Okay.. I made this cake for a friend of mine for her daughters birthday. (It was a big hit by the way) Two people asked me if I could make a cake for their kids birthdays and how much do I charge. Well I told them 40 dollars for the castle cake. (I think that's reasonable) I mean it cost me 20 dollars to make the thing plus 25 to 30 hours actually making it. So what is that, like 75 cents an hour?? Well both and i do mean both of them turned their noses up at me. Well.. that's too much.. I can get a cake at the grocery store for that price. Yeah well it's gonna be a regular old sheet cake and not something the kid is gonna remember like a super
cool castle. Please tell me if I'm being reasonable. I personally think I'm under charging. It's two 13 inch layers for the bottom and two 8 inch layers for the top. That's a lot of cake! How much do you guys think this cake should cost?
Oh and also.. This is NOT the Wilton Romantic castle cake set. Every tower was made by hand with paper towell rolls, ice cream cones and fondant.
I think you did a beautiful job!! Oh, and $40 is a steal for that cake! Let them get their sheet cake from the grocery store for $15! Ha!
You did a great job on the cake...much nicer than the Wilton one! And yes....way under charged~
I'm not sure where you are located, but it seems like everyone's prices on here seem high for my area
people are charging more than I would ever be able to get for a cake in SW Indiana
BUT!!!! 40 bucks for that cake - its a great deal!!!
don't worry about it, they can have their sheet cakes and you will get business elsewhere
ITS BEAUTIFUL!
$40 for everything hand made is way underpriced. Let them get a tasteless cake from the local grocery store for $15. They will realize they will get what they paid for at that price. And I agree with you, it won't be a memorable cake for the kids. My sons still talk about cakes I had made for their birthdays years after.
That is a beautiful castle. You are way undercharging for sure. I wouldn't charge any less then $80 for that cake. Maybe even more. It really came out great.
Don't you just love getting paid less than minimum wage for such a masterpiece. Whenever I tell someone how much time it takes to make a cake x $5 per hour plus the ingredients - they usually then don't balk about the price of the cake.
Sounds like those people were living in a dream world! I live in rural Kentucky, and just for a double layer 13" and a double layer 8", I would charge $77.50....and that's not with all the castle stuff! That's just for the two cakes stacked together.
If they want a cake for a grocery store price, I'm sure they can get an sheet cake with an edible image for under $40....and you can spend your valuable time with your family or working on a cake for someone who will really appreciate your talents!
By the way, the cake looks fantastic!
Let them go to the grocery store! I wouldn't take less than $80-90. It looks awesome!
Repeat after me "I don't compete with Costco"
I've said this before, but it bears repeating. The Lexus dealer doesn't feel bad when someone buys a Hyundai, they are in a totally different market.
bonnebouche you only think your talents are worth $5 an hour? A hamburger flipper gets more than that! At least in CA Min wage is $7.50 going up to $8 a the new year........ You are SKILLED labor. AT LEAST charge $10 an hour! I think closer to $30 is more like it (and sometimes I DO!)
i'm very reasonably priced....
i'd charge well over 200.00 for that cake.
you are fishing in the wrong barrel...
you don't want the wal mart shopper....your target customer should have more disposable income.
i've been noticing as of late, most of my customers have been comming in rocking the "LV" , hobo, or some other purse i could never afford.
they know you pay for quality.
and ...i also get people who are aghast that i charge 35.00 for a half sheet( i know too cheap), ya can get one from wally world for 19.00...off with you then...go to wal mart.
I have to agree with everyone....WAY undercharging. I would for more like $75. People just don't understand the amount of time it takes to bake and decorate a cake. We actually BAKE them, make the icing, ice it and put all of the little details on it as well as the stuff that we have been working on for a week or more! Oh well, we'll always have those few that don't get it.
I keep hearing that if you charge more you won't get the business, but how do you know if you don't try. I charge more than people and other "non-grocery store" bakeries in my area (and I undercharge compared to the cities) but I am booked for the year and have several up for next year.
It really depends on the cake and the skills. Don't undersell yourself.
By the way, for that castle cake you made (at 25 hour of labor) $0.80/hour. (Don't do that to yourself, you are much better than that!)
i agree! that cake is atleast $80 worth...great job! I'm learning my lesson now about undercharging...or not charging!
In response to Alicegop's response, I KNOW I am worth more than $5 an hour. I use that figure to make a point. I guess I, like alot of other members here, struggle with asking such a high price for our work. My cakes and cookies are just a hobby for me and support my shoe fetish but it sure would be nice to get paid more for what I do. Most of my cakes are for friends and family so I just feel guilty charging more.
I feel your pain! I get that response a lot and believe me, my prices aren't anywhere near what most people here charge.
I now have a stock response to the " Gee, I can buy a cake at Wal Mart for $15". It's this:
"I'm sorry, I misunderstood what you were wanting. I can give you a Wal Mart style cake for that price, no problem whatsoever. Now, what single buttercream flower did you want in the corner on that 1/2" high, 8x10 sheet cake?
Since I figure I've already lost their business, I can afford to be snippy. Sorry, but I've lost all patience with Wal Mart bakery customers who want a multi tiered, fondant covered, gumpaste flowered, custom flavored cake DELIVERED, for under $20.
My base price for a castle cake that doesn't require carving is $60...they can take it or leave it, but I'm not making one for a penny less than that and they're getting a bargain.
Littlecake is right...The Wal Mart bakery customer who is used to walking in and picking up a stale cake out of the freezer and having it "personalized" an hour before they need the cake is not your target customer. They'll never understand the difference between that cake and yours.
Good answer, justme...
The cake is gorgeous. And big. Your so-called friends are full of chit. 40 bucks for that creation? You might as well just give it away because 40 bucks is an INSULT.
Tell them your cake friend in Sweden would charge over 600 for that cake.
My castle cakes start at $75 and go up depending on the amount of work involved.
One thing I have learned from this site: set your pricing and then DON'T apologize for it!! There will always be people who would rather get a cheap cake from Walmart or Costco or the grocery store. They do not understand and will never appreciate the amount of time, work and energy that goes into creating an edible work of art.
I definitely agree with everyone else... You are WAY underpricing that... you did the math your self and figured you were only paying yourself $0.75 /hr, and I bet it was even less than that b/c your ingredients were aroudn $20... well you didn't factor in the electrical/water/garbage/phone bill or the time to run to the store and do any research.
For this cake I would consider it a 3D cake b/c of all of the homemade towers on there also. I use a serving size of 1"x2"x4" for pricing so for a 13" and a 8" there are 85 servings... so your quoted price was less than $0.50/serving... wal-mart even charges more than that per serving.
My price (right now as I am looking at raising my prices with all the ingredients rising) would start at $3/serving for only buttercream filling so my starting price would be $255, this includes delivery within the city limits (about a 7mi radius from the center of town)
You definitely are not in the same market as Wal-mart/target/any other grocery store bakeries, so don't feel bad when a customer like this says they can get it cheaper somewhere else.... Just laugh to yourself and wonder what grocery store they are going to get to recreate a cake like this for $20...
Your price of $40 is a really good deal. I think you need to charge more for your time
You will always find people who are not willing to pay $$ for your creations. Let them go elsewhere. You will find others who truly appreciate your art and your cakes 
Why, oh why would you volunteer to sell your time for $0.75 per hour? 
Your cake is beautiful. $250 would be the minimum I would sell it for. That is a WEEK's worth of work!!!!!!
If you could travel back in time to when those ladies asked you how much that cake would cost, I would ask them "Well, what do you make per hour at your job?" Whatever they reply, multiply by 25 hours for your labor, then tack on the materials cost.
I've never had anyone *actually* say to me "I can get a cake at Wal Mart for $15" but you can always tell who those people are. They're the ones who balk at a $30-$40 cake. I don't feel bad when they never call back. In fact I raised my prices.
I totally understand where you coming friends and family really do believe that just because you are baking from your own home you shouldnt charge the same price as they would if you walked into a bakery shop and even less if they shop at Walmart. At least you should charge for ingrediants and then plus some for your time.
I agree that your cake is worth over $75, I've just done one castle cake myself and friend gave me $40 I too under charged ($15) as I had never done one before and was really relaying on my castle cake pan being delivered on time which is wasnt so I had to come up with something else. My castle took 10 hours to make and once I told my friend that, she went away spoke with her dh and came back with $40 and mine was only a 9" two layer cake. But it was all made out of fondant aswell.
Chalk it up to experience I know loosing out on business is a bummer but if they dont see your talent and want to be stinggey then let them be.
Rach
I totally understand where you coming friends and family really do believe that just because you are baking from your own home you shouldnt charge the same price as they would if you walked into a bakery shop and even less if they shop at Walmart. At least you should charge for ingrediants and then plus some for your time.
I agree that your cake is worth over $75, I've just done one castle cake myself and friend gave me $40 I too under charged ($15) as I had never done one before and was really relaying on my castle cake pan being delivered on time which is wasnt so I had to come up with something else. My castle took 10 hours to make and once I told my friend that, she went away spoke with her dh and came back with $40 and mine was only a 9" two layer cake. But it was all made out of fondant aswell.
Chalk it up to experience I know loosing out on business is a bummer but if they dont see your talent and want to be stinggey then let them be.
Rach
It is surprising how much ingredients cost. A wedding cake I am making coming up soon the ingredients alone will cost me $80!!!!!!!!! For your castle cake you are at a minimum of $25 by my calculations and there looks like you have ingredients/items on your cake that I didn't account for. Don't feel bad for charging what your time is worth!
That cake is beautiful and definately a steal at $40! I am in an area where we don't get near the price for our cakes as what some of you do. My half sheet is $24 and I am the same price as the bakery in town. I know I am too cheap, but the prices are slowly going up as I build a clientel and get busier. I have the Wilton castle set and my starting price is $40 with some basic deco on the towers. If they want the towers fully covered and decorated it's extra. If someone balks at the price, start listing all the ingredients that go into it. That cost alone will wake some people up. Then tell them how many hours you will have to work on it and the fact that you're working for less than $1 an hour.
Or dare them to bring a picture of your cake to WallyWorld and see what they would charge! 
I can hear the Walmart staff laughing already!
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