Has anyone looked at the prices on Mike McCarey's website (mikesamazingcakes.com)?

His base price per serving for 1-100 servings is $2.30, and if the cake is over 300 servings, the price drops to $1.95 per serving!!!!

Now I'm sure that's just for the basic buttercream cakes, etc... but my no-frills base price is $3.50 per serving!!

Is the market in his area that bad? He is so amazing (and so much better than Duff) - I don't understand why he's charging so little.

Go figure.

Is he a cc'er?

Heck when you look at that, I would think a LOT of us charge more than him and I can't touch his level with a 10 foot pole! I don't care how basic the cake is, there is no way in he** he should be charging those prices, I don't. My thinking: if you want the brain surgeon to do your mole removal, be prepared to pay for it.

I'm not sure what is is pricing there but none of his cakes could possible be that low for anything. His cakes are amazing.

thanks for sharing.

Those prices are listed as his "base starting prices" I'm sure you can't get anything designed for those prices, nor any of the awesome fillings, etc.

If you read below the base price numbers, it says that is for a plain smooth butttercream, borders, one set of legs, and one plate. Flowers, fondant and all design elements are extra.

I'm surprised he would even list a price like that though. If you are going to upcharge on every single little element, what's the point of putting a low base price? I am NOT saying anything negative about Mike-I think he is phenomenal. He does things with cake that I only dream about. I just think maybe his website hasn't been updated in awhile.

I watched him one time and I think he has that price because of his staff they all do not design cakes like he does. He said they do the traditional style cakes also. So from a business stand point he is marketing to people who may have thought I can not afford to purchase one of your cakes. It's just business and he has a large customer base that he probably do that.

I am new to the Cake world and hadn't even heard of Mike. WOWZA!!! His cakes are beyond belief! In my wildest dreams I never imagined being that good. It's amazing!

Thanks for posting his site!

I love his website! His stuff is amazing! We've watched him win challenges on the Food Network. I'd love to be able to create like he does! Hey, BrandisBaked, I grew up in Twin and have a sister in Eagle! It's been 5 years since I've been back, though. My parents are still in Twin.

I actually did know this about his prices. Before writing my price page I went and looked a lot of them - not for the actual prices, just to see how many people give details on pricing (like xx per flower, xx for this...)

Anyhow, his page used to be much more detailed about pricing and I thought it was a little obnoxious (jmo) it was like, base price :$2.30 add:$xx for each additional tier, add: $xx for colors, add:$xx for special filling, add $xx for anything other than basic cake, add $xx for ...., add$xx for ... - you get it. It was so confusing, now they have the paragraph on calling for custom cakes.

I saw him on some show a while ago and he said something like putting out over 100 cakes a week, maybe? For some reason I think it's closer to 300 a week, but that sounds so crazy! So, I'm thinking they have a shop with rounds and sheets available and if you are grabbing a simple "happy birthday to you" cake iced by an employee and non-custom, you may be able to get that for $2.30 a serving. Of course, that's just my speculation...

I just can't believe that he would even list a price like that. If he's going to upcharge an outrageous amount for every minute detail (I only charge an extra $5 to turn a dessert cake into a birthday cake with the addition of some buttercream roses and an inscription) - then he's nickel and diming his customers which is an awful practice.

The only cakes I sell that are that low are my "loss leader dessert cakes". I sell a 9" round for $40 - basic buttercream, borders only - in white or chocolate.

Everything else STARTS at $3.50 per serving with me. I'm still just dumbfounded.

I ran across this bakery site, in NYC. You would think they would be outrageous in price but they are quite reasonable.
Example, a 9" Chocolate Gianduja 3 layer filled cake is only $57.00 and includes crushed pralines on side of cake and marzipan flowers. Makes my mouth water just looking at the pic. Here is the site if you want to see some delightful desert cakes. Also note the number of servings for their 9" cake.
http://www.blackhoundny.com/cakes.cfm

I love Mike's work, it is beyond awesome. If that are his real prices than I am really glad to see that there are still people out there that don't let fame get to their heads. I think some cakes by Toba Garrett, with the very intricate designs and piping, is well worth the thousands of dollars that she charges but a simple design would not be worth it.

So if Mike still charges low prices for simple cakes it tell me that he does it more for the love of cake than padding his pockets.

I will be ordering his teaching DVD's when they come out.

I love to decorate, but honestly I happily order my cakes. I don't have time to do much decorating right now. I can get a cake at Mike's for a fairly reasonable price, especially compared with other comparable custom bakeries in the area (not that anyone really compares to Mike's) My wedding cake was cheaper than I could have bought it at Safeway! Plus it tasted a million times better, and I got to have way better flavors than just chocolate and white with gooey, sticky "fruit" fillings!

You definately have to plan ahead and order at least a few weeks before you want the cake, and the place is a bit hard to find. But it's worth my money, that's for sure!

could you imagine how fast they could whoop out an ordinary cake?

prolly the amount of time it takes most people to do a 1/4 sheet....or less

Well, I don't know about you all, but I really had to decide what I wanted my business to be. There was one bakery in town that did like 15 weddings and an additional 30 or so small party cakes per week and they were just around $2 a serving. They got so much business because of the prices. They closed and now there is nothing like that at all. I've really contemplated if I want to fill that role. 50 cakes a week at $2 a serving is a lot of money. But, in the end I decided that I like art, and I like to create art, and I would rather do less more specialized cakes.

We are looking into expanding into a fairly large space, and I've been talking to some people about bringing in someone to pump out easier designs, but still provide our high quality and tasty cake underneath. who knows...

I saw him on a show and his average cake runs in the thousands...(depends if you want it shipped or not) But he does have a different side of his business where they do "normal" cakes and I think that is where the price comes from. I am sure its not the modeled chocolate cakes!

I had never heard of Mike before this post - thank you for posting the website, his work is MUCH better than Duff's - much more realistic looking than Duff's. I have no comment on the price...but think his work is worth much more than a lot of other "celebrity" decorators.

I love to watch Mike work, he is amazing. And to think that he loves his work so much that he prices a simple cake so that more people(average joe) can afford to eat his cake- wow that is like a ministry for him! Good for Mike- he makes up the difference in his custom cakes.

i have a confession....i got a lil crush on mike.....not just because he is such a fabulous artist....he is just so sweet and kind, have you ever seen him judge?

and now to learn he is so good to let the average guy afford his stuff....GEEZE I THINK I'M IN LOVE WITH HIM NOW.

I LOVE YOU MIKE!!!!!

there i said it.

I'm thinking that perhaps they wanted to have something that they could offer those that see them, but couldn't afford to pay the bigger prices? How many of us love Duff's cakes and would love to have one? I for one couldn't afford to pay the minimum $1000 that he wants for a cake order. This way, he's still the master of his craft and if you request a cake from him that is super detailed etc you're going to pay, but if a person is just star struck and wants to say they had one of "Mike's cakes" they can do that too without taking out a 2nd mortgage on their home?? JMO...