I did a work baby shower cake for a fellow co-worker & she loved it. The next day she tells me that her mom loved my cakes & she wants my number. I give her all my info but not my work #. & say I'd be happy to do any cakes for her . The next day 2 different girls approach me & tell me that this girls mom wants all my info again. So I give it to them & hope that this time she receives whatever she needs. Then the next day at work, the mom interrupts my work at least 4 times calling & asking for me , but every time by the time I finally get to the phone she's gone. I get home that day & she has called my house 3 times . Finally around 8 o'clock @ night she gets a hold of me. She tells me that she loved the shower cake & everyone has such wonderful things to say about the way my cakes taste. So for her family baby shower for her daughter she wants me to do the cake, which its Tuesday & the shower is Saturday. I say no problem. She tells me exactly what she wants decorated wise & taste wise & it's to serve 65-75 guest. Okay. Then she tells me to send her other ideas as well & a quote with each cake. Okay. So I stay up late putting together cakes idea's & quotes & email them to her like she asks. The next morning @ 7am she sends me an email," Oh I'm sorry my Mother called last night & already took care of the cake, I'll keep you in mind". Is it just me or did she not like my price? What do you think? I quoted $110-$125 for fully decorated(belly cakes), filled, & delivered 30 miles away cakes. I was just so that she sought me out that much & then cut me off.

Yeah, I understand where you're comin' from on that one. My first instinct would be that she balked at the price. "It's only a shower cake, and I don't want to spend that much." is what someone said to me once. Whatever.

On the other hand...she may have actually been telling you the truth. You may never know.

On to the next!

Sounds to me like maybe you should contact the mother and ask her if she's still interested...kind of a follow-up. You just never know if she's trying to surprise the daughter with a different kind of cake.

If she really did order from someone else, then I wouldn't think about it too much. For some people, price speaks louder than taste/creativity.

Good luck either way!!

Sorry, dup post.

$125. For 75 people. Girl, are you nuts?!?

Yeah, this lady didn't like your price. But I didn't like it either-you need to charge waaaaay more than that!

You'll never know the truth unless you ask. $125 is a great price, IMO!

Yup, sounds like she had sticker-shock.

Oh well, you can't get them all!

I say, let it go.
You can assume for days and never know the truth behind it.
So don't waste time thinking about it.

$125 is a steal for 75 people.

I guess your right you can't get them all. I sure would of liked to have had this one though. Since I knew the mother to be, I wanted to make it look so special for her.

Sounds like a familiar story. I had a bride's dad call me four months ago to say that they got given one of my cakes as an anniversary present and everyone raved about it. As a result, he wanted me to do his daughter's wedding cake. As she lives quite a dstance away, he let me know when she'll be coming down to theirs, so I can send some cake samples for the tasting. All goes well and I get the call from mum, dad and bride as well as an email confirming they will definitely use me and I get sent the design the couple want. I speak to the bride and we agree on flavours etc. I send her an invoice/contract and all of a sudden, it's way too expensive for her (she is spending close to £5,000 on the dress alone by the way). I of course had to charge her for the tasting cakes and have heard nothing back. Sorry to hijack the post but had to vent. Luckily, I have got another booking for the day but to waste my time for all those months. Gosh!

What do you think I should have charged?

Yup, she probably didn't like the price. Oh well, let her go to the grocery store and try to get what you were going to provide for the price you were going to give her...not gonna happen! I say let it go. You have to stick to your guns and never compromise on your price! Believe me, there are people out there who WILL pay the price you quote. Good luck!

does anyone else think "filled belly cakes" are funny?

As for what you should charge, it depends on a lot of things. Take into account the area of the country in which you live (price out bakeries in your area to get a feel for what they charge), the complication of the design, supplies, and of course, your labor/time. I recommend cake boss. I bought it (use your CC username and get 10% off) and it really helped me figure out all my costs and even tracks profits. Good luck to you! BTY, I think what you were going to charge was very reasonable. Her loss!

I think our charges were VERY reasonable. It works out at roughly $1.60 per serving when yo could easily have charge more than double that for a basic cake and at least three times that for something special. I agree with Burleigh that there are people out there who will pay you what your work is worth.

Thank you all so much for your info & support. I feel so much better now. I am looking into cake boss for sure. I did respond to her short email tell me if what I said was okay or if I was to rude:

I don't think it sounds rude, but is remember-able a word? I think you mean memberable (sp?) My tongue is tied now ,I am trying to pronounce it outloud to see if it sounded right, and now I can't even say it .

Replaced it on my spell checker and thats what they gave me to use so I guess it is proper.

Love the e-mail you sent to her. It was to the point and very professional. It was an appropriate way of explaning why you charge what you do because more effort, care, and LOVE go into your cakes. Go girl!

It is memorable.