ASo I am selling my first cake ;) I am baking a cross cake out of a 12x18x2 with buttercream and a raspberry filling. I have never prices cakes and really could use some help.. Is 35 to low. I obviously can't compete with Sams club or walmart. ;)

Nor do you want to complete with Sams Club or Walmart.  Unless you are Costco.

You baked 54 servings, so that's what you charge for.    I'd charge $216.  Seriously.

 

Also make sure that you are selling legally - have you tax accounts set up, have the inspection and Permits from either your local Health Depart or Dept of Ag, are OK with your zoning, have liability insurance, etc.

A$216 seems outrageous to me, I wouldn't even pay that much for my cake and I am making it. I still am thinking between $35 to $40.

I made a cross cake that size, it was decorated with white chocolate clay roses and TONS of buttercream. I charged $70.

 

Leah has a point, if you kitchen is not legal you are not supposed to charge anything.

AThat may seem outrageous until you price everything. How much are your ingredients? How much time are you spending?

My 1/2 sheet is 11 x 15. A single layer not torted (about 2") is priced starting at $60. That does not include sculpting. To fill that same cake, sculpt it & decorate simply, would run about $120-159.

If it helps, think in terms of serving. A 1/2 sheet serves at least 50. At $30, you aren't even charging $1 per serving!

At $30, you aren't even making $10 per hour!

AEverything is legal. Maybe I'll go more towards 60. Seems much more reasonable than $216. Thanks.

AJust to clarify, $60 is my starting price. I would be charging at LEAST $120-159 for a smaller cake.

Seriously, how many hours will you spend making this cake?

AMe too don't these people have anything else too worry about...

ASpeechless. OP running a successful business is going to involve more than pulling a number from thin air. Sit down and do your homework.

AWell the ingredients total less than $25 and I enjoy baking. This is just a side job as I am a college student. People really need to realize everyone is not made of money. Charging more than one hundred dollars for a cake that costs less than $25 to make is ridiculous. If that's what you are charging you are ripping people off...

A

Ingredients are only one component of the total cost of the cake...you also have labor, overhead, and profit. Let's say all your overhead (including accounting fees, business license fees, and insurance) adds up to $20 per order (based on $1000/year and estimated volume of one order per week), and you spend 6 hours total making the cake.

If you charge $60 for this cake, your ingredients and overhead will be $45, leaving you $15 to pay yourself. This works out to a wage of $2.50/hour with zero profit margin.

Looking at a more reasonable wage of $12/hour, your cost would be $20 + (6 * $12) + $25 = $117. Add a 20% markup and your price would be $140.

ANo, along with ingredients there's this little thing called overhead and another pesky thing called labor. Insurance and the bills to keep the lights on so the oven can bake your cake don't pay themselves. They come out of that "rip-off" price. Really, do your homework.

Calling people ridiculous and accusing them of being rip offs is totally inappropriate. If someone can't afford a $100+ cake, then they can go to Walmart, and that is just fine. Some of us actually like to make a profit.

It isn't a business owners job to worry about how much money their customers have or don't have to spend on cake.  It is their job to find customers who are willing to pay the prices they charge.

 

If you are trying to be the Robin Hood of cake, go for it - you will have a line out the door of people expecting the world from you on their meager budgets.  There is no shortage of people wanting stuff for free or close to it.  Let us know when you have burnt out, and decide to quit working for free.  Then you will appreciate the advice that is shared free of charge on this forum, from people with more experience than you.

 

Liz
 

AOk, we've seriously tried (in a kind manner ) to explain what really goes into pricing a cake.

The cost of the cake = ingredients (you say $25), overhead (rent, utilities, licenses, insurance), packaging (cake boards & boxes), labor (the Value you put on your time).

Certainly, you can price your cakes to just cover your costs. If so, please research what your cost really is.

AFurthermore, please try to understand our frustration. Many clients think exactly as you. They are appalled at the cost of a custom cake. I would hope that once they realized the true cost of a cake they would understand the value.

Be honest with yourself. How long, start to finish, will this cake take you? Shopping, mixing, baking, decorating, cleaning....

AExcuse me but this cake is not that extravagant so I would be making a profit of $30. The customer is picking it up so I don't see the reason to scam people out of there money. I guess our society has become accustomed to scamming people out of their money...

AAaaaand how much did you pay for your college books? They're just paper and ink. I could go out and buy a ream of paper and a jug of ink, pour it on... Voila, a book! Right?

ADon't feed the trolls! (I gave it a cracker, but am cutting it off now).:grin:

AJust lost any respect.

You either are not paying attention/reading or a seriously intellectually incapable of understanding basic math, are very delusional, or a troll.

Suggesting that our pricing (based on a great deal of research) is a scam is insulting.

/done with you!

AHow much did i pay for my school books??? Zip zero, I got a full ride with KEES money so I pay for nothing.. Thank you very much

A

Don't be an ignoramus. The fact that you don't pay doesn't mean the book doesn't cost anything. Someone-your beneficiary- still pays. Scholarships still depend on either government or private funding. Someone is paying, that's how 'free' money works. You can do whatever you like but don't come here to insult people who came to offer the help you ASKED for.

ASuch a waste of a free ride. I have no idea what KEES is so shall I hazard a guess that qualification is need based rather than scholastic ability? Surely this cannot be the best and the brightest of the next generation.

APractice what you preach vgcea. I worked hard in school to get a full scholarship. I am not trying to insult anyone and if I did i apologize.

AAnd KEES money is based on your gpa not just given to everyone.

ACongratulations. Now run off and go bake some charity cakes. Some of us have businesses to run.