Now, I know this topic is run into the ground around here, but I need a kick in the tail. I can not seem to charge enough for my cakes. I'll start out strong and give the customer a price. "That will be $90." Then they will get these wide eyes and say, "Really?". That's all it takes for me to say "Well, I could give you a discount since it's your first order." Why????? Why do I do that to myself? So, if you could, please pick a cake out of my photos and tell me how much you would charge. I'd love to hear opinions from people who actually know how much work goes into a cake. I think this will give me the confidence I need and show me what reasonable prices would actually be.
Thanks so much!

OK... let me 1st say that I too am a huge undercutter of myself.. mainly because I want to build up clients, but secondly because I am afraid of the gasp that I get when people hear the price. I recently lost a baby shower cake that I was under priced because she still didn't want to pay my price when her aunt could make a sheet cake for free. hehehehehe, oh well! I just say "other people's opinion of my cake is its too good to pay full price for, or so they think!"

anyway, your cakes are great... I chose the least of the evils... the butterfly. This cake is absolutely precious and will be a favorite of mine for a long time... I am going to guess and say it probably fed 15-20 (which my or may not be right.... but my $ amount is based off of that!) So I would have charged at LEAST $30 for this.... this cake is unique and beautifully decorated... not simplistic at all and I think the time was well spent. They couldn't have found it anywhere else but from you Hope this helps!

I agree...IT IS SO HARD TO CHARGE! This is now what I am thinking....(and doing)...Especially if it is a 3d cake in anyway, Not alot of people do that ...and it takes so long and is very different. You can charge whatever. If they don't like the price they can go elsewhere.
I feel bad giving a price for anything...I am horrible.
But Good luck, and don't sell yourself short. Really people want different custom cakes...that is why they called you. If they want a regular cake from a gorcery store...they can go there.
Good luck, your cakes are beautiful!! Nicole

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&meta=allby&uname=coolmom&cat=0&pos=1

I would charge $60.00

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&meta=allby&uname=coolmom&cat=0&pos=0
This one would be between $40-50

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&meta=allby&uname=coolmom&cat=0&pos=7

This would be in the $90 range.

HTH

for the steelers jersey cake (which i love) i would probably charge atleast $25 but then again i seem to have set my prices too low as well.

BTW do you mind sharing the recipe for the white cheescake flavored cake in the picture?

Thanks guys, that helped a lot! I just need to set my prices and stick to them. It doesn't matter if I lose someone's business if I wasn't going to make money off of the low amount they wanted to pay me, right?

Now for the cheescake cake :

I use either a DH white cake mix or the basic white cake recipe on CC, then I add a box of cheescake pudding and an extra egg. No big secret there. I usually fill it with cream cheese icing. It's my favorite and my most popular flavor.

This is what I have decided...after underpricing too many times and then spending HOURS on a cake.. It is just not worth it to me. I am going to start setting the price and sticking with it and if I lose their business..it's okay..because my time is more important..And anyway it's like my mom told me..most people think they are getting a better product if it costs more..so don't sell yourself short anymore..

I hope I can say this without getting clobbered...

You have to run your business just like any other business is run.

Figure your costs,your time and charge accordingly!!!

What good is it to get a cake order and lose money doing it?

I understand the theory of doing cakes for cost to get "seen" but that gets old quickly and future customers may wonder why they are being charged more than their neighbor was for their cake.

If you are offering a quality product you should have no problems getting orders. Be consistent in your work and eventually the customers should come to you.

Any business that stays in the red will fail. And unless you have money to burn, to cover your expenses, the goal should be to get it into the black ASAP. The ONLY way to do that is to charge your customers enough to cover your expenses. Period.

I looked at your website and can clearly see you are talented and are creative. Your prices are appropriate for your skill level and you just have to be firm when pricing.

I used to be just like you. I felt uncomfortable charging, but as my skill level increased it was noticeable. The comments I received let me know if I would continue pay more attention to detail I could certainly charge more.

Well having said that the cute 3 tier cake you did with the pink and green. I have done several like that for birthdays and I sell them for over $300. I just did one in December 6"-8"-12" with the top 2
tiers being styrofoam, for $275. plus she ordered cupcakes at $2.00 each. They expect to pay more if you make it nice and treat them nicely.

The bad side of getting these high end orders is I have found myself snubbing the small orders. Or the lady who wants a nice but inexpensive cake,,, guess Risque is right,,, I am offended by them and want to tell them I am booked and can't do the order. But I must humble me!

mpc

PS-Just me, I don't like the music on websites, I always turn them off.