Yea, some of that didnt even cross my mind. THe delivery place is less than a mile away, but that doenst mean I shouldnt account for some of the gas. Never occured to me to think about electricity used. Yes I fill them with frosting and tort them. I did count boxes, but I didnt necessarily account of the cake boards and covering for them. We shop at Sam's for groceries and have for a long time, so I dont think I would count that $30 yearly membership lol. And most of the pans I already have. I will look into it, but the clientel I will have may not go for it ya know? Not saying they are cheap haha.

Ok then...what would your prices be/are your prices for these sized cakes? Just curious, apparently I need a better idea.

I know you own your pans, and I get that mentality... you have to think about having some excess... in February my $500 mixer broke, just broke, nothing seemed wrong. I had it for 2 years and it just stopped. I took it to have it fixed and it is going to cost $425!!! so, I went ahead and just picked up a KA to use while I'm fighting with the company to fix my mixer cheaper or reimburse me something. But anyway, not thinking I would need to, I HAD to spend $300. Now, it really wasn't an issue for me as I charge enough to keep money for equipment, tools... But if you charge right at the line, then something like that happens, it can really mess you up and basically erase 2 months of work. Food for thought

I charge more than 4 times what you want to charge for an 8 inch round cake...

Here's how I see it, I am not a big bakery, each order I get I go shopping for and buy ingredients. I bake it, do the board, fill it, decorate it, box it, and deliver it (I'm zoned that I cannot have pickups). So, I spend time taking the order, gas and time to drive to buy the ingredients, gas and time to drive back, time and electricity mixing and baking. time icing, smoothing, decorating... .... I can not, from start to finish, make ANY SIZE cake in less than 4 hours, and that's super speedy for all that has to be accomplished.

If I was a big bakery and knew that 200+ cakes would be going out every week... it may be different. But then I would have the overhead of a shop, the oven and upkeep... so my prices would probably stay the same.

No offense...but are you saying you charge over $80 for an 8 inch round cake? If someone wanted to charge me that much money for one of those...I wouldnt be able to buy from them, no matter the reasoning behind it.
That is my point in all this I guess...if I wouldnt pay a certain amount for a cake, I cant expect customers to.

Pricing is a hard thing....where you live makes a differenct to....I live near San Francisco and I know I can get 1 1/2 time more there for the same cake here.
I don't mean to jab people but that is how it is....I started with 3 times my ingredents,materials and time, but that was many years ago...As I got better and had more to offer people I slowly upped my prices.

Don't under estimate your talent...you are offering a one of a kind, made to order cake. Just because you buy in bulk doesn't mean you have to lower your prices. You are still putting out the same cake.

Good luck....

Just to chime in on electricity. I was told that you take you keep track of the days you bake and when you get your bill you divide it out to get your daily usage, then your baking cost works out to be 10% of that amount. I'm pretty sure that's what I was told. I haven't sold my cakes yet, but was trying to do the research. And, I also have a Sam's Club membership and buy most of my supplies in bulk. Granted, not 50lb bulk, I don't have that kind of usage, but I've calculated my buttercream cost to make to be at almost $5. That would be an 8inch round 2layer, one layer of BC filling, and enough for decorations. That doesn't touch the cake/electricity/gas cost... I figure it COSTS me about $10 to make an 8inch round and I would NEVER sell that thing for $20.

ME, personally...

Having said that, its easier to say things than to do them.

I wish you the best of luck! I was asked by a bounce house place to make their cakes when I did a castle cake for my girlfriend's twins, but I had to kindly decline as I can't sell cakes in my state.

Can't resist....what you would pay should have no bearing on what you charge. If you are producing mediocre products, then, eh...don't charge a lot, because by all rights then you would be taking advantage of people. I'm not saying you produce crap, so please do not even begin to retort to that, I was simply using an example. If you make a knock down to die for cake with excellent detailing, then charge accordingly. I wouldn't pay $100,000 for a car, but there are people who will, and do. BTW, I am finalizing details now on a $200 10" cake as we speak. One tier. It is super detailed with fondant and for a very special once in a lifetime event.

That's where you are looking at it the wrong way. I charge $100 for an 8" round (covered in fonday and decorated with a custom board). That's $5/serving. Now I'm not saying you should charge that much, but you are charging less than $1/serving right now.

(and I wanted to add before I go further that I am in no way upset or trying to be confrontational... quite the opposite actually. So read everything I type as if it were coming from a good friend who cares about you and wants to see you do well okay.. )

Anyway... you not being able to spend $$$ on a cake has nothing to do with others not being able to or wanting to. I wouldn't spend $100 on an 8" cake either, but I have plenty of people who will. I do mainly wedding cakes, but I charge the same for party cakes. My time is worth plenty to me so I charge accordingly. I shop at BJ's and Sam's too for a lot of my ingredients and buy larger quantities on-line for what I can't get there. It costs me $1/serving to MAKE a cake. (some are a little less and some are a little more, but that's the average). That ingredients and boards and all that... not including my time. Now I make meringue buttercream and use premium ingredients... but even powdered sugar based icings cost a decent amount to make. I don't think anyone in this thread is heated... we've just been exactly where you are and may have already paid the price for low pricing. I don't think that $40 for a fresh, homemade from scratch, torted and filled custom decorated cake is outrageous at all. You are providing a service that goes way above and beyond the ingredients that go into your cakes... you are providing the service of going through all of the steps (from shopping for the ingredients all the way to cleaning up the mess) to make that cake for someone who doesn't want to or just plain can't do it themselves. That is worth getting paid for.

(edited for some serious typos )

How are you coming up with your pricing?

Most of us base our price by serving not by cake size.

For example......Wilton suggest that an 8" cake will serve 28 (wedding size) My bc price is $3.50 per serving for a torted (4 layers of cake, 3 layers of filling) everything made from scratch.

So my 8" cakes sell for about $126. I say *about* because this is my base price, there are flavor upgrades, design upgrades etc., I use ONLY premium ingredients, no exceptions.

It costs me about $1 to $1.25 per serving to make my cakes. I'm legal, I buy most of my ingredients wholesale at a local baker's supply, so I'm paying even less then Sam's or BJ's sells for.

I don't price comparison shop with WalMart, Grocery bakeries, or even storefront bakeries. In my area my competition are other home baker's that offer *quality, from scratch, custom designed, decorated cakes* You can't get our cakes at the aforementioned bakeries.

I don't want the clients that shop at the low end bakeries, they cannot afford my cakes and that's fine, heck I CAN'T afford my cakes, that's why I make them.

It's really your business how much you want to work for, please don't take offense when some of us tell you that you're pricing low and that you're cakes are worth more then you're charging. We're really trying to help you avoid working for pittance. (you're charging less then $1 per serving)

I own a Hair Salon, that's my main job. I charge $75 for a haircut, I DON'T pay $75 to get my haircut, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't charge that much. KWIM

You need to set your mind to thinking like a business woman setting out to make money and stop thinking like a consumer bargain shopping for a good deal on a cake.

I hope I helped you see things a little differently.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

LOL Tita! Thank you!


It wasn't very long ago when I too was confused about pricing and unsure of what people would pay, but as soon as I got the "I wouldn't pay that" mentality out of my head, took my work seriously and held my head high.....I have been pretty successful!

Shoot, I'm high class. LOL!

I'm a military wife so you know I'm not rich, but I'm a child of God so I consider myself to be royalty. I don't pay full price for nothing, but like someone else mentioned, someone else will and when they do, I hope I'm there with a cake to sell them. LOL!

A DKelly, I really do think you are an awesome gal, but if you keep throwin' that "wicked-awful" logo in this Bronx girls face, I'ma hafta stop being your homie...GO YANKS!! LOL!
(talk about startin' something on a thread!)

STOP!! I haven't been to a game in years! I soooo wanna see my guys play and I gotta do it in some fancy-schmancy new ball park instead of our old stadium, so sad!

Mariano Rivera is the man! I just want to go to a game and watch him make batters poop their pants.

Enjoy the game for me, and have mercy on the Yankees fans please (remember, the Sox'll come to the Bronx too). Put up a sign so I can see you on tv, El Paso doesn't have good baseball.

Well well well... we got ourselves a Yankees fan huh?? I suppose we can let that slide since Tita is wicked awesome herself... ... but I'm still hoping to see the Sox smoke the Yanks. We are die hard members of Red Sox Nation... one of my son's first sentences was "Yankees suck"... they were chanting it on a radio ad and he started saying it over and over... we finally settled on "Red Sox rule Yankees drool" to keep it G-rated.

edited to add that I am insanely jealous dkelly...

I never got to the old Yankee Stadium, I'm bummed about that. I don't think I'll be able to afford tickets to the new stadium, they're outrageously priced from what I've heard. Which is a shame for families wanting to enjoy a game together.

Even though I'm a Sox girl, I love Mariano too. Also love Andy Petit, although I'm not sure he's still with them.

I'll think about ya at the game, you're right El Paso isn't exactly *baseball country*.

Sorry to hi-jack OP...............back to business, I promise.

BOOOOO!! Hey, I'm sure they've moved it to the new stadium, but anytime you drove near the old stadium, all you Stink Sox fans were able to drool over all the WORLD SERIES TITLES the Yanks won. So don't hate! LOL!

It's all good though, my twins' learned how to respond to all Red Sox fans the same respectful way..."GO YANKS!!" followed by a sir or ma'am. What beautiful children they are. But in my defense I have been a Yankees fan through good and the bad times, my grandfather has been a fan since the days of Babe Ruth...you guys are familiar with him right? I think you suffered from a little of his "black magic" for quite a few years. LOL!

back to business??? oh darn!! I was just going to REALLY stir things along by saying...

BASEBALL??? Is that the game you guys play with the funny shaped cricket bat?


hahahahahahahaa - ducking for cover .... NOW!!!!

The old Yankee stadium is a legend in its own right, nothing will ever compare. I have an autographed Mariano Rivera ball, it's sits in its little case like a shrine or something. I really do love that man. He's so humble and polite.

Ok enough of how fabulous the Yankees are...LOL!

The whole, 'can't sell it if I can't afford it' mentality is what we all start with, I think. The thing is, that's most of america. with a small percentage being rich, I'd say the majority of working people cannot afford what they sell. I waited tables in a 5 star restaurant and couldn't afford to eat there (still can't! hah!). Did not stop me from selling a tasty meal and making a bank tip, ya know? I'd bet most real estate agents can't afford the houses they sell...

In any case, it's just not a good judge. A better judge is how much you are worth per hour. As for me decorating cakes, I know the grocery store right around the corner from me is hiring a cake decorator starting at $11/hr. So, I figure if I make less than that, I should just go get a job, ya know?

So, when I started doing this, both of my kids stayed home with me all day. I figured I could NOT go get a job, so making minimum wage was FINE, better than nothing, right? But when I priced things to make $8, stuff always came up that I didn't price for and I would make $4/hr. I would lose (more) sleep, wasn't giving my kids good attention, wasn't eating well, because the last thing I wanted to do after spending a day and night in the kitchen was cook! And I decided that it was not worth it... So I started charging more. and people paid it... some people still gawk at my prices, but a lot of people pay it.

*Curse of the Bambino*.....oh yeah, I remember

I've been a fan and have been going to Fenway since I was about 8 yrs old.
My Dad was such a fan and thankfully got to see them win the World Series in 04 before he died. We put a Sox hat in the casket with him and I swear he had a little smile on his face knowing he could rest in peace.......his team was finally the world champs!

Heck when you're a fan as long as I've been (almost 40 yrs now) you've seen and lived through some pretty disappointing seasons. It's so great to finally be one of the top teams, it feels good!

I hope they keep Fenway, it's the oldest park left in baseball. The seats are pretty uncomfortable, but it's *home*.

hey ApplegumKitchen, is a *cricket bat* like a fly swatter, 'cept you use it to kill crickets?

Didn't they call that Crocodile Dundee??

I'd be more afraid of the funnel web spiders than the sharks... but I'd still come to visit... I like creepy crawly things... and koalas... and pavlova...

OK - next Cake Camp is at Camp Applegum!!

Bring your own Scouts Tent, got plenty of room here - whole 10 acres of good old Aussie Bush - complete with echidnas, Platypus, koalas, kangaroos, the odd red-bellied black snake and PLENTY of funnel webs ! (whilst dangerous - think stories have been slightly exaggerated! I have kicked one on the skirting board inside my house - whilst vacuuming - and it didn't jump and swallow me whole!) They do survive under water for a long time though - so need to do a quick scan of the pool before jumping in! BUT guaranteed NO SHARKS in the swimming pool

It takes a lot to scare this Yankee beeotch. Not that I want to snuggle up with a taipan or anything... but I can hold my own okay. I'd totally come and camp out in your yard... if I could borrow your cricket bat for the bigguns.

I completely get where all these people are coming from and I think Applegum's advice was awesome (by the way, you made the BEST fairytale castle for your daughter's 26th birthday Applegum. I love it, I love it, I love it!).

I don't sell cakes but a few years ago, a friend of mine was getting married and was charged $300 for her wedding invites. $300? I could do that and for WAY less and everyone had complimented me on how stunning the ones I made for my own wedding were! So I looked into starting my own business. Over the course of months, I sourced the materials through various wholesalers, worked out what type of product I was going to sell, made up a heap of mock invites, got my business registration, listed in the phonebook etc.

I got my first order and I doubled the cost of my materials (added a shrinkage in there) and then whacked $100 on top for labour thinking that I'd more than come out ahead. Turns out I was way more pedantic with someone else's invites and was a complete perfectionist down to the mm - I was so critical looking at it the way I thought a client might. This took soooo much more time than I anticipated and given that I didn't know the person and had no connection to them, I really didn't enjoy doing it and started to resent them for the amount of time I was putting into something for a complete stranger. At the end I worked out my time had been sold at about $4 an hour. $4 an hour! My real job pays me over 10 times that! That was the end of it for me. I could have gone back and changed the pricing but I found I hated doing it for a stranger. I had no time left over to do the things and hobbies I love and I wasn't in a financially destitute situation that I had to do it. Now I generally make the invites for friends/family as a gift to them and I have the love back.

So to sum up, at first you think you'll be happy to work for a pittance to get your business up and running but once you start doing it, if you aren't getting the financial reimbursement for your time it might suck a lot of the joy out of it for you. It's a different story if any money is better than no money and you desperately need it to survive since there is no other income stream. The thing about cake decorating is that it is a labour intensive activity - you can't really churn out quantity to bring the profit up without the individual labour going into it. KWIM?

I was a fan of your work on the Cakes and More forum. My sis showed me the pic, then the forum disappeared so I then I found your pics on Flickr. I was able to track down your pics because they congratulated you on the birth of your grandchild on the new blog and I remembered your daughter was pregnant in the cake! I'm trying to build up my skills so I can attempt it for my daughter one day! I think it is my favourite cake I have ever seen!