NTA.

She basically forced you into it. You could have said no but then your niece would have been in more pain and had possible life long issues or even an infection from those gross Claire's piercing guns.

All the people saying you're TA for not just saying no and calling her bluff, the only person who would've suffered is your niece if your sister had chosen to do it at the mall.

I agree with you for so many reasons. When I was little my ears were pierced. They were centered then, but as I got older and my ears grew it became so obvious they aren't centered anymore. They also won't heal. None of my piercings ever close despite going to reputable shops. I've always been able to pop jewelry back in even when I take them out for years.

But my ears are the worst. They have never healed. They will not close and they're very off-center. So much so that it looks ridiculous even when I wear regular earrings. I wanted to stretch my ears at one point because I loved the look, but I can't even do that now. The hole is too close to the side and I can't have it re-pierced in the center because they told me the weight if the earrings or stretching would cause it to rip into the original holes over time.

Maybe not a big deal to some, but it permanently affects how I look even in a small way and I can't do anything about it and that does make me annoyed and I wouldn't want to make that decision for someone else.