In 2026, Friday the 13th lands on November 13 and Black Friday on November 27, giving tattoo shops two high-demand sales days two weeks apart. The shops that do well on both treat them as one event: a flash sheet built in advance, a booked-or-walk-in plan, waivers handled before the client reaches the chair, and a client list that hears about it first.
Key takeaways
- Friday the 13th rewards volume: small, pre-priced flash designs tattooed fast. Black Friday rewards prepayment: gift cards and booked flash slots sold ahead of time.
- A flash day's biggest bottleneck is rarely the tattooing. It is check-in, waivers, and checkout piling up at the front desk.
- A flash event pays off twice when shops capture every client's contact details, because each first-time flash client can be marketed to for their next, larger piece.
- Porter reports that tattoo artists using Porter see 15% more appointments, 17% more revenue per appointment, and 44% more in tips. Those are Porter's published averages, not guarantees for any single event.
When are Friday the 13th and Black Friday in 2026?
Friday the 13th falls on November 13, 2026, and Black Friday follows on November 27, 2026, with Small Business Saturday on November 28. After November, the next Friday the 13th is August 13, 2027, so this is the last one for nine months. One week is enough time to run a tight flash day if you start now.
Two weeks is enough time to turn Friday the 13th walk-ins into Black Friday gift card buyers, if you captured their contact details.
How does a Friday the 13th tattoo flash day work?
A Friday the 13th flash day is an event where a tattoo shop offers a sheet of small, pre-drawn designs at a fixed, discounted price, usually first come, first served. The custom is widely traced to a 24-hour event at Elm Street Tattoo in Dallas in 1995, where designs were priced at $13.
Many shops now price above $13. Either way, the economics are the same: low ticket, high volume, and a lot of first-time clients.
The first decision is the format, because it drives everything else:
- Walk-in only. Maximum buzz, but long lines and an unpredictable day.
- Booked slots. Predictable and deposit-protected, with less event energy.
- Hybrid. Booked slots in the morning, walk-ins after. For most multi-artist shops, this is where we would start.
Should tattoo shops run Black Friday sales?
Tattoo shops can run Black Friday sales without discounting custom work. The stronger plays are gift cards, which are popular holiday gifts and bring a new client into the shop, and prepaid flash slots that a client books and pays for in November and gets tattooed in December or January.
A discounted custom piece trains clients to wait for a sale. A gift card or prepaid flash slot does not. For more seasonal angles, see these tattoo promotion ideas.
A one-week flash sale playbook
Seven days out: lock the flash sheet
With a week to go, keep the sheet short enough to finish drawing now. Price every design by size, and give each size a realistic duration. If a medium design takes 45 minutes, each artist can fit roughly six to eight in a long day once setup and cleanup are counted, which tells you how many designs and artists you actually need.
Decide which designs are repeatable and which are one-of-one. Single-use designs create urgency. Repeatable designs create volume.
Five to six days out: tell your client list first
Past clients are your best flash day audience, so message them before you post publicly. Text works well because flash is time-sensitive. Send the announcement now and a reminder the day before.
Segment where you can. Recent clients with small pieces are strong flash prospects. Clients mid-sleeve are better Black Friday gift card prospects.
Two to three days out: move paperwork out of the line
Every paper waiver signed at the counter stalls the line. Have walk-ins check in and sign on their phones, so they wait in a queue instead of at the front desk. Set up and test the check-in link or QR code before the day.
Day of: keep checkout and commissions clean
A flash day means dozens of small transactions across several artists, with cash, cards, and tips mixed together. The mistake to avoid is reconciling it by hand at midnight. Tie every payment to the appointment and artist when it happens.
The week after: turn flash clients into regulars
Send aftercare the same day, ask for reviews while the experience is fresh, and tag flash clients so you can invite them back for a larger piece. A small flash tattoo is often a client's first visit to your shop. The second visit is where the shop makes its money.
How Porter runs a tattoo flash event
Porter is tattoo shop management software and a tattoo booking app built for tattoo artists and studios. Here is where it fits each step above.
Flash sheets that book themselves. Porter's Flashbook lets artists and shops upload designs with up to four size variants, each with its own price and duration. Designs can be booked directly or as requests, set as repeatable or single-use (single-use designs are marked claimed once booked), and limited to scheduled Flash Days. Deposit rules can be no deposit, a flat amount, a percentage, or full payment upfront.
Campaigns to the right clients. Porter's SMS and email marketing segments clients by visit history, appointments, and purchases. Email and SMS marketing is available on Porter's Artist Pro and Studio Pro plans.
A walk-in queue instead of a line. Clients scan a QR code, enter tattoo details and a preferred artist, and sign digital tattoo consent forms on their phones. They join the queue in check-in order, and the front desk or the artists themselves can pull clients from it.
Gift cards for Black Friday. Porter's online gift card store can be shared as a link or embedded on a shop website, and balances apply to deposits or final checkout.
Commissions settled at checkout. Flash appointments split like any other appointment, so Porter's artist commission splits send each artist's share of card payments automatically, and Porter's reports show every artist's sales and tips by day.
The published numbers point in the same direction. Porter reports 44% more in tips, 15% more appointments, and 68% fewer no-shows and late cancellations among tattoo artists using Porter. The no-show figure matters most for booked flash slots with deposits. Results depend on each shop's prices, staffing, and clients.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a Friday the 13th tattoo cost?
There is no standard price. The tradition started with $13 flash, but many shops now charge more to cover time, supplies, and artist pay. Price each size so an artist still earns a fair hourly rate at your expected pace.
Do tattoo shops do Black Friday deals?
Many tattoo shops run Black Friday promotions, most often gift cards or prepaid flash rather than discounts on custom work. Porter supports both through its online gift card store and Flashbook deposit rules.
Plan both days now
November 13 and November 27 are close enough to plan as one campaign. Build the flash sheet, message your list, and move check-in and waivers onto clients' phones before the first person lines up. See how Porter's SMS and email marketing promotes flash events.
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