So this was the first cake I didn't deliver and the girl was picking up from my house. (DH had a medical procedure earlier in the day and I couldn't deliver it, she really wanted me to make the cake so she said she'd come get it.)
So since she was picking it up and having heard all the raves on SPS, I figured it was the sturdy/solid way to go. The concept seemed easy enough.
What happened?
-2 tier cake, 9 in. base 7 in. top tier, both chocolate cake/chocolate BC. I used the 6 in. plate. It was in a clean/new packing box, shelf gripper things under the cake in the box and then under the box in the back of her SUV.
She picks it up, has the trip from hell home (1 hour ride, pulled by police, and youngest daughter pees her pants to boot!) She says she's pulling up her driveway and says she doesn't realize how sharp of an incline or how bumpy her driveway was. She gets home, opens the back, the cake is still in once piece but she says she bumps the box and the top slides off! She catches it and is able to repair but still, all I can think is, it shouldn't have slid off! I used electric tape and melted candy melts to "glue" the plate and the cake board together under the top tier.

What happened?? And...the little spike, I think this is what did me in on the cake plate, how do you get the cake/cake board to go through it? I feel like I didn't get it to go through b/c if the cake was on the spike, it shouldn't have come off! I had put a little hole through the board but I couldn't find the hole when trying to assemble it to the plate.

TIA!

One of the assembly steps is , "Use a skewer to enlarge the hole that you just made in the cardboard." The hole should be waaaaaaay bigger that the result of the "punch" when you imprint the plate on the cardboard. that way you know for sure that the cardboard is truly seated on the peg.

I have been using SPS since my first cake disaster last summer, and I really do love it. I didn't think I would ever have to deal with another cake disaster again because I use it on EVERY tiered cake I do. Well, just in the past two months I have had two (YIKES!) cakes do exactly what you are describing....top tier slides right off the bottom tier! When it happened a few weeks ago, I thought maybe my friend was lying and she actually did something to cause the cake slide. But then it happened again....different person, different cake! I just don't understand what could be happening. The only thing I think it can be is the chocolate melts. I have always just used buttercream to 'glue' the top tier to the bottom plate. I decided that maybe using chocolate melts and a little bit of buttercream would add extra security. Since I started doing that (not on every cake...but definitely on the two that have slid), I've had two disasters! The only other thing that has changed that I am aware of is the actual SPS plates. I got a new order in last month and they changed the plates! They are so flimsy you can actually bend them very easily. I noticed it right away....they seemed much lighter than normal. I can't think of a reason why that would cause the sliding though....even though it's a thinner more flimsy plate it's still the same concept. I am so afraid of tiered cakes now, and they used to be my favorite! The only thing I can think of at the moment is to stop using the candy melts as glue. I can't prove that they are the problem, but it's the only thing I have done differently.