When I first started getting tattoos my experience would be you put down a deposit to save an appointment time and that would be deducted from the final total when you paid. So if I was quoted $500 for a tattoo, then I would pay a $100 deposit, and once I got the tattoo I would pay the remaining $400 (plus a little extra for a tip).
It's been a few years between my last tattoo and my most recent two. The first one I got I was quoted $400 with a $120 deposit. Cool, no problem, I pay the deposit. After getting the tattoo they asked for the $400, I asked after the deposit shouldn't it be $300, they said no that the deposit is separate from the total cost and acts as a "drawing fee." I thought it was weird but brushed it off because I asked for something specific and he had to design it.
Then the same thing happened with my second most recent tattoo with a different artist in a different city. But this second time around it didn't really make sense because I chose something he had already drawn up and posted that it was "up for grabs."
After this last time I checked their websites to see if I missed something but it only says that a deposit is required for booking. Not that it acts as a drawing fee or that it doesn't go towards the end total.
When did this start happening? Is this the new standard?