i now understnd why people just post asking 'us' to price thier cakes - its a challenge and a half doing it properly yourself! it turns out that everything i used to know about excel has gone out of my mind!

so i have my chart with all the prices put in, im fairly sure its worked out accurate. my plan is to check what i spend on family cakes to make sure the chart covers it! the first cake i did led to a big price increase

im in the uk, and from what i have seen on a lot of websites that give prices, we dont price per serving, its done per cake.
after being on here, i like the price per serving method.
and after adding per serving into my chart, i make a lot more *profit* on top of my hourly wage.

i just need a bit of ressurance that i should stick to my profit making per serving guns! and i do also have the 'will people really pay so much?' fear.
i guess cake muggles wont really put too much thought or understanding into how i arrived at my prices, so i shouldnt be worrying so much!
xx

Yes, people really will pay that much. I didn't always think so. But if you have what they want, they will.

I would definitely stick to your per serving price. Cake muggles don't always understand all of the blood, sweat and tears that go along with this business. You CANNOT give your stuff away. I can go buy a pair of jeans at WalMart for $20. But if I want designer jeans, I will pay the price tag on those. Same way with cake. Stay positive, by increasing your prices, you will be catering to a whole new group of people.

It's all a matter of semantics.

A 10" round serves 38 ... I use 35 as a round number.
Assume a $3/serving price. 35 servings x $2 = $70 for a 10" round cake.

Customer says,"How much is that cake?"
You say,"$70. It serves 25-35, depending on how you cut it."

A price-per-cake is just a price-per-serving-and-you've-already-done-the-math.

Indy - check your math.

We use the phrase "starts at $3/slice". We don't ever give the price right at the initial meeting. People know that if they want extras, the per slice factor goes up. What we give them after we do all the math is the price for the entire package. If they want to figure out the per slice on their own afterwards, so be it.

Paul & Peter

NO doubt. I had a couple literally scribbling madly on a peice of paper every word I was saying last weekend at a consultation. They more they scribbled, the more vague I was on pricing. It made me extremely nervous. I hadn't even gotten the contract out yet and they were on their second page of their notebook. It made me glad that I was far enough in my business to even have contracts! lol Let's just say that I just now got back to them on price! lol Yes indeed, took some time to think on that estimate, and I didn't shoot them a per slice quote because they would have taken that as the final pricing with out any extra frills. Honestly. I really don't price my cakes per slice because they are all decorated so differently. I never know anymore what the bride is going to want done, and some of them can be twice as hard as other cakes. I am learning with every order though. And I keep Indydebi and LeahS in the back of my mind all the time when I'm doing a cake consult. " be strong! Don't give in!" lol ok, enough rambling!

i have a chart that i have my basic pricing on then i have added extras and a list to remember to add on for. It helps keep it all clear for me, and i can feel that i'm being fair to me and to the customer.

thnk you guys i will be sticking with my per serving prices, i think. at least it gives me more room to give a discount to friends and still make money on the cake!
xx