First Major Sculpted $$?

Business By saberger Updated 3 May 2010 , 2:05am by lisamenz

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saberger Posted 2 May 2010 , 10:37pm
post #1 of 7

I have never charged for any major sculpted cake and have no clue where to start. This is a cake that I have never done, will certainly require a LOT more support armature than I am used to doing.

I have my basic prices figured out, but I have no idea how to figure this out. Obviously I will charge for the supplies, but I need to give a quote to this customer. Also, how do I figure out the # of servings?

I would appreciate ANY help with this. I have seen some awesome carved cakes here on CC and thought there might be someone out there to help me.

TIA!

6 replies
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dreamcakesmom Posted 2 May 2010 , 11:03pm
post #2 of 7

I'm not sure what is on here for guidance for servings etc but when I do a sculpted cake I take into consideration the entire amount of cake I have to start with in order to cost out the recipe. For example I start with 45 servings (so I charge for this) HOWEVER then I have to cut into it and cut away say 10 servings, then I let customer know the cake only serves 35. Obviously you have to ultimately end up with however many servings the customer is looking to serve. I'm not sure if there is an exact science other than using the wilton or whatever chart and sort of ballpark figuring out how much cake you will cut away. There are some great templates on here for different shapes as to how to maximize the use of sheet cakes so that there is minimal waste.

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saberger Posted 3 May 2010 , 12:13am
post #3 of 7

Thanks for the info. Do you charge extra for sculpted cakes per serving? How do you determine that price?

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Kiddiekakes Posted 3 May 2010 , 12:31am
post #4 of 7

I charge $5.00 per serving for my scupted /3D cakes...It usually is a cake that feeds 20-30 people so that means about $100.00-$150.00 for a 3D cake and extra for major embellishments etc...The 3D Crown cake I just did fed about 30 people and I charged $200.00

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lisamenz Posted 3 May 2010 , 12:44am
post #5 of 7

My base price for this cakes is any where from $250 up to $650 in price. It depends on what it is and how big, how much time it takes. I never get resistance to my pricing. In fact people usually tell me that I don't charge enough, and I am listening to them, lol. good luck, they are alot of work. so don't under estimate the time that goes into these. Good luck icon_lol.gif

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saberger Posted 3 May 2010 , 12:52am
post #6 of 7

Would you be willing to tell me what your price is for a regular cake vs the sculpted so I know how to figure out th comparison. Every location has different pricing standards.

This cake is to be 5 tiers and each one will be carved a different shape. I was thinking of adding at least $100 more than I think since it will be time consuming and I will probably undercharge (is that wrong?) icon_wink.gif

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lisamenz Posted 3 May 2010 , 2:05am
post #7 of 7

Wedding cake very simple basic starts with me at $4.00 a person. My fondant cake per serving start at $7.00 . The sculpted cakes would definetly start at $7.00. I try to price the sculpted cakes according to how much work, and not by serving. I did a live size bulldog, it was based on the work it was $ 650.00 cake. I did a life size grooms guitar cake and it was also in this range. Now say it was smaller, then like a beer cooler cake sculptor, it would be in the $250.00 range. Small but with sugar beer bottles., hope this helps you out. I hope you get what your worth and your time., good luck.

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