Studs: Trust Check

The bottom line. Studs is owned and operated by Studs, Inc., at 594 Broadway in New York⁵, and runs ear-piercing studios in several US states that pierce with needles, never guns^1,2; the Google ratings we found for four of them run from 4.0 to 4.7^6,7. Its piercing jewelry, sold only in the studios, is solid 14K gold or implant-grade titanium that it calls ASTM F-136 compliant³; online, it sells plated brass, plated titanium and solid 14K gold fashion earrings^8,9. Checkout runs on Shopify with cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Affirm^10,11,12. It scores in the ‘caution’ range because fashion jewelry gets only 21 days for a refund⁴; returning it for a refund may cost a shipping/handling fee unless you paid a returns coverage fee at checkout⁴; its terms disclaim all warranties on its products⁵; shipping insurance isn’t mentioned and signatures start at $500^4,13,14,15; for a missing parcel, you start with the carrier¹⁵; and we found no Trustpilot or BBB profile¹⁶.

Studs policies at a glance

How Studs scores

Not scored because they don't apply to Studs: resizing, appraisal, installments. The other 92 points are scaled to 100 (44 of 92). We are still looking for Studs on Trustpilot and the BBB; the score will be updated when that's done.

The same rules apply to every store. How the Trust Score works

Who is behind Studs

Studs.com is owned and operated by Studs, Inc.⁵, whose address in its terms is 594 Broadway, Suite 200, New York, NY 10012⁵. It runs ear-piercing studios in several US states, listed by state on its locations page with addresses and phone numbers — the Nolita studio, for example, is at 12 Prince St in New York². The studios pierce with needles, never piercing guns, and sell jewelry too; all of them take walk-ins, though appointments are recommended¹. A piercing costs $40, or $70 for four, plus the jewelry¹.

The pages we read name no founders or executives^{1,2,5,10,28,34}; AlleyWatch names Anna Harman and Lisa Bubbers as its founders, and Yahoo Finance calls Anna Harman co-founder and CEO³⁵. The studs.com domain was registered in January 1994³⁶.

How to reach Studs

General questions go by email to [email protected]²⁸; the contact page also has a message form and, for calls, points to each studio’s number on the locations page²⁸. Studios take text messages for booking appointments². We found no live chat^4,10,28,29.

Returns & exchanges

Fashion jewelry can be returned for a refund or exchanged within 21 days of purchase — the same on the refund policy, product pages and help center^4,9,21. Pieces must be unworn, in their original condition and packaging⁴. Piercing jewelry, items marked final sale and free gifts can’t be returned⁴, and Earscape sets only go back as a full set³¹. Exchanges are only for another color of the same item, or a replacement for one that arrived damaged⁴.

Returns go through an online portal, where you choose a refund to your original payment or Studs credit³². Online returns are processed within 5 business days of reaching the warehouse, and refunds typically appear in your account 3–10 business days later^4,32.

Shipping & delivery

Standard ground shipping is free on orders of $75 or more in the US and its territories, and $6 below that¹³; Studs suggests allowing 2–5 business days and doesn’t guarantee an arrival date¹³. A signature is required only on orders of $500 or more¹⁴, and we found no mention of shipping insurance^4,13,14,15.

For a missing parcel, the help center sends you to the shipping company first; if that doesn’t resolve it after 2 business days, you can email Studs¹⁵.

Warranty & aftercare

Studs’ terms disclaim all warranties, express or implied, on the site and on any Studs products⁵, and we found no warranty or repair service^{1,4,8,9,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27}. If a piece arrives incorrect, damaged or defective, you email [email protected]²², and a damaged item can be exchanged for a replacement within the 21 days⁴. Its care advice is to clean earrings with a dry, soft cloth⁹; in its studios, a jewelry change costs $15¹.

What Studs sells & what it costs

Its product feed lists 349 products: fashion earrings, piercing earrings and a few accessories³³, from $6 to $350, with half at $40 or less³³. Its piercing jewelry is sold only in its studios³; online, it sells titanium-based flatbacks, PVD plated with 14k gold, for fully healed piercings only³⁰.

Studs says its piercing jewelry is solid 14K white or yellow gold, or implant-grade titanium that is ‘ASTM F-136 compliant’³. For the fashion pieces it sells online, a product page calls the titanium ‘implant-grade’ but names no standard, and we found no ASTM standard or mill certificate on the product pages we read^{8,9,19,20,23,24,25,26,27,30}. Its fashion earrings are brass plated with 14k gold or rhodium, or titanium with 14k gold PVD plating^8,24; the ’14K’ flatbacks we read have solid 14K yellow gold tops on gold-plated titanium posts⁹. No page we read gives the plating thickness^{8,9,19,20,23,24,25,26,27}.

Product pages name the stone: ‘Cubic Zirconia’ on its clickers and huggies, and ‘Lab Grown Emerald’ on a ’14K Emerald’ flatback^19,20,24; the ’14K Micro Diamond Flatback’ is named for its diamond shape and has no stone²³. Its feed also lists pieces such as a ’14K Stacked Pink Diamond Flatback’ and ’14K Round Prong Diamond’, whose pages we didn’t read³³, and its studios carry a small range of solid 14k gold earrings with lab-grown diamonds⁸. We found no sourcing policy for its metals or stones^{1,3,8,9,10,19,20,23,24,25,26,27}.

Payment & financing

Checkout runs on Shopify¹⁰. Studs accepts all major credit cards, Google Pay and Apple Pay¹¹, and the page code enables PayPal¹⁰. Affirm splits online orders of $50 or more into payments¹²; installments don’t count toward the score here, because half of its products cost $40 or less³³.

What customers say

Studs names no flagship studio, so we score the Google tier that every studio rating we found reaches. Its Nolita studio in New York is rated 4.7 from 608 reviews and Flatiron 4.6 from 88^7,17; Century City in Los Angeles has 4.1 from 157 and Georgetown in Washington, DC, 4.0 from 262^6,18. Its Facebook page shows 60% recommending it, from 12 reviews³⁷. We found no Trustpilot profile for studs.com — the Trustpilot results Google shows are for other piercing shops¹⁶ — and no BBB profile; we’re still checking both by hand.

On Reddit’s r/piercing, shoppers say it uses implant-grade titanium and never pierces with plated jewelry³⁸, and that it uses needles, sanitizes properly and is friendly³⁹. Complaints we found were one-offs, such as a Century City customer on Yelp charged for two wrong jewelry items⁴⁰.

Official social profiles

Linked from Studs’s own website, so these are the brand’s real accounts.

Alternatives to Studs

• BodyJewelry.com — Body jewelry in titanium, surgical steel and 14k gold from a Florida company, with a free prepaid return label
• Banter by Piercing Pagoda — Mall piercing kiosks with free 30-day returns by prepaid label and free shipping over $50
• Maria Black — Copenhagen designer earrings and piercings in recycled silver and 14k gold, with a 2-year warranty for production errors

Studs FAQ

How we score stores

The Trust Score adds up 100 points across six areas: identity & transparency (20), purchase protection (25), warranty & aftercare (15), product transparency (15), payment safety (10), reputation (15). Every point is tied to a fact we can link to, and the rules are the same for every store. Read the full methodology.

90+ Excellent · 75–89 Trustworthy · 60–74 Mostly reliable · below 60 Proceed with caution. Ratings from other platforms are summarized in our own words with a link; we don’t copy reviews.

Update history

• Nov 3, 2026 — First published, before our editor’s review. Every fact checked against studs.com, its help center and the other sources listed below as they read that day.

Sources

All pages were read on Nov 3, 2026. Store policies change — check the store’s current terms before you buy.

1. Studs — STUDS Piercing Services – Studs
2. Studs — Locations – Studs
3. Studs — What is the difference between piercing and fashion jewelry? – FAQ | Studs
4. Studs — Refund policy – Studs
5. Studs — STUDS TERMS OF SERVICE – Studs
6. Google search: studs georgetown 3288 m st nw
7. Google search: studs nolita 12 prince st new york
8. Studs — What is your fashion jewelry made of? – FAQ | Studs
9. Studs — product page: 14K Micro Twinkle Flatback – Studs
10. Studs — home page
11. Studs — What methods of payment do you accept? – FAQ | Studs
12. Studs — Does Studs offer a Split Payment Method? – FAQ | Studs
13. Studs — Shipping policy – Studs
14. Studs — Do you require a signature upon delivery? – FAQ | Studs
15. Studs — My package is missing what do I do? – FAQ | Studs
16. trustpilot.com: Read Customer Service Reviews of votrepiercing.com | 2 of 2 — Google result snippet, Nov 3, 2026
17. Google search: studs flatiron 168 fifth ave
18. Google search: studs century city los angeles
19. Studs — product page: 8mm Pave Clicker – Studs
20. Studs — product page: 14K Emerald Bezel Flatback – Studs
21. Studs — What is your return and exchange policy? – FAQ | Studs
22. Studs — What if the item I received is incorrect or defective? – FAQ | Studs
23. Studs — product page: 14K Micro Diamond Flatback – Studs
24. Studs — product page: Chained Pave Huggie x CZ Stud – Studs
25. Studs — product page: 6mm Bezel Clicker – Studs
26. Studs — product page: Butterfly Back Set – Studs
27. Studs — product page: CZ Cat Reversible Flatback – Studs
28. Studs — Contact – Studs
29. Studs — FAQ | Studs
30. Studs — Can I buy piercing jewelry online? – FAQ | Studs
31. Studs — Are Earscape Sets eligible for returns or exchanges? – FAQ | Studs
32. Studs — How do I process an exchange or return? – FAQ | Studs
33. Studs' product feed (products.json on studs.com, all 349 products)
34. Studs — STUDS PRIVACY POLICY – Studs
35. finance.yahoo.com: How the ordeal of getting an ear piercing pushed a 34-year … — Google result snippet, Nov 3, 2026
36. Domain registration record (RDAP)
37. facebook.com: Studs (@studspiercing) — Google result snippet, Nov 3, 2026
38. reddit.com: Studs brand opinion : r/piercing — Google result snippet, Nov 3, 2026
39. reddit.com: Opinion on STUDS piercing studios? — Google result snippet, Nov 3, 2026
40. yelp.com: STUDS – Updated October 2026 – 226 Reviews – 68 Photos — Google result snippet, Nov 3, 2026