Help With Pricing Please-New To Selling My Cupcakes

Baking By puddles_gal Updated 13 May 2011 , 9:34pm by cashley

puddles_gal Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
puddles_gal Posted 25 Feb 2011 , 12:26am
post #1 of 20

Hello everyone! I've got a potential customer that would like me to bake her a total of 4 cupcakes for her friend's wedding (to replace the the top tier of the cake): she wants 2 jumbo cupcakes and 2 minis. The top of one jumbo cupcake will be made to look like the top of a bride's dress out of fondant, and the other jumbo will be the groom, made from fondant as well. The 2 minis will be smaller versions of the groom.
She would like to know how much I would charge for them, and I really don't know what to tell her. Do I charge her for the cost of ingredients that it takes to make the full batch of cupcakes (ie: a dozen), even though she isn't wanting a full batch? What would you charge? I'm just not sure how to approach this one, so any advice is much appreciated! icon_biggrin.gif

19 replies
puddles_gal Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
puddles_gal Posted 25 Feb 2011 , 6:33pm
post #2 of 20

Anyone????

hebberd Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
hebberd Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 2:08am
post #3 of 20

Pricing is SO hard. But the best I can tell you is to go to wilton's website and search for
Cake Price Calculator 1.4 in their forums. Once you have uploaded this to your computer, you can go to EDIT and set the prices to a range that you like. I thought theirs were to high. Use that as a guideline. Hope this helps. Good Luck!

leah_s Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
leah_s Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 2:31am
post #4 of 20

You're thinking about taking an order for four cupcakes? Who's making the rest of the cupcakes?

motherofgrace Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
motherofgrace Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 2:39am
post #5 of 20

yea I wouldnt take the order personally, its too much work for 4 cupcakes.

Cake_Karen Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Cake_Karen Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 2:44am
post #6 of 20

If this is to replace the top tier of her wedding cake why is the person that is doing the wedding cake not making them?
I dont think its even worth you putting the oven on to make 4 cupcakes.

elliespartycake Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
elliespartycake Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 2:46am
post #7 of 20

That's crazy. I have a minimum cupcake order...1 dozen. Period.
Cupcakes aren't like a whole cake... you don't bake only one or two; whether you bake from scratch or a mix, you recipe bakes one dozen at least so charger her for that.

motherofgrace Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
motherofgrace Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 2:59am
post #8 of 20

ditto

and i bet if you tell ehr that, she will actually call other places and find out!

puddles_gal Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
puddles_gal Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 4:04am
post #9 of 20

Thank you everyone for your responses and I appreciate the advice! I do agree that accepting an order for only 4 cupcakes is a bit absurd, but I'm kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place on this one, as I am just begining to get orders for my cupcakes and want to take what I can get in order to get my name out there. The client is also majorly connected to the wedding world where I'm from, which in turn would be excellent exposure for a new-comer like myself. I am more than happy to do the order, and have decided that I will be charging her for a full dozen, as I will bake the entire recipe and just use the leftover cupcakes to practice on. Thanks again! thumbs_up.gif

sillywabbitz Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
sillywabbitz Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 4:12am
post #10 of 20

hebberd
I could kiss you. This pricing program is AWESOME. I am a hobby baker...hoping praying that the texas cottage food bill will pass this year. Since there is a slight hope I migth some day be able to sell cakes, I've started calculating my cost. I'm in total and utter shock!!!!!

I can not believe it. The Cars cake in my pics that I did for a friend I thought would be a good test. I did my own list of ingredients and costs on simple spread sheet and decided to "pay myself" $10 an hour. Figured out that my average price should be around $3.25 a serving. Using that wonderful program I discovered that cake should have run $183 to serve 50 people. I would have estimated closer to $100 in my head seriously short changing myself.

Thanks again...that price calculator is awesome.

motherofgrace Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
motherofgrace Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 4:27am
post #11 of 20

Although I know what you are saying about wanting to get your name out there, and that she is connected. I am afraid you will get the wrong word out there. She will tell her connections that you did this order, adn thats the kind of orders you are going to get

puddles_gal Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
puddles_gal Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 4:48am
post #12 of 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by motherofgrace

Although I know what you are saying about wanting to get your name out there, and that she is connected. I am afraid you will get the wrong word out there. She will tell her connections that you did this order, adn thats the kind of orders you are going to get




I fully understand what you mean, as I normally charge per dozen, so this is like a specialty order. If it does lead to other "specialty" type orders, I realize I'm either going to have to simply decline the orders, or people are going to have to be prepared to pay big money! lol

johnson6ofus Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
johnson6ofus Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 5:23am
post #13 of 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by puddles_gal

2 jumbo cupcakes and 2 minis. The top of one jumbo cupcake will be made to look like the top of a bride's dress out of fondant, and the other jumbo will be the groom, made from fondant as well. The 2 minis will be smaller versions of the groom.icon_biggrin.gif




Am I the only one who was looking at the sculpting/ decorating as the "big" part of this order... not the measly cupcake? icon_confused.gif Looks like this doubles as a sculpted cake topper more than an order of cupcakes,,,no?

puddles_gal Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
puddles_gal Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 5:28am
post #14 of 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnson6ofus

Quote:
Originally Posted by puddles_gal

2 jumbo cupcakes and 2 minis. The top of one jumbo cupcake will be made to look like the top of a bride's dress out of fondant, and the other jumbo will be the groom, made from fondant as well. The 2 minis will be smaller versions of the groom.icon_biggrin.gif



Am I the only one who was looking at the sculpting/ decorating as the "big" part of this order... not the measly cupcake? icon_confused.gif Looks like this doubles as a sculpted cake topper more than an order of cupcakes,,,no?




You bring up an excellent point! Given that, do you have any idea what you would charge?

johnson6ofus Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
johnson6ofus Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 3:02pm
post #15 of 20

It really sounds like two sculpted/ carved cake figures--- more sculpture than cake (at least in my head). $25 each/ $50 MINIMUM... depending on detail. Seems that most folks charge in that range for gumpaste people.

The more I think about it, the more I would charge. $25 for the minimum cupcake order +$25 for the fondant bride +$25 for the fondant groom. Even at that rate you may be unhappy when you are done and count the time and materials...but it is a starting point...

Edit- seems like mini cakes are pricing at $10-$15 EACH and bakers still complain they are a PIA and undercharged. This seems in that league...

puddles_gal Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
puddles_gal Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 4:36pm
post #16 of 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnson6ofus

It really sounds like two sculpted/ carved cake figures--- more sculpture than cake (at least in my head). $25 each/ $50 MINIMUM... depending on detail. Seems that most folks charge in that range for gumpaste people.

The more I think about it, the more I would charge. $25 for the minimum cupcake order +$25 for the fondant bride +$25 for the fondant groom. Even at that rate you may be unhappy when you are done and count the time and materials...but it is a starting point...

Edit- seems like mini cakes are pricing at $10-$15 EACH and bakers still complain they are a PIA and undercharged. This seems in that league...




Thank you for the great advice! I am going to give it some thought over the weekend and then take it from there! thumbs_up.gif

johnson6ofus Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
johnson6ofus Posted 26 Feb 2011 , 6:34pm
post #17 of 20

Good luck.... Remember, if you undercharge, at least you learned something and had the experience.

imanah Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
imanah Posted 27 Feb 2011 , 1:23am
post #18 of 20

I think if you feel like you are just starting out and are not picky with your ordersd then take it icon_smile.gif I would also charge extra for the fondant and detail she requested. Milk those four dollers, also charge her for any packaging you will be putting those 4 cupcakes in.

CakeLady1981 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
CakeLady1981 Posted 13 May 2011 , 9:04pm
post #19 of 20

Can some one post the link to the Wilton Pricing Calculator... I CAN'T FIND IT!!!

cashley Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%