I had a consultation with this bride and she wants the design of the hexagon cake ( just the top tier) the same as the picture below and 70 minicake version of it. When I had the consultation with her, her friend was there too (whom I did not know was coming). They kept mentioning to give them a better deal because there was two of them. My BC cakes start at 2.50 and fondant is 3.50. SHe even had a special request of egg free cake which I did not charge extra for. I qouted her $350 total and this is what she emailed me:


Hi the cake was good but I still have a problem with price, I
still
think it is a little expensive for 70 people 350$ my friend who is
getting
married on july 7 has 200 guests and is paying 360 she has the better
deal.
I lOVE THE CAKE BUT NOT THE PRICE. How is it that the design now cost
money
when you said there would be no extra charge for that. I am kind of
upset
because you are not willing to budge and especially because its not
just me
you get two customers instead of one most people are willing to bargain
when
they see that they have 2 customers instead of 1. I will think about
it and
let you know, but i would like a better price. for 70 people i think
250$
is reasonable.

So what do you guys think? Am I out of line here? How much would you charge for this? I mean there's a lot of work involve in this. Imagine quilting all those mini ones! When I first read this, I was fuming but now just find it annoying. bleh

**edited to add that this cake was made by Les Fantaisies de Sophie.

If I liked her and she was a friend then I would probably go down on the price but her email just screams trouble so I wouldn't budge and refer her straight to walmart. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh but I'm annoyed at that email too.

70 mini cakes is a lot of work!!!!!!!
dont budge on your price you won't be happy doing it.

tell her you all ready gave her a deal with the egg free cake. the mini cakes are $5.00 a piece if you don't include the top tier she wants.

tell her to go to the other person if she can get a better deal that you'll understand

maybe she has and the other person won't do the mini cakes? that's my guess as to why she is wanting a cheaper price..

DONT BUDGE

omg....

since when does the customer get to set the price?

let me see if i got this right...she wants 70 minicakes?

what a pain in da booty...i'd think 70 minicakes would be worth way way more than 350.

plus i don't like her attitude...i say ..." NO CAKE FOR HER!"

She is whiny--and I don't get the "better deal b/c there are two of them" situation either. I would e-mail her back that you are sorry, but you do not haggle over your cake prices. You're not a used car salesman.

If she goes elsewhere, lucky you

I am a little confused - does she want 70 mini cakes with the top tier design for $250? If so then she must be smoking something! Don't even get me started on the 2 for 1 special

oh boy.............I think $350 is a DEAL...........dont budge...

is her friend also getting mini versions of the cake? is not i would explain to her that is why the price is different.

also, if you did say you wouldn't charge more for more detail of a design... then you have to stick to your word.

another thing is if you truely feel that the is the price you should charge, then charge it. don't let her manipulate you becauce of the the 2 customer thing. Maybe mention to her you get refferals all the time.... which is the same concept.

Umm. . .could you slap her? Mini cakes and one big cake are different degrees of labor. . .

good grief i just did the math....5 buck a piece?

thats just nuts.....

send her to wal mart.........

One word....BRIDEZILLA!!!!

...send her on her way.....

OH PULLLEEEEEZZZZ!!!!!!!!

People just don't get it! They have no idea what goes into making a cake like that. I say... 1. 350.00 is a bargoon 2. Stick to your guns 3. well, what comes to mind, I can't really say here in this forum. I certainly understand that losing a client may not be an option, but I think they're the ones not being reasonable. If it were me, I'd politely tell them that my price is firm, and they're welcome to go elsewhere. I'm guessing they'll come up with the cash. Good luck.

I paid $350 for my wedding cake and it wasn't even as close to as complex as what she is proposing. Hold your ground!

I'm still a little confused. Does she want 70 mini cakes that look like that picture with three tiers? 70 mini-3 tiered cakes?

Don't budge...if she wants your cakes..she will have to pay for your time to decorate...if she still is trowing a hissy fit..let her go down the street to see what kind of deals she can for what she is wanting. The price she is quoting may be for a very plain cake that won't take the time the design she is requesting.

Also, if you budge, the message will get out to the new brides that if they push, they can get really sweet deals from you and that is not what type of business you are running...especially if you are wanting to stay in business....

STAY FIRM and DON'T BUDGE

Just my 2 cents
aliekitn

Hi. I agree with jsmith. I would refer her to Walmart too.

If she is complaining already, I can only imagine what is yet to come. Don't budge on your price. It wouldn't be worth your time and effort.

Good luck!

let me see....she can always go to the person that gave her friend a better price. ..... tell her "sorry, since we last met i have booked someone so i am sorry that i won't be able to make your cake. please try the cheaper person or walmart....... she must be out of her mind.

I'd be highly annoyed. You're not in the bartering or haggling business. You're in the cake decorating business. That's a LOT of work. I think that she's already getting a steal of a deal. I wouldn't budge one iota. There's always another customer around the corner willing to pay for your work and talent. Don't give in. If you do, she'll pass that along to others, too. Just whine about the price and you'll get what you want. You're talented and offering a product FOR her. Don't give it away. Good luck!

Tell her you know a lady (ME!) who charges $5 per CUPCAKE for a wedding, so she IS getting a deal! (And I tell them $5 in the hopes that if they want cupcakes, the price will send them to walmart because I don't want to even mess with cupcakes!). I wouldn't even entertain the idea of doing 70 mini cakes.

(I started to say "....at any price" but I think if someone gave me a hundred bucks apiece, then I'd consider it! )

She sounds like a Stephanie Stewart student!

It sounds like she read one of those "How to Host a Cheap Wedding" books. I'd send her packing. I suspect she's doing the same to her florsit, photographer, etc. As for the 2 customers: my intuition says that the friend will cancel her order. She is the bargaining chip here. I wouldn't come down on your price, but if you choose to do so, make sure that both gals pay in full up front.

Oooooo i think she should go where she gets a "deal" and i think you are suddenly "booked" on the date of her wedding, then i would drop to my knees and thank God you dodged this bullet!

Ditto on "bridezilla"

I have to agree..something sounds fishy here...and you have a Bridezilla on your hands. I believe in my return email to your bride..I would tell her I already booked another wedding anyway so your services were no longer available to do hers. Sounds like this is one bride that needs to go elsewhere.

Don't budge!!!!!!70 mini cakes at 5 bucks a piece?Give me a break.......................thats like triple plus the work of one big wedding cake!!

H$LL NO!!!!

$5 per mini cake? You don't mention how big it is, but to individually bake, quilt and decorate every one of those suckers, I would probably charge $15-$20 each.

I'd find a way to ditch her, hon. This girl is bad news, and your initial quote seems way too low anyway. Charge what you're worth!!

I see you are in Canada. If you are saying $350 Canadian that works out to less than $300 USD and $250 Canadian is $213 USD. (Just so we are comparing apples to apples.) That doesn't even work out to $3.00 USD per mini cake. I can't see how you could break even at that price.

All I hear in my head is run, run, run.

Best of luck in your decision.

Joan

I just finished looking at your cakes..they are beautiful! I agree with everyone else. The mini cake is really cute, but it doesn't look like it would be a quick one to do. 70 cakes is lot to do!
I'd tell her to look around if she thinks she can get a better price. But tell her after X amount of days she loses her booking. DONOT go down on your price. There will be many more brides out there!

wow I would have been so upset at that email. I agree with Jaxdesserts she has to be on something. Your price is your price. You don't get to bargain with the price. Besides it is a really good price. She has some nerve!

Bridezilla for sure!

Good Luck with her.

PS: Try not to stress, it clogs the arterties and gives you wrinkles.

ok...let's do math (and no running away while we do it!)

1 standard serving of STANDARD cake = $3.50

1 MINI-cake (tons of work) = 2 x standard = $7.00 each

70 of those little PITAs = 70x7 = $490.

oh yes....she wants a standard cake too????

that hex in fondant w/ extra detailing???

so that's what -- 8 servings --- ok that's
$3.50 x 8 = $28 just for that little 6 inch puppy for her to cut and smash in the grooms face.

but wait...it's got quiliting -- +50 cents/serving

so now up to $32

wait! it's got those blinkty blank placed with tweezers dragees -- which aren't cheap either -- ok. +75 cents/serving.

so now up to $38 for that little 6 inch/8 serving cake

hold on again!!!!
flowers -- roses! 50cents/small; 75cents medium and $1/large--- just how many are up there?!? looks to be at least 1 large and 4 medium and another 6 or so small....

so that brings up to $45 for that itty-bitty tier.

oh did i hear she wanted the roses dusted with gold, color etc???

well that's another $5

so now up to $50

add that to the $490

and we have $540.

and $10 "just because I'm going to need something to take away the stress of making 70 mini cakes!!!""

$550 please.