I'm trying hard to fit a cake plateau into my budget. This is a big decision as they are so expensive and I need your experience to guide me please. If I can only have one, what would you recommend and where should I purchase it?

The largest cake I have ever made is a 16" base 4 tier - with about 12 lbs of buttercream! That's a lot of weight. (I'm so afraid that those little tiny legs, that are on the bottom of most, will break off and send my cake crashing.)

Silver finish? Size?

Thanks so much!

Before you order one somewhere, check your local craigslist. A lot of brides buy them, only need it once for the wedding, and then sell it cheap afterwards. I bought one for $35 last year on craigslist. It's this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003PBLOAG/?tag=cakecentral-20

It does buckle with the weight of a large cake on it. The metal feet haven't broken off, but the metal will make a twanging noise and shift a little bit. You can put a styrofoam cake dummy under the plateau for support. I had a couple of pieces of 4x4 board cut to fit under it, and I spray painted them silver so they wouldn't be too noticeable.

I am not a wedding cake decorator except for immediate family, but I have seen these plateaus in my local rental companies. I would be in there to rent tools and ladders, but they had a whole section with tons of wedding rental things, including plateaus.

They aren't expensive at Hobby Lobby. You can pick one up for $25 during their 1/2 off sale.

In regards to the Hobby Lobby comment, I came across those stands today and got so excited, but they are pretty flimsy. I also thought of putting a block of wood underneat to give them the strength needed to support a cake. And just paint the wood black to make it look like a shadow. I'm going back tomorrow to get mine with coupon in hand.

14" $49.99

(For some crazy reason, it won't allow me to post a picture of the stand, sorry) How annoying is that?

I was going to also recommend the Hobby Lobby one. Perhaps you can "bend" the little feet out so they lay flat, then you don't have to worry about it holding the weight. I saw them do that once on one of the cake shows that are on because theirs started to buckle. Didn't change the look...but did give it more stability.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I was afraid to go with Craig's List or E-Bay without knowing "what" I was looking for.... many of them list the guage of metal so you know how strong it is. (? - I'm clueless to that.)

I think using a block of wood underneath a cheaper one is what I'm going to do. No HL's in our state, so I'll watch on-line.

Thanks so much!