I'm new to this pricing thing; have given away too much stuff over the years! Anyway I'm getting more orders for graduation cakes and such and am not quite sure how to price full sheet cakes (1 chocolate, 1 white) so 2 12x18's. My regular plain sheet cake I have around $50 but for graduations there are more decorations; caps, scrolls, dolls etc. or making it a theme. Do I include all the plastic decorations in the original price or add it to it, do I charge for the large box I have to put it in? If the want a football design or whatever, do I charge more. Also most of my clients want Mousseline Buttercream because that's what I use at my son's restaurant and it's a little harder to decorate with it unless someone has some tips for me. Can you use edible paper on Mousseline? Thanks for all of the help. I really enjoy reading these forums and have picked up loads of help. My son says whatever I make on the side is mine so I am picking up clients through the restaurant.

Thank you,
Colleen aka Mom's Alternate Endings

Are you saying you sell an 18x24 (two 12x18's) for $50?? You DO realize that's 108 servings, right?

The box should be figured in as part of your cost. I can't imagine buying a cake and seeing a line on the invoice for "Box ..... $4.00". Kinda like buying a coke at McD's where the price on the menu board is $1.00 "...plus $0.10 for the cup".

I don't add the cost of the plastic decors .... again, this should be figured in as part of your cost. If your cake is priced right, then the two bucks for the plastic shouldn't be a big factor.

Just to give you a reference, I get $150 for a plain 'ole BC iced and decorated 18x24 cake. Can they get it WAY cheaper at the neighborhood grocery store bakery? Yes they can. Some go to the grocery ..... others write me a check.

no, it's $50 for one 1/2 sheet cake. this one is for a large graduation party and I told her how many it would serve. I don't list the box price but I've always wondered how people come up with their prices. I spent weeks researching costs and have made a cost chart for myself and wrote down next to my popular recipes how much each one costs me to make and added in some of the other costs but didn't know if I was doing it right. I've made up a book with them in it and I have it at the restaurant and my work so people can see what I offer. The grocery store is selling 1/2 sheets for $45 all gussied up, but I think more people are going for taste and helping out small business bakers(home or otherwise).

Colleen

the way i do it is i have a price written down (that helps a great deal) for all my sheets, then after someone describes what they want i can then add on to it as i see fit. i dont charge extra for the box, thats part of the cake. but just having your base price set will be a big help. when they're looking for a price upfront say well i start at XX but after you've chosen what flavour cake and the design details then i can give you the final price.

Thanks; that makes more sense. Like everyone else, sometimes your'e afraid to charge what you want or need because you're afraid they might say no. I had to deliver a huge 10 inch carrot cake and a heart shaped New York Cheesecake with fresh strawberries and topping to the restaurant tonight for a wedding rehearsal dinner and I was spazzing out when I made the bill out; $47 for the cake and $35 for the cheesecake and I decided I was worth it and so were the cakes!

Colleen