I really need help and some advice for this cake order I have coming up.
The bride would like a cake that will feed around 40 people, but also wants the look of a 4-5 tier wedding cake. She is supplying the cake dummies, the cake is to be done in all fondant, with pearls monograming and lace work on all layers, I had told her the price for the servings will be 1.90 per serving. I know for some of you this is very cheap, for my area it really isn't. I have no idea how to charge for the cake dummies . I know they will take me just as long to decorate as the serving cake. Should I charge the same or just add on an extra charge for decorating the dummies. Any advice is welcome !

Since you are already the lowest price I have ever seen anyone admit to for fondant work, of all things, I wouldn't dream of dropping any lower than that. I mean, 4 to 5 tiers of fondant alone is probably going to put you in the red as it is with a per serving that low.

Just so you know they will take you longer to decorate. Dummies are harder to cover in fondant.

OMG, I thought your price was for bc until I reread that. Seriously, established bakeries and cakers in your area don't charge even $2 for fondant?

If she wants the look than she should pay the price! Way, way, way more than what you quoted her.

Ok Ok, so I get it I am way under priced. In my area most of the bakeries are in home and most of them do not do the fondant. We have one Wal-Mart in my area other than that I have to drive 45 min to an hour for larger town. Never the less, I do realize it will be costly to cover those dummies and I have no intension of doing this for nothing. When she showed me a picture of the cake I was like WOW all this for 45 some pepole, OK ! I understand what all of you have said and will think this one through much better.

This is directly from Carlo's Bakery's website (Buddy Valastro):

http://www.carlosbakery.com/About/FAQ.aspx

Do you make fake or Styrofoam layers?
Some customers have asked if we could use Styrofoam as opposed to cake to pump up the height of their cake. We typically do not do this, just because of the simple fact that the same amount of work, time, and detail is put into your cake whether it is cake or Styrofoam.

Sounds to me that *IF* he used styrofoam, he'd charge the same price.

I see no reason to do any different. The fact that she's providing the dummies would be irrelevent to me. She's not paying for "the cake". She's paying for the time and talent to turn a short, dinky, squatty looking cake into the grand artistic work of sugary art centerpiece that she wants to impress everyone with.

She wants bells and whistles? Those cost extra.

I say it in my blog, too: http://cateritsimple.blogspot.com/search/label/fake%20cake


By the way, if no one does fondant in your area, that doesn't mean you have to do it cheaper. On the contrary, that puts you in the drivers seat. Basic law of supply and demand. If you're the ONLY one who offers it, you can pretty much name your price. Supply and demand, darlin', supply an demand!

Debi says it all and all of it is right. You have the opportunity to corner the market in your area. Good luck!!

Thanks to all of you I know all of you are right. I just needed to know my thinking was correct in the fact the dummies are just as much work as the cake.