Just wondering what you guys do about Cake Drums/Masonite Board (your support boards)? Do you have an extra charge for your board? Do you have a refundable deposit? If you have them returned do you have a huge stash of boards? Drums and "support" boards aren't cheap & I'm just wondering if I ever start selling what approach I should take. And where do you purchase yours?

If it's a D&R (Drop-n-Run) cake, I just wrap 3 cardboard in the decorative foil and use that as my base board. My cake supply store told me to do this instead of buying the drums because it's the same thing and it's cheaper to wrap them myself.

*IF* I was going to use something not really disposable, I'd weigh the cost of the board over the cost of the return. A $5 or $6 masonite board in a $400 cake is nothing, so I don't care if it gets returned or not. It's not worth $5 in gas. If it was a $20 board, that's a different story, and I'd probably charge a $20 deposit.

I use masonite through my cake (as the circle under each layer and also as my bottom support board), but I consider them a disposable item which is rolled into the cost of the cake. I do not, however, itemize the costs, and when I figure my per-slice charge the boards and all other extras are included in that calculation.