newby-

i completely understand what you're saying about price. Many artists set their own prices based on where on the body and size of the peice you want done. The place i primarily go to actually has a little diagram of the body set up with their minimum prices for a tattoo on each part of the body. Another thing to be mindful of with pricing of tattoos is that many tattoo shops have a 'minimum' amount that they charge. In my area, it's $50, they won't do ANY TATTOO for less then that amount. Personally, i find this appalling! Some people just want something VERY small that means something important to them but don't want to advertise that they've got ink. A good friend of mine has a tiny little ankh (less then half an inch tall or wide) on her arm. That type of work should NOT cost $50. So be wary of things like that. Right now i have a tattoo that needs to be worked on, it was an all black peice that the artist missed a little bit of coloring on (nothing major and when i showed it to an artist friend of mine he said that in doing an all black peice it's common for that to happen) and until i can get together with my friend to get it fixed, i won't go to any place around here because the work that needs to be done is NOT worth their $50 minimum.
You're also right in looking over an artist's work before choosing one, many tattoo shops now have websites that display each of their artist's work so you can see what they've done and what you think of it. I wouldn't want to get a fantasy peice done by a person who primarily does script work.
Another thing to remember in tattooing or piercing is that you need to be comfortable with the person who's doing the work, you will probably (depending on what/where you want your work done) need to disrobe at least partially. If the person gives you the creeps, you probably don't want them working on you. In looking around the facility, you should find at least some sort of privacy in each section for just this purpose. Where i go, there aren't doors but each work area is like a little cubicle with three walls and is set up so that my whatever isn't hanging out for anyone who might be walking past to see.