Well my dear husband seems to think that I charge too much...for instance i do a ton of 3d purse cakes and i know most folks charge at least $5.00 per serving with a minimum...so my hubby thinks that I should charge a set price for the purses...$50.00 for small, $75.00 for medium & $100.00 for large 
He always asks me what I charge for this and that cake and when i tell him his response is always 'Damn, thats alot of money' 
I get so angry at him and I find myself explaining to him why i charge what i charge. It gets to the point when I just tell him to get the hell out of my space and don't come back 
... his response is always 'Damn, thats alot of money'
"Sure it is, honey! That's because it's a lot of work!"
"You mean you'd be ok with it if I only made $2.15 per hour on these things?"
Men think a GLAZED doughnut is eating high off of the hog, so don't ever listen to what they think. My husband thought a 3-tier wedding cake should go for thirty bucks. Even 20 years ago (when we were planning our wedding) that was a stupid assumption!
Men think a GLAZED doughnut is eating high off of the hog, so don't ever listen to what they think.
My hubby is the complete opposite. He's always saying I don't charge enough and if he talks to a client first he usually quotes them double what I actually charge. He says he just gets tired of seeing me work for days on a cake and not make any more than I do.
I look at it like this, and Suze Ormon helped a bit:
Duff, Colette, Toba, Bronwen... They all started somewhere. They are staying in business with minimums of $500 to $1000.
Suze's advice was to never sell yourself short. If you want to charge xx amount of dollars in a couple of years, why not right now? It may be harder to increase your prices when customers expect a deal then it would be to start at what you should know you are worth right now.
No excuses. No, "But I am just starting," or "Still learning.."
You want business from people who can afford you and who want cakes that are talked about after the party's over. No one goes to work the next day telling their co-workes about a Costco cake. If you sell your cakes for Costco's prices your referral's will all be those who want that deal. Not those who are willing to pay to impress their guest of honor.
When people ask me what kind of cakes I make I start by mentioning Duff because people know him and know his prices
Out of curiosity, I called around to see what the average rates of bakeries was around here and was shocked that it's only around $2.00/serving, which was what I was charging. After reading so many posts about this, I think this is WAY too low. I do a lot of specialty/sculptural work that takes time and skill. I'm the only one in my area that does the cakes (and uses the ingredients) that I do...
All the other bakeries do mostly buttercream cakes with the heavy piping, and they are good at it. I don't charge for tastings/consults like others do.
I'm a bit scared to have increased my price, but I'm going to see what happens.
A lot of bakeries START at that price, but when all is said and done the cake could end up being $6 per serving: extra for fondant, extra for figures and bows, extra for special cake flavors or to choose multiple flavors, extra for delivery...
(Edited to add that I just read indydebi's response saying the same thing 
)
KKC, tell your husband you think he is being paid too much, watch for the reaction.
Funny thing u said that because at his company everyone had to take a 10% pay cut...and now he's trying to discuss me increasing my prices ...uh men I don't think i'll ever understand them and their ways of thinking
I haven't done a cake in months because every potential order wants a nice cake for Wal-Mart or Sam's prices. And I don't think I'm high.
One of my biggest pet peeves is a lady here at work who has asked on several occasions for a 150-200 serving cake (Collette Peter's design, no less) for her church and then tells me I'm too high and she'll go to Sam's for a sheet cake. While I don't mind making a cake for MY church for ingredients only, I can't do it for everyone. My budget is just as limited as everyone else's.
On the other hand, I did a birthday cake for my mother's cousin a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed doing it. I had offered to make it for ingredients only but her daughter (a good friend) insisted on paying me more.
One of my biggest pet peeves is a lady here at work who has asked on several occasions for a 150-200 serving cake (Collette Peter's design, no less) for her church and then tells me I'm too high and she'll go to Sam's for a sheet cake.
Don't you love the illogical thinking? They ask YOU for a big ornate Collete design and want it for nothing. And when you can't do it for that price, then SUDDENLY a Sam's Sheet Cake is "good enough". They wont' ask YOU for the sheet cake, though.
Well, hell's bells, darlin', if you want just a sheet cake, then say so .... I can probably do one of those for the price range you want!
I agree with all of you regarding, "Don't sell yourself short"! I am high for my area, but I still think that a beginning cake decorator cannot start out charging what someone who has developed their skills over years, and is more advanced in technique and quality. I am not in any way discounting the effort work or cost, but I do think that has to be taken into consideration.
I am high for my area, but I still think that a beginning cake decorator cannot start out charging what someone who has developed their skills over years, and is more advanced in technique and quality.
MissRobin you are right. When I first started out I did cakes for relatives only for the price of ingredients but told them those prices would change in the future, they were my practice cakes. I have good relatives because they were just glad I was doing them for their celebrations and often offered to pay more. When I felt I was ready for the real world I started charging a bit below the seasoned decorator and gradually moved my prices up when I could see I was doing as well as them. I edged up to the going rate in a couple of price increases and most people didn't notice.
I called my one and only local bakery also, out of curiosity. I thought she had a cool pricing system. She charges 1.99/serving for a basic cake (no special fillings etc) with buttercream. For fondant it was the per serving price plus $45.00 an hour for the fondant work.
I called my one and only local bakery also, out of curiosity. I thought she had a cool pricing system. She charges 1.99/serving for a basic cake (no special fillings etc) with buttercream. For fondant it was the per serving price plus $45.00 an hour for the fondant work.
I don't get how you can charge hourly. Some people work a lot faster than others. I tend to zone out and my pace slows... 
Hi again,
Still hoping someone will post *how* they determine their prices (not necessarily what your prices are, just how you come up with them). For those that include time-it-takes in their pricing, how do you value your time? Each cake takes me so many hours that I think I would really never ever get a customer if I charged what I feel my time is worth. I'd be charging a few hundred dollars for an 8" buttercream cake with a few flowers!
patti
I'd be charging a few hundred dollars for an 8" buttercream cake with a few flowers!
Which is why many of us have minimum sizes and/or minimum dollar amounts. I won't do a 6" round unless it's part of a wedding cake and my smallest sheet is 11x15 (and I have to be in a good mood to take the order on one that small).
Small cakes take pretty much the same amount of time as a larger cake .... roughly same mixing time, same baking (electricity) time, same cooling time; About the same amount of time to ice an 8" round as it does to ice a 12" round .... but I get $75-ish for an 8" and $150-ish for a 12". But my payroll expense and my utility expense is the same. Same work ..... same expenses .... less income.
Not to mention that small cakes are a big PITA anyway.
So yes, a smaller cake WOULD cost more proportionately than a larger cake because of the set overhead expenses.
As far as HOW i set the prices I have, I'll quote a jeweler friend of mine, who had some guy come in the store and try to sell him some software that could compute how much he had to add into every ring and bracelet to cover his overhead. My jeweler friend cut him off and said, "Look .... I don't know the formula on how to figure all of that out, but I DO know how much I have to sell that ring for so I can pay the rent and keep the lights on."
I will share that when I joined CC just a couple of years ago, my cake price was less than half of what it is now. When I saw what others were getting for their cakes, I didn't pull back and protest, "Well you can't get that around HERE!!" Heck no!!! I stepped forward and said, "If THEY can get it, *I* can get it!"
And you know what? I can. 
Ditto to indydebi. Exactly. I did sit down to determine what an average cake costs me to bake, but only taking ingredients into consideration, not PG&E and labor. When I add minimum wage I realize I am still selling myself way short, but I also had to take into consideration what other bakeries are selling their cakes for.
I'd like to get twice what I am selling for, but first I need to get on The Food Network, lol.
When I saw what others were getting for their cakes, I didn't pull back and protest, "Well you can't get that around HERE!!" Heck no!!! I stepped forward and said, "If THEY can get it, *I* can get it!"
Indydebi brings us lessons in self confidence and excellent advice. If we all take her words and make them our motto it will pay off, literally, in the end. Don't expect it to happen tomorrow but a bit of persistence will make it happen.
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