AI received an email today to do a baby shower cake for this Saturday. The woman who was doing it canceled on her. She needs to feed 30 so I told her the cost for a 12" cake would be $60. She came back and said that price is way too high and that the other woman was going to charge her $35. She also mentioned that she has other things to pay for for this shower. How do I respond? I think $60 is very reasonable for a 12" cake but am I wrong?

Your price is your price , Geez I charge around $250 for a 12 inch cake .  

The grocery store doesn't reduce the price of milk and eggs , just because you have a few extra bills that week. 

I would reply with, I am sorry that the cake is not within you budget , I hope your event goes well , 

Allcupcaked out. 

Your price is waaaayyy too low as it is! As Chellescakes said, tell her you are sorry that you can't accomodate her since her budget will not allow it..

I wish I knew where you could get a 12" cake for $35!!!

We require a 2 week notice on many of our cakes and for those who call "last minute" even if someone else screwed them and they're in an emergency situation, we charge an extra $25 fee. I make it clear to our customers that I bake out of my home and do not keep a full inventory at all times. 

I've had several people tell me my prices are too high but for every one who tells me that, I have 20 more buying my cakes. I just kill them with kindness and reply "No problem! I hope you have a very happy day with your event and look forward to doing business with you in the future"

I also agree with the others that your price is YOUR price.  ,,,,,,,,,,reply as vgcea said: ...sorry that the cake is not w/in your budget...hope your event goes well.

AMy base price for a basic 12" is $137.50. So, I would tell her, sorry!

I agree your price is your price, she can take it or leave it, her choice.  Is your 12 inch a two layer or one layer cake?  A two layer cake serves 56 people which is way more than you need.  That may account for some of the prices differences from the posters.

I can't believe you can make a 12inch cake for SIXTY dollars...... let alone $35

I can't believe you can sell a 12inch cake for SIXTY dollars...... let alone $35 !! 

This is meant to be about your self-worth but I think it is really quite pertinent to those that sell cakes too!


 

Oh my....... 60.00 for a 12" cake. I am just an amateur and a new business owner in a small town and my starting price for 12" would be 120.00. I don't know how you could make a 12" cake for 60.00 without losing money, factoring in labour. Nevermind 35!!! That is insane.

AThanks y'all. I'm going to look into reviewing my pricing!! I need to start charging more!! People think bc they can get cheap cakes from Costco and grocery stores that it'll be even cheaper for a home baker.

OK, I am always concerned about my prices.  I have been charging $65 for a 12" cake and now feel that is too little when I read others' comments.  I need to go and calculate my costs again!!!

@ allcupcakedout:  Your price is more than reasonable and I agree with the others about how to respond.  Those who are willing to pay your price will appreciate your work.  Those who complain about the price are likely to be trouble anyhow, so I would not lower the price just to get the job.  Always respond in a nice way because you never know when that person may turn around and recommend others.

A$60 is underpriced! She has nothing to complain about. I charge over $100 for a 12" cake. If she is not willing to pay $60, she's better off going to a big box retailer....

You get what you pay for!

I had the same thing happen to me when I clearly stated what they were getting as far as size and not to mention hand decorations I mean just because I work from home doesn't mean that my work is not quality...I say the same thing go to the local grocery store and get what you pay for and Im sure it will not be a custom made 3d cake!

$60 is way under priced! Where I live you are lucky to get a 8" for $60. I'm sure prices vary in different areas but where I am from base price for myself and everyone else around me that I have researched its based off servings, $3.25-$4 a serving for fondant cakes. For a 12" here it would START at $146. I would do some research in your area and find out what others are charging. Not Costco or Walmart but those who do exactly what you do. I'm not sure what kind of cake she requested or what the other person was doing for her but theres no way they could be making any money off of it, if anything they may have been paying to do it for them. 

Don't undersell yourself and good luck! =)

Cheap cake isn't good..and GOOD cake isn't cheap!!!!

If Costco or Walmart is what they want, then let them have it. Don't undersell yourself, your time and work are valuable! If they want cheap cake,let them go get it because "Cheap cake isn't good, and Good cake isn't cheap!

Well Buddy's cakes have arrived in my town, and the bakery lady behind the counter gave me a sample of one of them last night. It wasn't bad, but what do you expect for something mass produced and frozen and shipped across the country to sit out on a shelf for days and days. Apples and oranges my friends, apples and oranges.

I wouldn't ever eat another piece on purpose, but it wasn't drop dead gagging gross out either.

AI saw in my Kroger ad that Buddy's cakes are in my town too. I think people may buy them as a novelty, but it's not anything you have for every occasion. They're not even filled, so they aren't a decent dessert.

AZCoture- was the icing the tub of chemical goo from a bucket? I think it would have to be, to get the consistent colors, and to mass produce like that, but what do I know? I bet, with those big ole mixers he has, he could just add a bucket of that slop to 3 buckets of some other slop, and call it a recipe.

You asked for a reply.

To her 'the other lady only was going to charge me $35 and I have other things to buy for this party, too' complaint, I'd have to say.

I understand. That's a good deal. I'm not able to help you as my prices are not negotiable.

And I agree that you were giving her a pretty good deal.

mommachris
 

I'm in Richmond too, so I can speak to the local pricing scene...there are a lot of bakers popping up every week because of the cottage food law, and they're seriously undercutting people who are pricing things "correctly." Having said that, if it's a two-layer 12" round I'd charge $200 for it.

I had someone whose wedding cake I did call me for a baby gender reveal cake, and she had been told that someone would charge her $40 for a 10" round. I told her that would get her a 6" round from me, and she didn't like that. BUT...she had also been told by this other person that a 10" round serves 10-12 people, so I don't know what people around here are thinking when they're pricing things.

There's a lot of funny business in this area right now, and the problem that I'm running into (well, not that much of a problem because I don't care if they go get a $40 10" round, that other person will be out of business soon with prices like that) is that home-based bakers are pricing things like Costco. If you're doing mostly special event cakes and not weddings, people are going to be calling oyu thinking "a cake costs $18" because they've only gone to Walmart before.

The girl who called me about the baby cake called back, and was obviously still shopping around. After a few questions from her I told her that I don't do anything under $100 usually, because by the time I go shopping, bake the cake, pay for the ingredients, boards, etc, and spend time answering her questions (I didn't add that part, haha!) a $40 cake would have taken me about 1 1/2 hours to make. Minus the cost of ingredients and you're looking at close to, if not less than, minimum wage. I've been doing this for almost 20 years and I don't work for minimum wage. I'd pay someone something like $40 an hour to clean my house, so why should I bust my butt to make a cake for less than that?

PM me if you have specific questions about Richmond and it's weirdness.

No wonder the other baker cancelled on her! $35 is unheard of for a 12 in. $60 is still a little to low also. For a cake like that I'd charge atleast $100. 

I'd stick with what everyone else suggest and let her know what your price is. There is always the other option for her: Grocery store cake.

Well it's sitting out at room temp with exp dates on it, and it was shiny and greasy and the bc had that look that it was starting to separate (not sure, haven't used an American bc in years but I think I remember). It does have a filling which wasn't super bad, but wasn't too chemically tasting. I think it was definitely better than a grocery store cake, way better than a whipped topping cake, but certainly not delicious or something I would ask for more of.

But it's not trying to be a fancy gourmet cake either. It's serving it's purpose of "oh cute! I'll bring this to the party!". Ya know? 

And those neon colors are just as bright in person! So lots of coloring....yeah.

Oh, and I have somewhere new to refer the "I just need a sheetcake with some flowers on it". Well, Buddy's got them for $25 at the store, have at it. 

You also have to take count of your area when you are figuring pricing.  I know that I could not ever get 250 for a 12" cake where I am.  Very few of the best known cake makers in my area charge that much.  If they do, it is adorned to the hilt and is for weddings.  In my area, I get both worlds.  For a baby shower, I would quote $80 for that cake because my base rate is 2.00 a serving. It would be more if they wanted other stuff added to it.  If I look in the Wilton chart, it is 40-56 servings.  Now having said that, I get some that say, "is that all???" (gotta love those!) and give me a tip.  I have others that say, "do you have something cheaper?"  Yes, plain cupcakes for 9.00 a dozen.  "that's too much".  Those people think that they can drive 30 minutes (one way I might add) to Walmart and pick up the 7.00 cupcakes the day of the party to save the 2.00.  They probably spent 10.00 in gas to get them!  Not my problem!  I no longer worry about losing a sale on pricing.  I had to learn (see above chart) that I was worth more.  I was told that by a veteran cake maker in my area that has been a mentor to me for the past year.  After she looked at my work, she chastised me for being so low in my pricing.  Now, I am just .25 under her (she lives in a more populated area) and stay too busy.  As far as that lady goes, I agree.  Turn her down tactfully so as to not burn bridges and move on.  No worries.

Buddy's cakes are in my area also.  I have seen them but not tasted them.  They don't look anything special, but I suppose are a novelty.  If that's what a customer wants then I say go for it.  I am one of those "cottage law" bakers, but I try not to undercut other bakers.  I try to charge what I think is a fair price since I am relatively new to the business, but my prices have increased since I first started as I have gained more confidence and believe my work to be very good and worthy of the prices I charge.