I'm Torn On The Quote I Gave. What Do You Think?
Business By ellavanilla Updated 6 Aug 2013 , 4:51pm by therealmrsriley
I just got an emailed request for a cake order. Customer wants a corset/laces style cake for 8 people, but she doesnt want the cake to be too small and she wants it for Friday afternoon. 
I quoted $100 even for an 8x5 round cake with fondant to look like the back of a corset.
I would like to do the cake, but I felt the request was a bit too last minute for something so elaborate, so I priced it a little higher.
Too high? That comes to $5/serving, roughly. My regular buttercream cakes price out at $45 for an 8x4 inch round
something like this, but not so tall (this cake is 14 inches tall)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/77501834@N08/6794751946/in/photostream/
Regardless of servings, there has to be a minimum order in there somewhere. I couldn't work on something carved and tapered like that for $100, but if it's enough for you, then so be it. I fully support that price, higher ideally, but too much? Not a chance.
Don't know if this will help... I did this cake last week for $150. It was a 6 in round, 4 layer. The whole time I was making it, I was kicking myself for not charging more, but I don't really think I undercharged. If there'd been carving involved and it had been bigger, that would have been another matter. My minimum is $150, but that wasn't a factor because they also ordered a bigger cake.
thank you!! I was wondering if my pricing was a bit punitive, because i was a bit irritated with the way the request was made.
regarding minimums, i agree. this is not my usual kind of work, so i vacillated a bit.
thank you!
jen
just heard from the client:
just heard from the client:
So true :-) I worked in hospitality before I had a baby and when having conversations with family and friends would often hear 'wow - really - that's expensive' I would always ask them to stop and think properly about the work involved and what they would think that should cost. More often than not they would realise how silly they were being. That cake is a lot of work and I would be more than willing to part with $100 to have someone do a lovely job of it for me. If it was so easy they would do it themselves. 
You should always have a brochure with a price list either online or a hard copy. Even if the cake is small you must account for the amount of work you put into it. The customer will either want it or not. I find that people think you will do a lot of work for nothing. You should not over charge but a quality product needs to be priced accordingly. Unfortunately, you will always find that someone will be prepared to bake a rubbish cake for very little money just to undercut everyone. I have been in the business for 30 years and little has changed since I started.
Not sure where she would even find another baker to provide a cake like that for $100. Charge too much, NEVER, don't sweat it
Oh she may find someone to attempt it...but she isn't going to get THAT cake for less. No one realizes the skill that goes into carved cakes and working with fondant
You should always have a brochure with a price list either online or a hard copy. Even if the cake is small you must account for the amount of work you put into it. The customer will either want it or not. I find that people think you will do a lot of work for nothing. You should not over charge but a quality product needs to be priced accordingly. Unfortunately, you will always find that someone will be prepared to bake a rubbish cake for very little money just to undercut everyone. I have been in the business for 30 years and little has changed since I started.
Thanks Joyce, I do have that, but not for custom work. I quote that per cake.
The upside is that you no longer have to deal with this last minute request. $100 wasn't too high at all, even if it was a smaller cake.
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