Hi, could someone help me? I'm in a little binder here. Okay I made a 2 tier 8 & 10 stacked cake for a 1st birthday today. Basic flavors, chocolate & choc bc. Used fondant to cover. Marzipan bear, rice paper butterflies & dragonflies. Took me about 16 hrs. total to complete everything...from making the flowers, bugs, painting, dusting, etc... I also made 1 full sheet cake on the side. The parent's of the birthday girl are also close friends of the family... I haven't given them a definite price and they said that they don't care what it is. I was thinking maybe around $300? Too high? Too Low? Your responses would definitely help me!!! Thanks everyone!

It is a lovely cake, but I would be shocked to get a bill for $300 for a birthday cake. Especially, since you did not discuss the cost ahead of time.

Just my opinion here, but the way I price my cakes is by how much it cost me to make. I total the cost of everything I used, and then just double it. That pays my labor and time, elec. I agree, I would probably fall out if I were handed a bill for $300 for a birthday cake. I've done wedding cakes for less. Try adding the cost of everything you had to buy to make this cake and double that and see what you come up with then. I also give family and friends a 25% discount off that price.

Wow! On both accounts. It is a VERY pretty cake and VERY high price tag. With a few exceptions. It is a lot cake. Ten inch and eight inch PLUS a full sheet cake. I really don't think $300 is a bad price. Those cakes alone have to feed about 100 people, if not more. Then the work that went into it. Sixteen hours. Definitely $300 including the work. Having looked at your other work I don't think the customer would be sticker shocked on the cake. IMHO.

I don't think that $300 for that amount of cake and all that work is too high at all! If your relative is going to be happy with it (perhaps give them a bit of a discount), and that's not astronomical for your area, then charge it without any qualms! It amazes how little a lot of people on this board sell their artistry for - you and they deserve more!

The price does seem pretty steep...I've been thinking long and hard about the price for the past couple of days now. Oh, my clients also knew that the price would be in the hundreds range... I guess geographical location is also a major factor in pricing a cake. I know that there are a number of decorators in Hawaii that charge a minimum of $5 -$7 per slice. But, I think that since I'm just starting out it would be best to charge a minimum of $2.50 - $3 / slice. Friends and Family are always at a very very discounted price. This is actually for me very good practice, thank you for your replies. It's been a huge help!

Well, in that case, your tiered cake and the full sheet must be enough to feed at least 100 right? So 100 @ $3 per serving is $300 - please don't charge any less, you really do beautiful work - I know this is for a relative (and by all means give a discount if you wish), but for customers in general - if you start out by charging too low a price, you will find it very difficult to raise your prices to where they should be for your standard of work in the future (which I cannot say is at all amateurish now (in fact it's very professional) - so with even more practice will be outstanding quality!!!).