Just needing to vent!!!
I know that I can vent to my CWB buddies and you will all understand......many of you I sure have had this issue yourselves. I had a request from someone to do a Sesame Street birthday cake, 30 people, to look like Mr. Hoopers store and the apartment building next to it. Little characters roaming on the street, very detaile buildings the whole 9 yards. When I quoted a price of $100, which I think is reasonable considering all of the hours that would go into: purchasing ingredients, baking, stacking, filling, trimming, covering in fondant I made myself, making all the decorations, trim pieces, etc. by hand to custom fit this cake, etc.....I get "Oh no! That's far more than I wanted to spend!" Okee dokee! Feel free to contact a bakery to see what they would charge or figure out how to do it yourself. Aaaagghh! Thanks, I feel better now. Back into the kitchen.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Holly F on
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That was SOOOO low of a quote! Holy Moly! I'm VERY proud of you for not caving. When I take the time to plan out all the details, I often get myself all excited and end up compromising myself $$. You did right - on to the next!
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Permalink Reply by Joy's Creative Cakes on
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Yeah, I always feel like my hours of work are not compensated for. I tell myself with experience you will get fast and why should the customer pay because you need experience to get faster. My husband says you don't charge enough for all your hard work and dedication, but I can't charge to much or I would never sell any cakes. I always say to myself once I gain more skills and experience, I become faster, and my name gets out there I can charge more. I hear 'oh no' lots of times and I don't really feel like my quotes are way out there, if anything I am probably working for free a lot of the time. Good thing this is not my full time job. It sounds, based on your description, that your price was very reasonable if anything to low. People just don't understand how much it costs to bake the cake or the time spent creating.
I don't know the answer, other then thank you for considering ______________, have a nice day. I think you did the right thing too
J:~D
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Permalink Reply by Linda Wolff on
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Wow! A $100.00 for all that work??? They should have grabbed it up so fast their heads would have spun! My heavens, that is so darn cheap for all that work. When I made my jungle baby cake with the palm tree and toucan, I had a lady from CC ask me how much I charged for it, and when I told her, she said that where she comes from, it would have cost over $200.00 just for the gum paste figures, and then the actual cost of the cake as well. I had only charged $10.00 for each figure, and then the cost of the cake. I'm proud of you that you didn't compromise on this one. Good for you!!
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Permalink Reply by June Kowalczyk on
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Good for you for not "caving". If the customer knew it could take up to 2 days or more to make just one fondant figure!! Then construction of the buildings??? You offered her a deal of a lifetime.
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Permalink Reply by Joann Gottermeyer on
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I knew you all would make me feel better! Would have loved to have told her to try making it herself and see how long it takes!
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Permalink Reply by Katy Nott on
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Yep - $100 was way too cheap. silly woman has shot herself in the foot there. I would love to know how much she did want to spend, or thought she could get all that for.............
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Permalink Reply by Tania Laing on
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You know, I don't think it's their fault really. I had a friend recently tell me after watching me work for 19 hrs straight on a cake that she had no idea... The following week I sent a wedding cake out the door that had about 70 hours in it ...another gift for another relative. That same friend told me I was insane to put that much time into it, and that people have no idea the amount of dedication it takes to create the decorations...much less the cake. (She has, however, decided that her daughter's wedding won't come from any kitchen but mine and it has to have no less than 500 roses on it...she's been convinced!)
I blame television. a colossal cake in an hour? Get real. We know...the public doesn't. If she's looking for a deal, walmart can stick big bird on a sheetcake for $14.00. Just out of curiosity I stopped at the bakery of a local grocery and saw a cute little (poorly done) two tier cake with sloppy flowers and a couple of fairies stuck to it...might have fed 20 (very small)...brace yourself... $50. Probably a 15 minute job. The public doesn't get it and while we all know it's an art...people still see it as food. Speaking of art...your cakes are amazing. I hate the $$ part...have gone to only working for friends and family now because it's the only time I enjoy it and they're the only ones who truly appreciate it. Having said that I haven't bought a set of towels for a wedding in 10 years...but everyone's had a wedding cake they adored (for free!) Stick to your guns. We do it because we love it and if you undercut yourself, you won't love THAT cake.
It's just me...I'd rather hand them the cake as a gift than have to convince them about the price and why they can't live without the cake I'm going to create for them. (I hate the stress)...My passion became my hobby....don't let that happen to you. Stand firm.
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Permalink Reply by Terry Bingham on
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I agree with the others, good for you for not caving. Sometimes people have no idea the time and work these kind of cakes take, I also agree that $100 is way too low for that kind of cake. If people want a $20 cake the they need to go to the local grocery store and pick up a generic cake otherwise they need to expect to pay for what they are asking for, a cake such as this is a very specialized cake and you deserve to be paid for your work.
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Permalink Reply by Rima on
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You quoted an extremely low price. I'd have jumped at it. You'd be lucky if you got your materials for that price ( and only because you are making your own fondant), much less the 20+ hours you'd spend on it and all the details. Some people just don't know any better. They watch these TV shows where the editing makes the time seem to fly and teams of people are working on things. Not to mention the magically already baked and filled cakes. I know it's disheartening to lose a cake order, but really you're better off. This kind of customer would have picked out every flaw in the end. Smile, you dodged a bullet.
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Permalink Reply by Julie Ingersoll on
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I totally understand where everyone is coming from. I used to do cakes cheaper but would get the eye rolls on the pricing and cave. I'm not a sales person and really hate talking money with anyone. It takes the enjoyment out of my end product when they haggle about the price and then what everything on the cake and I end up making nothing and putting my heart, soul and hours upon hours of work into it. So now I do the cakes for friends and family and I let them pay me what they want or it's a gift to them. They have always been fair with me and it's a labor of love that I put into them that counts for me. Good thing I have a full time job to support my baking habit!
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Permalink Reply by Bettina Dwyer on
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The thing you need to ask yourself is, 'Am I a charity?' We all do it at the begining and then after you have just spent 70hours or so on the latest creation for next to nothing you suddenly get a forehead slap moment. I am doing all this work and no one gets how much work is involved. I have also had a couple of friends sit with me throughout a day of work and remark that they didn't know what was involved or how long it took.
It doesn't matter if you are just starting out, you need to start as you intend to go on. If you start out cheap then that's how customers will continue to see you and is that what you ultimately want?
We all have issues regarding pricing, because after all 'it's just a cake! But if it was just a cake why aren't customers making their own instead of commissioning someone else to do it for them?
I blame the DIY shows. We are told over and over again to make it yourself it's cheaper. DIY at home it's easier, and I think that message has seeped into our subconscious to the point that homemade equals cheaper than a shop. To a certain extent this is true, you don't have the overheads that you would at home, BUT, neither are you a charity or a $2 shop.
If you are going to sell cakes you need to be realistic about it. $100 is WAAAAAAAY too cheap BTW for all that work you were going to do.
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Julie, that's exactly where I am now too.
Julie Ingersoll said:I totally understand where everyone is coming from. I used to do cakes cheaper but would get the eye rolls on the pricing and cave. I'm not a sales person and really hate talking money with anyone. It takes the enjoyment out of my end product when they haggle about the price and then what everything on the cake and I end up making nothing and putting my heart, soul and hours upon hours of work into it. So now I do the cakes for friends and family and I let them pay me what they want or it's a gift to them. They have always been fair with me and it's a labor of love that I put into them that counts for me. Good thing I have a full time job to support my baking habit!
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