Help please. I don't want to undercharge or overcharge. Picture attached.
She wants this. 10 -8- 6 inch plus that small cupcakes. All in strawberry cake, cream cheese and real fruit. I will buy toppers as well. My estimated cost is $100-110. But I am not sure if that is not too much. I live in very small country city. Bakers here don't ask much.
How much would you charge?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by denette lynch on
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I don't sell cakes but that is waaaaaay low. That cake is 74 servings, plus how ever many cupcakes. So that is maybe a dollar a serving. Plus usually fondant is more, real fruit is more, toppers are more, etc, etc, etc. You really need to figure out your costs for supplies, ingredients, materials, utilities, etc plus figure an approximate of how many hours it will take to gather the materials, prepare it, decorate, etc, etc. At that price you are basically giving away your time. Do you want to get a couple bucks an hour to make a cake for someone else or do something else with your time? It is up to you.
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Permalink Reply by T. Myers on
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I agree with Denette. That price is entirely too low for this cake. I wouldn't make this cake for under $250 and thats not including me purchasing figures etc.. This cake is going to require lots of fondant and not to mention the REAL FRUIT thats going into it. I know you said that you live in a small country city but this is not a small dessert either. Good Luck!
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Permalink Reply by June Kowalczyk on
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Well Majka
My advice to you is to call/email at least 10 bakeries/online decorators in your area to see what they would charge for this cake. Minimum of 5 at the least. This will give you a rough idea what cakes sell for around you. Every area is different. What I could charge here compared to where you live could be entirely different. But this cake you show here is a considerable amount of work. You have to factor in all your time to bake, ice, cover cakes with fondant, make your embellishments like flowers, etc., ingredients used, electricity used to bake. If you "clocked" your time, making a note when you started & when you stopped working on the cake for the day, you would be shocked how much time you actually spent working on it. I agree like T Myers said above, I wouldn't do this for anything less than $250.
Good Luck....And don't under sell your work & talent. You don't want to get a reputation for making large beautful cakes for cut rate prices. That's what the grocery stores do. Your cakes are 100% better than those.
Keep us posted...:0)
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Permalink Reply by Majka Hianik on
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Thank you for all your advice. I emailed to 3 bakeries- well, home based bakers who do this job for a long time. One asked for $110, other $135, I did not get reply from third one. After all, I asked for $120. I know it is a little money but I hate when people make me feel that I am too expensive. It is hard to explain. I do not bake for a long time, maybe that is why I do not have enough confidence in me. This is a cake I did this weekend. It was 8-6-4 inch cake. Price $85.
I will adjust my prices. Slowly, but I will. :)
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Your cake is lovely and you can charge whatever you like. As long as you are happy with your price and don't resent the time vs money, go for it.
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I think as was said it depends on what you are able to charge. IMO just make sure that you don't end up feeling like you are working for nothing and become unhappy. Your cakes are beautiful and if you are happy with what you charge, then that is all that matters.
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Boy do I know how you feel. I'm in a small town as well. I started baking cakes for friends, family and church functions. I wasn't professional so I did most for little or nothing. I now am trying to do this as a living, wow very hard to charge people. Unfortunatly once you do something for someone at a low price they pass it along .So now its like -oh I know someone who does amazing cakes and shes really cheap! Ouch ...So this week I'm starting Cake decorating classes (I'm self taught by the Grace of God) So maybe this will build my confidence and therefore My ability to charge people what I truly think my cake is worth without guilt.
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I agree with what was posted above. As long as you are enjoying what you are doing and you are not getting stressed. You did your homework to see what others are charging. You can only charge what your local market will allow. As you build your reputation, as you posted, you can slowly increase your prices.
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Permalink Reply by Julie Brooks on
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Hi Majka - The issue of over and under charging for cakes is a big thing for all of us starting out. I recently read a great article about this very problem. http://www.motherofcakes.net/2012/01/03/free-cakes/ I have been told by my own customers that I don't charge enough. Those are the customers that always pay me more than I ask for. They call it a tip. :) Once you build your portfolio you will have the confidence and the proof that your cakes are worth more. Best of luck to you!!
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Permalink Reply by Tiffany Whitson York on
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Im with you as well.Of all the cakes I have done-shown on my page on here-I have never charged more than $75 and those were for the really detailed ones.I live in a small area, started very cheap since I was just starting out and not a legit bakery.Now that I am okayed to work legally and have gotten a little better with my skills, I charge a bit more(plus I have found so many ways to save on costs on my end-cheap boards etc from sites, homemaking everything from buttercream to marshmallow fondant-saves me a lot which ends up as profit.Once you know about what others charge-our local walmart charges about $1.50 per serving for basic buttercream cakes-then you can slowly raise yours.You will have to deal with the occasional person saying you are too expensive, but you will also have plenty of people staying with you and happy at your prices for your work.I started slowly raising mine $5-$10 at a time so people weren't shocked and everyone still says what a great deal, so Im fine with mine.Just make sure you are comfortable with your costs and selling price.Good Luck!
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I agree about cost cutting of making everything yourself, but please remember that that does take time. Also, please do not compare your creations to Walmart. A cake from Walmart is a cookie cutter cake and is not of the same quality. If someone wants to pay Walmart prices for a cake, they should shop at Walmart. If someone wants a one of a kind creation made specifically for them, then they should expect to pay more. It's like going into Macy's dress department and being shocked that you are not going to pay the same for a dress as you would at Walmart. They just are not in the same league.
Tiffany Whitson York said:Im with you as well.Of all the cakes I have done-shown on my page on here-I have never charged more than $75 and those were for the really detailed ones.I live in a small area, started very cheap since I was just starting out and not a legit bakery.Now that I am okayed to work legally and have gotten a little better with my skills, I charge a bit more(plus I have found so many ways to save on costs on my end-cheap boards etc from sites, homemaking everything from buttercream to marshmallow fondant-saves me a lot which ends up as profit.Once you know about what others charge-our local walmart charges about $1.50 per serving for basic buttercream cakes-then you can slowly raise yours.You will have to deal with the occasional person saying you are too expensive, but you will also have plenty of people staying with you and happy at your prices for your work.I started slowly raising mine $5-$10 at a time so people weren't shocked and everyone still says what a great deal, so Im fine with mine.Just make sure you are comfortable with your costs and selling price.Good Luck!
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Permalink Reply by Tracy Deadman on
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My sentiments exactly :D
Christine C said:I agree about cost cutting of making everything yourself, but please remember that that does take time. Also, please do not compare your creations to Walmart. A cake from Walmart is a cookie cutter cake and is not of the same quality. If someone wants to pay Walmart prices for a cake, they should shop at Walmart. If someone wants a one of a kind creation made specifically for them, then they should expect to pay more. It's like going into Macy's dress department and being shocked that you are not going to pay the same for a dress as you would at Walmart. They just are not in the same league.
Tiffany Whitson York said:Im with you as well.Of all the cakes I have done-shown on my page on here-I have never charged more than $75 and those were for the really detailed ones.I live in a small area, started very cheap since I was just starting out and not a legit bakery.Now that I am okayed to work legally and have gotten a little better with my skills, I charge a bit more(plus I have found so many ways to save on costs on my end-cheap boards etc from sites, homemaking everything from buttercream to marshmallow fondant-saves me a lot which ends up as profit.Once you know about what others charge-our local walmart charges about $1.50 per serving for basic buttercream cakes-then you can slowly raise yours.You will have to deal with the occasional person saying you are too expensive, but you will also have plenty of people staying with you and happy at your prices for your work.I started slowly raising mine $5-$10 at a time so people weren't shocked and everyone still says what a great deal, so Im fine with mine.Just make sure you are comfortable with your costs and selling price.Good Luck!
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