Aussies are outraged after discovering a do-it-yourself tattoo kit for sale on the marketplace website of a popular department store.
A third-party retailer listed the kit on Big W’s website for $111, with shoppers horrified to find it comes with needles, ink and a working tattoo gun.
Social media users were outraged by a screenshot of the beginner tattoo kit which was circulating on Reddit on Wednesday.
The photo was captioned: ‘Big W marketplace is currently selling a beginners tattoo kit… The intern who vetted this supplier is getting in trouble today.’
A third-party retailer listed the kit on Big W’s website for $111, with shoppers horrified to find it comes with needles, ink and a working tattoo gun
Some Reddit users were concerned that there was no age requirement checks for the item being sold online, while others worried about the potential health risks.
‘Is there an age limit on purchasing this? I can only imagine the horror of a 14-year-old boy buying one of these and trying it out on his 10-year-old sister,’ one social media user wrote.
Another who claimed to be a tattoo artist said: ‘I’m currently reporting this to NSW Fair Trading and QLD Health.’
‘The process we tattoo artists have to jump through… we don’t need another cowboy retailer in the mix.’
Meanwhile others joked, saying they cringe imagining all the young people going to studios to get their DIY tattoos covered up.
In every state and territory, there are varying laws which prevent someone under 18 from getting a tattoo without parental permission in .
A Big W spokesperson told Daily Mail that no tattoo kits were actually sold
A Big W spokesperson told Daily Mail that no tattoo kits were actually sold.
‘BIG W Market is a marketplace for trusted third party sellers on the BIG W website,’ the spokesperson said.
‘The tattoo kit was recently listed on BIG W Market and we acknowledge this product was not categorised correctly. We can confirm we have removed it from sale, and no orders have been fulfilled.’
It is understood that Big W regularly conducts product reviews to ensure the products listed are compliant with health and safety requirements, and are aligned with the company’s brand values.
Some Reddit users think Big W, and all the other big businesses, should ditch the marketplace.
‘This marketplace crap needs to end. I was looking at Bunnings for grinders and it kept defaulting to coffee grinders,’ one person wrote.
Another said: ‘These marketplaces can’t be good for company image.’
‘It’s wild what comes through these that doesn’t meet n standards,’ a third person added.