I made this cake for my son and now I have people calling requesting it.
WHAT WOULD YOU CHARGE?
Bottom is three layer 10 inch cake
Second tier is two layer 8 inch cake
Top is two tier, I used one 6 inch and then used half of the wilton ball pan for the top.
All butter cream except, the fondant accents.
PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!!!!

I wouldn't charge anything because I wouldn't want to get into trouble for selling a cake with copyrighted characters on.
You could offer to make the base cakes, and ask the customer to buy the plastic figures and they place them on once they have the cake from you, but I'm not sure you can even do that.
But I don't know how much you should charge since you don't say where you live. If anyone can help you with this, you will likely be asked some of these questions: What do other people in your area charge? Is their work better or worse than yours? How much does it cost you to make the cake? If you provide some more info, you may get replies which are more helpful than mine

Wow..That is a lot of cake....According to the wilton serving chart it feeds close to 100...94 to be exact give or take a few servings.I charge $3.00 a serving for Buttercream tiered cakes..plus the internal supports...plus all the fondant accents....plus your time etc...


Cost for me would be....$350.00-$400.00 easy...

This same cake all in fondant would be $600.00 and up!

WOW -- a really nicely done cake. Be proud!

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I wouldn't because I can't legally as shown.

Making it to sell is a copyright violation as the figures are Disney's copyrighted property.

That you made it for your son -- ie a private, personal cake not for resale -- is the saving grace for not being a copyright violation in THIS case.

The minute you sell it in any way (including having them buy and give you the ingredients but no money) it's a violation. If any kind of exchange of goods (ingredients, something they've made, $$, etc.) occurs it is a business transaction and becomes a violation of copyright......

not to mention the whole local and state licensing, health inspection, home business, etc. laws and regulations that do apply.

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You COULD make the cake without ANY of the figures on it and the people could buy toys and put them on THEMSELVES.

then, it would be simple to figure a cost.

Take the number of servings times at least $2 and better yet $3 per serving.

so if it serves 100 people, then its a $200 to $300 cake.

i did tell them they would have to get their own figuries for the cake.
I paid $25 for just the figurines.
I am just asking for the cake part of it.
thanks for your help.
Also, I live in Oklahoma a small town. everyone here has to drive at least 35 - 50 miles to the nearest Wal-Mart for a cake.

Yes..I was figuring you could do a generic style Toy Story colors and all and they could put the figures on it etc..I don't supply figures etc either..Too expensive...

Awesome cake. Be careful on the issue of taking money for this cake though. You are dealing with licensed characters and copyright issues. Tough one, I know. Better to be safe than sorry.

How you want to price it is up to you. I wouldn't go any lower then $3.00 a serving if I were you. Make them buy the toys though. Like everyone else has said, you don't want to get into trouble with Disney.

Your cake is amazing btw. I can see why you are getting a lot of attention for it.

yeah, someone touched on the part about you needing to be a legal, licensed, inspected company before you can charge anyone a penny. so if i were you, i wouldn't wonder about what to charge people, i'd wonder how to start your business and do this thing legally

especially if you live in such a remote area that people have to drive that far to get a walmart cake?! sounds like you could strike on something huge here

An interesting question to pose - since you bought the figurines (versus making them yourself out of fondant or gumpaste) I wonder if that really is IPR violation. You made a cake without any reference to Toy Story on the cake part and placed purchased figurines on it. May be a gray area but I would think this is OK unless Disney has some disclaimer on their toys that states exactly how they are to be used

It depends on your area...I would do this cake "background" for the characters the client would place on the cake for $4 a serving. So about $400.

Cat

My fondant cakes start at $5.00 a serving, but that's out here in San Diego. I would definitely look at some of the other bakeries in your state/area and figure out what they are charging. But this cake is amazing and you deserve to be compensated fairly for it, at least $400. At my prices, factoring in time for all the details and some carving, I would charge $500. Good luck!

Well...sounds like we are alot alike...I, too, live in a small town. I wouldnt dare charge 3 or 4 hundred for that cake,,,,,although it is worth it. Maybe 200.00 in my area....not including the characters, of course. You did an amazing job!!!! I foresee numerous cake orders coming your way!!

Well you did a remarkable job on this cake bleuscootergal..As nice as it is to be admired for the work, I would do some research before I go any further..I'm curious to know is where i can inform myself more about the violations..
Thanks*

Well you did a remarkable job on this cake bleuscootergal..As nice as it is to be admired for the work, I would do some research before I go any further..I'm curious to know is where i can inform myself more about the violations..
Thanks*

Completely off topic, but the town I grew up in (western Nebraska) is over 50 miles away from the nearest Walmart.

Great cake, btw! Both of my boys would have loved that cake!