean piercings. When every tattoo parlor turned me down, players ink became my new home. When I was young and stupid, I got my tongue, belly button, bar through my ear, and nose all done here.
Then when i turned 17 I got my first tattoo, Skip did a great job, even if my tattoo wasn't too elaborate.
After all that and thinking back I must say this place is pretty legit. I never had any issues with any of my piercings, all the equipment was very clean and the staff was very professional and friendly.
Cool place...It's a small shop in a not too great of an area but the tattoo artists and piercers do very good work. It's cool because you can just walk in and if someone has time you can get your stuff done that same day. Also the prices aren't bad and the people there are not only talented but very friendly.
Review Source:I have gotten two of my piercings here by Adrian. I have recommended soo many people to this place to get piercings and they have all have liked the service. Adrian is fast clean and helpful. As for tattoos I'm not sure I haven't gotten one yet but I'm planning on getting one probably with Andre I hear good things about him.
Review Source:i got my first tattoo here, and since i had never gotten one i had no idea what to expect or anything...they immediately made me feel really comfortable and answered any questions i had. when i  went it was really dead there and  all the employees were just chilling in the back so it seemed like i wouldn't be rushed at all. when the time came for them to tat me up i was pretty nervous but totally excited and the guy seemed like he knew what he was doing....when he was actually doing the tattoo some random guy came in and like started talking to him while he was working and i was kinda weirded out by that but it turned out beautifully!
Review Source:I went here for my very first tattoo. I decided on a small musical note on my hip and Skip took me right away. He played Blink 182 as he did it which put me at complete ease. He did a good job, but nothing spectacular as it was a pretty simple piece. I did not find the shop welcoming in any way however, which is why I would not go back again.
Review Source:Maybe I just have a bias opinion towards this place, but I have had great experiences every time, I've gotten two tattoos here and three piercings done here, all of them living up to my expectations (pretty high) I get compliments on the tattoo on my foot all the time.  I have had my fair share of experience with people in this industry and I would definetly have to say that the artists all have something different and specail about their talent, on top of the fact that I have never had anyone act rude towards me.  Thats much more than I can say for 99% of  the other places on the peninsula,
If you want to drop thousands of dollars on your work, of course there are famous artists you can go to but for the average person getting a tattoo thats probably not going to cover 67% of their body this is the place you want to go to.
okay, so maybe I was being way too nice,
so as an experience pierce-ee, i've gone to pierced out, and LOVED IT, and I just recently found out that my inner conch piercing isn't even placed right, i mean yeah it still looks nice, but the guy didn't even show us the spot he was going to stab at. i don't recommend at all.
& it wasn't adrian, so maybe we just had a bad day.
p.s. my best friend's tragus was done here, and another piercer said it looked like he tried to pierce her head and used a nose jewel when nose jewels are only supposed to be inserted after it's healed.
boo.
I worked right down the street from Players Ink, so my best friend and I decided this would be the easiest spot to get tattoos together. They were booked, but the [super cute] guy behind the counter helped us make appointments ASAP, and even gave me $20 off some earrings I bought and put them in for me. Awesome so far!
Then the day came. My friend was getting an incredibly detailed piece between her shoulders, and the artist (Skip?) seemed kinda anxious about doing it from the start, but went ahead with it anyway. Through the entire process, random friends of his were walking into the room, yammering about boyfriends, girlfriends, motorcycles, whatever, making my friend incredibly uncomfortable. Who wouldn't be when you're getting your first tattoo ever and the artist isn't paying attention? It turned out...ok, but his shading wasn't even at all, and a lot of the lines tapered off way too thick. I got a small tat on my ankle, and I thought it looked sloppy just because it was healing, but here I am, 6 months later and the ink has bled disgustingly, like I drew it on with sharpie. Sorry, guys, I won't be back.
Note (2012): 4.5 years later, my tattoo stayed sloppy looking after healing completely and I finally got it covered up.
Ehhh, alrite. Went here for my tragus piercing. The way he did it didn't hurt at all, his technique was right on. But when he opened the draw a bee flew out, which seemed kinda sorta unsanitary, IDK how dirty bees are.
I also think we interrupted them in the middle of their dinner, because he seemed to rush us. Didn't really talk us through the procedure and told us to clean it with Bactine with 90% of other places tell us to stay away from. I don't use it, just sea salt and natural soap.
Also if you want to tip be sure to tell them before because it's not a write-in. oppppps. They're nice people just i've been to better. It was a spontaneous day.
This place always pierced my friends when we were underage. I went here this last January to get the other side of my nose pierced. I was only 18 & don't look tons older than I am, but he didn't ask for ID. I didn't fill out any paperwork either. This was the only piercing I've ever gotten that bled during the actual piercing process. It also hurt way more than the other side of my nose, which I got pierced at another place a few years earlier. Most people I've talked to since haven't had good experiences here. I wont be going back.
Review Source:I went to a few shops, and the guys were "kinda rude, cocky," etc, and did not take credit cards! Â (hey the market is bad, and I prefer credit!) Lol...
I went to Players Ink, they had no appts available; went back an hour later, and got a piercing.
I decided to go in during the week and Ralph was able to do my tattoo. Â Looks great!
Anyhow, both my tattoo and my piercing are great, no complaints!
We made an appointment and went in before the appointment to show our pictures and talk to the artist,but he was on vacation.....umm ok?!?!
would have been nice if they had a good receptionist because the appointment that we made was mysteriously erased !?!?!?
she did even remember talking to us or even saying "don't worry about the $20 deposit"
so no tat and no way am i going back
Players Ink is my new favorite spot... Although I didnt have one to begin with, I do have to say that everyone here makes awesome tats. Ralph did a cover up on my ankle from a previous crappy tat. He made it look so pretty.
He also added color to my husbands arms. The colors he uses are just amazing!
In addition to tats, they do piercings. I just got my belly button done there. The one I had before I got done years ago in Berkely and of course they did it wrong and got infected. Ralph pointed it out right away as to why it didnt heal properly. I am happy to say that the new one he did is healing nice and have had no problems.
Overall, everyone here are nice and do a great job!! Everyone there is talented!!! =) I highly recommend this place if you're looking for some new ink!!
I'm going back for sure for more!!!
4 stars because the work was fast, and beautiful, and he knew what he was doing...
I got a tattoo as a gift from my husband on my 21st birthday last year, and there was a girl working there who just got some work done (a bleeding candle with two greeneries around it....and I loved how smooth the lines were and how detailed it was, so I asked for who did that tattoo (his name is jesse)
Jesse did a great job, but I wanted to save the stencil so I could get the other side done, but he threw it away =-[.....
I'll probably go back to get my next tattoo after the baby!!
A friend wanted a tattoo and couldn't wait, so after calling and visiting a bunch of different spots, Player's Ink had an opening. I've been here once before with a couple friends who had gotten their nipples pierced, but never had first hand experience here until today.
So my friend got her tats here by this new guy (Chris) and he did alright. 2 kanji symbols about 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches each costed about $120. I think he knocked off a few bucks cause we waited a long time, but it was a walk-in, so I don't think it was really all that bad
I guess I was caught up in the moment cause I really wanted a new tattoo, but I haven't even gone back to finish my first one yet, so I came out with a piercing instead. LOL. I wish I had remembered the guy's name who did it, but it was the same one who had done my friend's nipples last time, so I'm guessing he's one of the only piercers there?
Anyway, he was pretty friendly and reiterated appropriate care instructions for healing. The process itself took about a minute. It was 3 seconds of excruciating pain, but I like the result. I'd probably come back here, should I ever get another impulsive rush to want more piercings.
3 and a half stars.
During one of my more spontaneous moments I, along with my coworker, and boyfriend came over here to get some work done.
My coworker came to get an industrial from Adrian. Apparently this is the place he always goes to get pierced (he has about 6 piercings) and he loves it.
My BF and I got each others initials (yeah I know what you're thinking... we have a baby so it's pretty official!). My tatt was pretty simple, just an "R" with a heart. Shawn was able to make it look artsy while maintaining it's simplicity. The shading was perfect. I couldn't believe he got it to look like that from my little doodle that I drew during work. My BF got an "A" with angel wings on his back. Shawn just went crazy with that!! The shading was SOOOOOOOOO not what we expected. We would've been just fine with the doodle bc the doodle looked good! You could tell he was really into his work. After he finished the wings he brought his wife over to look at them.
We were definitely catered to over here. The next time I come back (there will be a next time!) I'll try to come with a better image of what I want. I mean, if he could turn my doodle into something that great then what can he turn a better piece into?!
From what I've seen of their tattoo work, I'm not a fan. I went here as an underaged kid to get piercings done, I hear they now card though. From what I recall, and still hear through the grape vine is that the piercers are still awesome. Therefore, two stars for those piercers. Based on tattoos I've seen though, major points lost. I also went there with a friend of a friend some years ago to get a tattoo on her ass, the artist was really skeevy about it. gross.
Review Source:I've been pondering on getting piercing on my nose for quite sometime now. Â I was bored last sunday and decided to drive around San Jose, I ended up on San Carlos. I saw the sign PLAYERS INK. Â I thought what the heck might as well check it out. Â Walking in very clean, friendly staff, leather couches the type that's been sat on forever. Â On the wall different tatoo pictures a lot to look at. Â a good selection of studs (jewelry that is). Â As I was checking it out my palms was sweating and was having second thoughts. Â Lucky for me I chatted with the owner, nice guy, down to earth and made me feel comfortable and insured me they steralized their tools. Â GOOD THING! Then I did it. Â I'm not going to lie IT HURTS! Â But worth the pain. Â I've got the small bling on my nose. Â
it would have been all five stars but there's a lounge back there FOR STAFF ONLY. there was a air hockey table, old game cosole, 50" tv. Â it would have relaxed me if they let me play a little.
My boyfriend went here tonight to get his ears pierced at 10 gauge. We walked in and were helped immediately. The guy who helped us with picking out jewelry was really friendly. The guy who did the piercing was also very nice and accomadating. He gave us a lower price than the first guy, too. I wish I knew their names. The piercer let my friend and I sit in the room and watch. He did a good job, but he didn't show my boyfriend the markings so he could see if they were straight or not. He just marked and pierced. Luckily they're even.
I was thinking about getting my tattoo redone, so the piercer called over Skip, the guy who would be doing my work. He also happened to be the owner. I tried explaining what I wanted done, but he was extremely cocky and condescending. He actually shushed both me and my friend while we were trying to explain what I wanted done. Okay, I get that you're Mr. Â Badass Artiste and I'm not an expert or anything, but I'm paying you to do some permanent work on my body, so I get to tell you what I want. My friend told me it would be a bad idea to get my work done here.
I ultimately felt bullied into putting a $20 deposit down for an appointment even though I wasn't crazy about his portfolio. I knew I had made a mistake as we were walking out, so I begged my boyfriend to go back in and ask if I could have my deposit money back. He came back out with the money.
One star for the nice work on my boyfriend's ears and one star for giving me a refund for my deposit.
Just a sidenote: We decided to go around the corner and have a smoke before we left. When we came around the corner to leave, we saw Skip and his friend having a cigarette outside the shop. When my friend was walking to her car, she heard Skip saying "Dude, she was hella whack." His friend saw my friend and said  "Uh.. she's right there."
I have a total of 4 tattoos with numerous peircings in which I have now taken out.. Adrian has been there for a few years and I enjoy him very much..makes you feel very comfortable. Also.. I always hear people talk bad about this place..however I have had good experiences with the artist there.. in fact I hate my other 2 tattoos and love the 2 that I have gotten done here. Skip made my experience pleasurable very mellow dude..who drew up my tattoo quickly and made it exactly how I had imagined.. im a fan of players ink =)
Review Source:all i have to say is
the people hating on players
are just mad...
at what, i have no idea.
this place is where its at.
everyone who works there is chill.
and their artwork is phenominal.
whatever you want, they can make it happen.
i know from personal experience because
5 of my tattoos have been done
at players and i honestly dont have
one bad thing to say about any of them.
players ink for life!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know a couple of people who came here to get tats... And ew! Â
The tats looked like an unprofessional artist did it (spotty work). Â I tried to hold back my laugh(s). Â I didn't ask her who did it, but she told me she got it done here. Â
I finally walked into this place to see it for myself. Â Its spacey at least. Â A lot of kids that looked underage. Â The guys working there never cracked a smile. Â I didn't feel welcomed at all. Â
The reason why I came in was b/c I was really desperate to get my ears stretched to a larger size (I was bored of the 1/2 gauges). Â This place is near my house and it's cheaper than Body Exotic. Â The experience was okay. Â The piercer was not talkative. Â Easy in and out visit... $10 and I'm done.
Would I come back? Â
To recommend stretching ears? Sure! Â
To get tat'd? Â Maybe not.
I got my left nipple pierced at players ink and it was very uncomfortable but I was satisfied with the results. when he told me to breath while it was going through the skin that helped also gave me his card if anything went wrong he would take care of it. If you want some cool piercing go to players ink.
Review Source:I'm completely addicted to getting tattooed! This has become the place to go.
I got my first two tattoos at Marks of Art. The price was decent and the tattoos look good... But, this review isn't about them!
I moved recently and found myself right next door to a tattoo shop.
When I got my first tattoo here I was helped immediately. I didn't have to set up an appointment to look at a drawing or talk about what I wanted.
I've gotten three tattoos here so far. Andre is wonderful. His lines are amazing! All of the tattoos I've had done by him have color and they all look great.
Not only is the price reasonable, but the experience is great. Andre is extremely personable, which is a nice change from the old place I went to.
________________________________
I now have 7 total tattoos, 5 from here. I couldn't be happier.
The artists are great. Check out Skip's amazing color!
The piercer is also badass. I started stretching my ears and Adrian was always helpful and offered to put in my new jewelery!
4.5 Stars.
I got my eyebrow piercing done here 3 and half years ago and I was underage at the time. It was a little graduation gift to myself but my mom flipped when she saw it. She didn't notice it until 2 and half weeks later, which was the day of graduation.
Anyway as for the 3 tattoos I have, Andre did two and Skip did my third one. Andre is the best. The tribal Cancer zodiac sign I have on my left wrist is perfect ($50). The edges are clean same goes for the one on my lower back ($80). He takes his time and he's thorough. The coloring in line is the same shade as the outline. As for Skip, he did a great job with the stars on my ankle ($100) and he gave input to further the design. Anyway, some of my stars are colored in and some aren't but that's the way I wanted it. But the coloring on the ones that are colored in are not even with the outline.
The second time my friend and I got our tattoos. We paid with dollar bills and he didn't mind at all. He just wondered how come we have so many ones. If you're thinking that I saved all my ones for the tattoo... no... my friend let me use her money and she was a stripper.
I would get more done by Andre! I recommend him!
5 Stars. 2 words: Andre and Adrian.
Adrian is cool. He comes off as a little cold and unfriendly, but he knows his stuff. Last year he pierced my daughter's eyebrow and did my bellybutton. I'm a notorious bad healer (even an earpiercing done at my doctors office when I was a kid got infected), anything I get pierced takes twice as long to heal and always gets infected at least once. Adrian was really cool about me just popping in whenever to have him check on my bellybutton.
Andre is a tattoo god. I highly recomend him. First off, extremely clean and sanitary. Â Second he's an awesome artist. I was refered to him by a friend of a friend, who has a lot of ink, and I was not dissappointed. He's very friendly, makes you feel really comfortable. I plan on having him do 3 more tattoos for me. I even took my kid to him for her first tattoo last year. She just got her second one done by him last month.Last night I took my boyfriend to get his tattoo from Andre, so I guess you can say it's a family thing now.
Prices are way reasonable. I feel like the quality of the work is worth double what they actually charge.
They are so great! Andre did my tattoo - he did an amazing job, and he was very friendly and chatty, and made me feel comfortable. Since this was my third tattoo, I noticed how neat and clean this one was compared to my first two right after I'd gotten them done. I will definitely come back here again.
Review Source:i got my forearm done with a gypsy-zombie girl, done by skip. hes awesome, asked a lot of questions and made some really smart suggestions, SUPER knowledg eable, super experienced (16 years, and counting) and the detail and shading is amazing. hes excellent at traditional style tattoos. i uploaded a pic to the main photo section, but heres the url: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fi73.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi216%2Fhoneyluv719%2Fgypsyfreshy2.jpg&s=8b209febb48b8096882fdd7512225023aa9b618e1ea2abd3653642daa8e9f81f" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://i73.photobucket.c…</a>
Review Source:I got my second tattoo here back in October. It came out a lot better than my first one ( at a another shop ) but probably because i actually took care of this one. I got three outlines of hearts on top of my ankle. I am in love with it. I believe frank was my artist and is a pretty chill guy. He was a  little late, but i didn't mind i wasn't in a hurry. Four stars only because I've been in the shop many times and its hard to get service, if their busy or not. Parking is OK and pricing is AWESOME. other places i got priced were going to charge me 3x what they asked for. Â
I'll be going back for another when i get the chance.
i went here back in 99 after being dumped. found it roaming the streets of san jose on the late night tip. i got this tramp stamp that i will forever regret of some tribal thingy with the taurus glyph in the middle. it came out crooked and it is like 3d or some shit. when i got tattooed recently the artist told me whoever did it was pressing too hard. i didn't even notice cuz i was too much in pain emotionally, hahahah. i wouldn't recommend this place at all. the tattoo artist was sorta a perv too cuz he kept telling me my chones were sexy.
Review Source:I've gotten two piercings at Player's Ink after going with my friend who got tattooed here. The guys are nice and Adrian was the one who pierced me. The first one I got was a lip ring which turned out amazing- quick and painless, no problems at all. I came back a few months later to have him take it out; then he said he would do another piercing in exchange (basically for free since I was taking my other one out). That was really nice of him, although in my opinion my new piercing turned out just the slightest bit crooked. Hence the minus one star. All in all great experience, I'd definitely go back (I already took two friends to get their noses pierced there!)
Review Source:Adrian has peirced me and all of my friends and none of us have ever had any problems with our piercings. and they werent just ears either, some had their nipples (and more) done. I have 2 belly button peircings (one on the top and one on the bottom) as well as a surface peircing under my belly button (which i ended up taking out because it got infected at a camp i worked at all summer). But he is the coolest guy, ill go in sometimes just to chat with him. He does a great job and makes me feel really comfortable. All together he has peirced me and my friends about fifty times. He did a way better jobs than the people at Zebras.
Review Source:The piercer at players ink needs to pick a new profession because not only is he a bad piercer but he also has no idea what he's talking about, for example: when i went in to get a monroe piercing he did it crooked the guy from pierced out call him an "idiot". Example 2:I have been gaging up sizes in ear until i reach an 1" at 7/8's now, but I bought a pair of earings him saying "these are for sure an inch" Â later to find out they are 15/16 and so i went to tell him this and he pulled out a ruler out and said "unless my ruler is retarted it is an inch" no adrien its not the ruler...
Review Source:got two of my tattoos done there. just letting you know theres a $60 minimum (even for the smallest tattoos)
one of the first reasons i went there was because they were one of the only tattoo places that tattooed people under 18 without consent. (haha) i think thats all changed now and you have to show your i.d. (which is no problem for me since im way past that age now.
my friend got her eyebrow pierced here and theyre sanitary and have clean work stations.
clean shop. they do what youre looking for. helpful and accomodating. i would give them more stars but for one of my tats i think they kinda overcharged. and for that same tat they missed a line. haha. its really miniscule and can be overseen but i noticed it after i healed. all im saying is, double check it when its done!
Traveled to Ink about 4 times before I got my tat done by Andre- took a bit for him to warm up (LOL) but we had a blast as he did my anklet with the ruby slippers charm- I am in love with it! He and I have ideas for my next three or four I will be getting as well-
Clean shop- and nice employees- what I saw of them- there seemed to be only about three people there the whole time I went-
I am definitely going back for more!
Most definitely a great place to go to get your ink work done. Â The guys are sweet and accomdating. Â Since they went under new ownership they have gotten better Tattoo Artists working in the shop like Shawn. Â You guys should definitely see them.
The shop has a ton of tattoo pictures on the wall....A TON...and Shaun or Shawn whatever, has done a few of my clients work and the color is amazing. Â Shaun's also really good about giving a detailed consult in regards to what you're looking for in getting done permanently. Â
He's going to be working one of my bugs for my other arm....
....to be continued!
The lack of the one star is because they don't have too many books on ideas like other shops of gone to. Â Books like for bugs, or other artwork unless its already been tattooed. Â So best advice is to bring your ideas on paper with you.
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