ASo I'm sure you've seen those shoe cupcakes on Pintrest and all over Facebook. Well I have been asked to do a dozen for a cast party. I wasn't sure how much to charge. I regularly get 36.00 per dozen for classic flavors and 45.00 per dozen for alcohol enhanced cupcakes. I was thinking 60.00 per dozen as there is so much more work with these cupcake shoes which will include design from the show. Any thoughts? I would really appreciate any feed back. I am in south jersey just outside of Philadelphia. Thanks!

ACheck out the Pricing Formula link in my signature below. Also be sure you are legally allowed to sell food, since some states require a licensed and inspected commercial kitchen.

AThanks Jason. I read your article. I was looking for more specific feedback directly related to my question regarding pricing for this particular product.

AHow many additional hours of labor are you looking at for each dozen, over and above what you would spend on a dozen standard cupcakes?

Do you mean the cupcakes where the toe of the high heel is the cupcake then then there is a piece that extends back to one of the cylinder wafer cookies to make the heel? (Hopefully that description makes sense).

If so, I made these earlier this week and charged $5.00 a piece ($10 a pair).  Once I was done them, I was going crazy because they took a lot longer than I thought, especially since each 'pair' of shoes was to be a different design.  $5 is the pair minimum I think you should charge for them, you could easily charge more

AThank you so much. This is the price I was thinking. I knew the extra materials and time would drive the price. The customer decided to go with something a bit more simple. Thank you! Would love to see pics of your "shoes"!

AThank you so much annie84...This is the price I was thinking. I knew the extra materials and time would drive the price. The customer decided to go with something a bit more simple. Thank you! Would love to see pics of your "shoes"!

A

Based on what is a very small sample size it seems that many people do really want to learn, and realize after reading the article that relying on the cost structure of random strangers in other parts of the world is not necessarily the best way to set prices. In this case the issue may be related to compliance with local food safety laws, as NJ does not have a CFL, but of course the OP is free to follow or ignore advice as she sees fit.

"Do you mean the cupcakes where the toe of the high heel is the cupcake then then there is a piece that extends back to one of the cylinder wafer cookies to make the heel? (Hopefully that description makes sense)."   What did you use for the sole of the shoe? When I made them I used Milano cookies and those are really expensive. Also were they regular sized cupcakes or large? Too many varying factors to price someone else's product.

" In this case the issue may be related to compliance with local food safety laws, as NJ does not have a CFL, but of course the OP is free to follow or ignore advice as she sees fit." I didn't see anything in his/her post that indicated they were baking at home.....did I miss something?

I guess the only one that can answer is the OP....CupakesbyRuth???? But if she is operating illegally I am sure she is aware of it but it doesn't hurt to point it out just in case. But when someone asks a question are we to automatically assume they are operating illegally and that is the reason they don't want to take advice? Wouldn't it be better to just say...we can't price your products for you or ignore the post.

Here's a link to the cupcakes we made: http://instagram.com/p/bhBPvIBA0m/

I used baby cookies for the part between the cupcake and the shoe. I put some white chocolate on them to make them white. It cost me about $0.50 for a sleeve of the cookies. I used about a third of a sleeve. I used the cylinder wafer cookies as the heel, spent $1.50 on a tin of them, there were about 25 in the tin, only needed half a cookie per 'shoe'.  The cupcakes are just a standard sized cupcake.  We charge $2.75 per standard cupcake with just a swirl of icing on the top in our store.

Adorable!!! I just really like the flavor of Milano's and the variety of fillings they have. Also where in the heck do you get wafers for $1.50 a tin...unless it's a small tin. They are about $4 at WalMart.

The brand is Rondoletti, 135g to a tin. So not huge, I normally see them in tins about double the size.  I got them at a Dutch store around the corner from me.  I'm sure if I had gone to the specialty grocery store up the street they would have been at least $6.

I need to get out of the WalMart mindset!! lol....I am charging appropriately now but I still feel guilty when I do a quote and think OMG someone would REALLY pay $60 for 12 cupcakes! lol I am in no way saying they are not worth it!