I Knew This Would Happen Eventually But.......
Decorating By kimmypooh79 Updated 9 Aug 2008 , 10:18pm by kimmypooh79
I got my first cake order from someone other than family for a $30 8" carrot cake. The cake was for tomorrow and I was going to make it today. I've already purchased the ingredients and the lady canceled late this afternoon. Luckily, I hadn't made the cake yet but I am still out that money. 
I am angry but at the same time, in my eyes, (being new to selling my cakes) this justifies me putting a required deposit into place. I would have anyway on anything over $50 but now I think I'll do this on everything. I may even require payment in full under $50. What do you think?
I got my first cake order from someone other than family for a $30 8" carrot cake. The cake was for tomorrow and I was going to make it today. I've already purchased the ingredients and the lady canceled late this afternoon. Luckily, I hadn't made the cake yet but I am still out that money.
I am angry but at the same time, in my eyes, (being new to selling my cakes) this justifies me putting a required deposit into place. I would have anyway on anything over $50 but now I think I'll do this on everything. I may even require payment in full under $50. What do you think?
Thats reasonable...to get payment in full under $50. I'm sorry this happened to you but at least u didn't make the cake. I had a similar situation about a month ago, I had this girl who called the day before she wanted the cake and asked me to make a Bustier cake. Ok I wasn't busy so I said yes and instead of me asking for a deposit I went ahead and made the cake anyway. Well I called her that morning and told her the cake was ready and she said ok she'd be here by afternoon...well she didn't show up, I called her about 2 more times after that and when she didn't pick up I said forget it. Good thing my cousin had graduated from High School so I gave him the cake for his party (I got him the closest thing to a stripper) 
Well after that I said no more, I don't care if the cake is $15 I need something before I bake anything. Take it as a lesson learned, put your foot down when it comes to your deposits and don't bend for anyone 
I had someone call me a couple months ago for a simple sheet cake like one I had made before. He needed it the following day so I said ok. He said he was a truck driver and would be able to pick it up. I was never able to get the phone number to work when I tried to call to ask a question.
He never showed up to get the cake. He live about 30 mins away. How could I have gotten a deposit from him to avoid this happening again.
I have started getting a phone number and calling before I start the cake to try to eliminate this. I ask for a home phone number so I can do a reverse number search and get an address. That way I can at least bill them for it if they flake out on my.
I would appreciate any other suggestions.
I require a 50% deposit and full payment 4 weeks before the event. If you order after that 4 week mark then you pay in full in CASH at the time of the order.. no money.. I don't buy anything. You have to.
I dont think that requiring a full payment on cakes under $50 is unreasonable at all. It is just protection for you!
Leahs.. PayPal make me nervous.. they tend to side with the payer in a dispute. Have you ever had someone try to dispute your transaction?
Leah,
Can you explain for us how Pay Pal works?
What do you like and not like about it?
Does it protect you from "bad apples"?
Have you ever had to refund money through it?
Is there a waiting period between when the customer sends the money and when you actually get it?
Thank you,
-Debbie B.
Get yourself a PayPal account. You can send the person an invoice and they send you the money electronically. You then transfer the money to yur bank account. I do this ALL THE TIME with brides.
depending on whether or not you are willing to pay the $30.00 month service fee (I am since I do large quantities & it makes it worth my while), you can sign up for a Paypal business account which allows YOU to put in the credit card number yourself. If find this makes things a TON easier when accepting last minute orders. I just tell people that they can either come in to place their order & make the payment in person or I can take a credit card over the phone. Usually they always pay with a credit card over the phone so they do not have to make the trip down. Once they give me the info, I just log onto Paypal & enter it. This way, it is just like any other business that takes credit cards over the phone. I've never had a problem with disputes at all.
Paypal is very convenient and easy!!It allows customers to "Send Money" which is making a payment even if they don't have a paypal account.I use this online and Ebay all the time and I have never had a problem.I have a had a few disputes myself over falsly advertised good but I got my money back!!
Paypal is an online payment system. There is no machine.
I get deposits from everyone or full payment if the cake is due within 7 days or less. If I'm going to be inconvienced with a last minute order I'm going to get paid in full up front. (learned this the hard way)
I use Google check out - I send people an invoice to their email and they can pay me online.
I used Paypal until they decided to hold a $500 order I had. They requested all sorts of proof for the order. I faxed and faxed and faxed copies of my receipts for items purchased, the invoice the customer signed and they still held my money for 3 months before sending it to me. Their reason for holding the money "the transaction looked suspicious"!! YES Paypal can decide to hold your money with NO warning to you. I had been using them for more than 5 years processing the same types of orders and this wasn't the 1st time I ran one through for $500 and never had any chargebacks on my account. They can hold your money for any reason they want and there is next to nothing you can do. Yes you can call them but if they want to hold your money they can.
Others have had success with Paypal but when $500 of your hard earned money gets held for no reason it kinda makes you MAD 
I've been using Google for 2 years and haven't had one problem. (fingers crossed)
Get yourself a PayPal account. You can send the person an invoice and they send you the money electronically. You then transfer the money to yur bank account. I do this ALL THE TIME with brides.
Paypal rocks. I've used it for years for my craft business, with no problems. I have a small business account so the only fees I pay are transaction fees (I try to allow for that when setting my prices). I believe it's 3% for the small business account. If I did a lot more business, I'd gladly pay the $30 fee for extended merchant services.
I also save a step by having the Paypal debit card. No credit check or anything, and you can use it as soon as the money goes in, instead of having to wait 3-7 days for it to transfer into your account. Heck, I've been able to use it in emergencies, when I was stuck out of town with a broken-down car, and needed Mom to send me some cash to get repairs. 
She sent it within minutes, and I was able to call and verify the funds immediately. Was back on the road in no time.
I highly recommend it. I know that there have been some security issues in the past, but to be honest, I've never had a problem, and their customer service has always been great for me. Your mileage may vary. 
My two cents' worth.
paypal also offers a free service for personal use.. .you aren't able to take credit cards, but most people who buy on ebay or online anything have a paypal account.. paypal is owned by ebay... i have used paypal for years for both buying and selling with no problem... check it out!!
I have a personal Paypal account. I think I'll check into that Google checkout and the Paypal for small businesses. Thanks for so many responses! It does make me feel better about wanting my $ up front.
I have PayPal and love it. It's the only way I can take credit cards and most people would prefer to pay that way, and then I can also take deposits with no problems waiting for checks to clear, etc. There is a maximum limit on transactions for the personal account, so I got the small business account where there is no limit on transactions (I don't believe anyway), but I do pay that fee. I've heard of some people adding that to the customer's invoice, but I'd rather pay the fee than lose a sale or lose money because someone's check bounces on me.
I don't do a single order, no matter the amount, without a deposit if I don't know the person. I will take COD orders for friends and family, but that is it.
I have a PayPal business account (not the one where you have to pay $30/month) and the fees aren't bad at all. I am just leary of it since they do automatically side with the person making a dispute (at least at first) and like the PP said it can take a while to get your money after it is all said and done. I have never personally had a problem, but I don't want to take a chance and not have my money. If I don't feel good about a person I will not offer it as an option. I had a couple that would have liked to use a cc, but I didn't feel good about them and they ended up dicking me around and I almost cancelled their order due to tardy payments.
The paypal account that I have lets you transfer the money in PayPal to your personal checking account and it only takes three days to clear the transfer. I also pay a $30 monthly fee and there is a percentage charge on all credit card payments. To me it is so worth the charges. I have never had any problems and you know instantly if the card is accepted.
I don't do a single order, no matter the amount, without a deposit if I don't know the person. I will take COD orders for friends and family, but that is it.
This is going to sound bad but I'm going to get deposits from friends and family, too. That way I can try to avoid the awkwardness of bounced checks and non-payment from the ones that try to take advantage.
I don't do a single order, no matter the amount, without a deposit if I don't know the person. I will take COD orders for friends and family, but that is it.
This is going to sound bad but I'm going to get deposits from friends and family, too. That way I can try to avoid the awkwardness of bounced checks and non-payment from the ones that try to take advantage.
No, doesn't sound bad. If you have people in your life that would do that to you ( ) then I don't blame you at all.
This is going to sound bad but I'm going to get deposits from friends and family, too. That way I can try to avoid the awkwardness of bounced checks and non-payment from the ones that try to take advantage.
Sweet Jesus, hunny, why have coffee with people who pee in your cup?
Sweet Jesus, hunny, why have coffee with people who pee in your cup?
LOL!!!! 
That's too funny! I do have at least one person in my family that has always "borrowed" money from nearly everyone in my family but me cuz I know better. If she wants a cake she'll have to pay first I just don't want to single her out. I don't know if my friends would stiff me but I figure why take the chance you know.
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