Hey cakers! I'm not much of a caker, I primarily do cookies, but a friend asked me to do a cake and i'm not sure how much to charge. at first I thoguht 80, beause that's really how much it cost, (my satin ice was $40 alone =/ ) but i'm not sure my ability is worth it. Please take a look at it and let me know what you think---and any critiques are welcome.

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1404002

thanks so much, ladies!

Jasmine

i personally would charge $125-150.00...

wow really?!


Awesome, thanks for posting!!

It's a really nice cake. In my area though I would be lucky to get $50 or $60 for it, but I live in a small town too.

What sizes are the tiers, how many servings? That's what I'd base my price off of.

The bottom tier is a 10" cake and the top tier is a 8" cake.

$5 ..... OK now before you all shoot me down in flames - I did this on purpose to make you think about pricing.

People are happy if they are advised in the high end of the price range (ie. MORE than what they had thought to charge) but for you to have any future in cake making you really need to be able to get your head around the pricing. It isn't as simple as just charging what somebody else charges or asking somebody how much they think it is worth.

This topic has been discussed a million times on CC and every other cake forum that I know of - but people still don't seem to get it that you need to know how much the cake is costing you, not just in ingredients but everything else associated with it and then you need to work out how much time you spend on the actual cake and its many processes - and ADD something for depreciation of your tools and equipment purchases.

When you are just starting out it really does pay to keep either a spreadsheet or even a simple exercise book - keep track of everything - write down what you quoted for the cake and then at the end work out your ACTUAL costs.... and then pick yourself up off the floor!! YES it is a steep learning curve but if you want it to be more than a costly hobby you need to become VERY familiar with what it is costing you.

Applegum I totally understand what you're saying. I'm just wondering if the look of it is worth the price. I understand how much it costs, but if it comes out looking like Tina Tweenager did it then it isnt worth what I paid to make it, right? I actually have a spread sheet, I just gave a discount and charging her cost, because she's my friend, and I dont normally do cakes for anyone outside the family/friends catagory anyway.