How Much To Charge

Business By jorgensenjess Updated 23 Aug 2013 , 12:03am by kikiandkyle

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jorgensenjess Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 9:41pm
post #1 of 22

AI have a neighbor who wants a wedding cake that looks like this but with only 3 tiers. Round 10 inch, 8 inch, and 6 inch. She also wants the flowers purple and made out of gum paste. [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3084477/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

I am thinking of charging around $250 do you think that is too much, too little, or just about right? I love in Utah if that helps. :)

21 replies
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Godot Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 9:51pm
post #2 of 22

A20-30 bucks

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shebysuz Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 9:53pm
post #3 of 22

what's with the snark??

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shebysuz Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 10:00pm
post #4 of 22

that's approx. 50 servings so if you charge $4 per serving for basic fondant cake that's already $200....then add the time it would take you to do the flowers and multiply by whatever you pay yourself for labor. For me, it would be $200 base price plus 20 bucks per hour for the flowers. I say $240-$280. You are right on track IMO

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jorgensenjess Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 10:00pm
post #5 of 22

AI am assuming you are being sarcastic with your reply Godot... I don't know if you think the cake is ugly or something? I don't personally like it but it is just what she wants. Anyone out there have a real idea if my price is about right?

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shebysuz Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 10:06pm
post #6 of 22

I think the cake is pretty. A lot of people like the black & white look. I did a B&W wedding cake once and it looked great with the décor. Since they only want 3 tiers, have you decided if it will be black-white-black or white-black- white?

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jennicake Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 10:07pm
post #7 of 22

10/8/6 is closer to 76 servings, isn't it?  Not 50.  I think a 10/6 would be 50

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jennicake Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 10:09pm
post #8 of 22
Quote:
Originally Posted by jorgensenjess 

I am assuming you are being sarcastic with your reply Godot... I don't know if you think the cake is ugly or something? I don't personally like it but it is just what she wants. Anyone out there have a real idea if my price is about right?

Godot's response was a bit sarcastic yes, but its because there are a lot of "how much should I charge" questions here and the short answer is that no one can tell you what to charge.  Any answer given here could be wrong because no one knows what your materials cost, what you pay yourself per hour, what cakes usually go for in your area, et.  So she was just making a point, thats all.

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shebysuz Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 10:19pm
post #9 of 22

Oh I see, yes I agree that in general if you are going to sell cakes you should already have a firm pricing guide to go by. Otherwise you will always second guess yourself, and IMO, if you don't know what you need to charge it will leave the door open for negotiators, cheapies, want something for nothings, and other garden variety cake snakes. That being said, I think the newbies ( I am one) will always need a little reinforcement from time to time, until they get their big girl cake panties on and cultivate the confidence to charge exactly what they need to.

   Regarding the 10-8-6 serving 74.....yes you are correct, Wilton says so. But I usually go by a different serving chart, one that is more "party sized" servings, which is about 50-51 generous serving. But that's just me, I am a skinny fatgirl who believes in enjoying a big piece of cake and not just a taste.icon_biggrin.gif

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vgcea Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 10:25pm
post #10 of 22

AWhatever you decide OP, $250 is definitely not too much. Those flowers will take a bit of time . Remember to factor that into your labor costs. I stick with the wilton chart. If they want bigger servings they order a bigger cake.

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jennicake Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 10:26pm
post #11 of 22
Quote:
Originally Posted by shebysuz 

Oh I see, yes I agree that in general if you are going to sell cakes you should already have a firm pricing guide to go by. Otherwise you will always second guess yourself, and IMO, if you don't know what you need to charge it will leave the door open for negotiators, cheapies, want something for nothings, and other garden variety cake snakes. That being said, I think the newbies ( I am one) will always need a little reinforcement from time to time, until they get their big girl cake panties on and cultivate the confidence to charge exactly what they need to.

   Regarding the 10-8-6 serving 74.....yes you are correct, Wilton says so. But I usually go by a different serving chart, one that is more "party sized" servings, which is about 50-51 generous serving. But that's just me, I am a skinny fatgirl who believes in enjoying a big piece of cake and not just a taste.icon_biggrin.gif

lol @ skinny fat girl :)

 

I used to agree about the serving sizes.  But then I took a 8/6 cake to a party recently and according to Wilton it should serve 36.  I cut up the cake myself and somehow ended up with over 40, but everyone still had a good sized piece of cake.  So now I just stick to Wilton's counts lol.

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Apti Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 10:57pm
post #12 of 22
Quote:
Originally Posted by jennicake 

...there are a lot of "how much should I charge" questions here and the short answer is that no one can tell you what to charge.  Any answer given here could be wrong because no one knows what your materials cost, what you pay yourself per hour, what cakes usually go for in your area, etc. 

jorgensenjess~~Welcome to the forum.  What to charge is a question that is asked at least once a day on cake forums.   You may wish to do a key word search on this site or the internet to gain further information.

Here is a superb article that summarizes most of the pricing threads/questions:

 

http://www.cakeboss.com/PricingGuideline.aspx

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howsweet Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 11:22pm
post #13 of 22

$370 plus the flowers and that other stuff.
 

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howsweet Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 11:23pm
post #14 of 22
Quote:
Originally Posted by jennicake 

 

 

I used to agree about the serving sizes.  But then I took a 8/6 cake to a party recently and according to Wilton it should serve 36.  I cut up the cake myself and somehow ended up with over 40, but everyone still had a good sized piece of cake.  So now I just stick to Wilton's counts lol.


Agree -same thing happened to me.

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jorgensenjess Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 11:30pm
post #15 of 22

AThank you all for your responses!! I know many of you get sick of people asking this question so thanks for being willing to respond! I just didn't want my price to be way too low or way too high. Thanks again!

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Apti Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 11:38pm
post #16 of 22

jorgensenjess~~the funny thing that is hardly ever mentioned by anyone when a new member asks about pricing is "how good are your cakes?"

 

I've made cakes that (IN MY MIND) looked exactly like the one made by a professional in the reference photograph.  However.....occasionally my cakes didn't actually look like that.  [Think "cake wrecks".....]

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vgcea Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 11:45pm
post #17 of 22

A

Original message sent by Apti

jorgensenjess~~the funny thing that is hardly ever mentioned by anyone when a new member asks about pricing is [B]"how good are your cakes[/B]?"

I've made cakes that (IN MY MIND) looked exactly like the one made by a professional in the reference photograph.  However.....occasionally my cakes didn't actually look like that.  [Think "cake wrecks".....]

What?! And get rained on by the unicorn police?! I think not!

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jennicake Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 11:49pm
post #18 of 22
Quote:
Originally Posted by vgcea 

What?! And get rained on by the unicorn police?! I think not!

 

lol @ unicorn police.  I pictured unicorns in police uniforms :p

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jennicake Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 11:54pm
post #20 of 22

well thats terrifying, Kayla!  I liked the My Little Pony versions in my head icon_razz.gif

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DeliciousDesserts Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 11:55pm
post #21 of 22

AWhen I price this cake, I ask:

How many servings x $ Fondant? ($1.50 x servings) How many flowers x "Y each" That total + 9.5% sales tax Delivery location? Stand rental?

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kikiandkyle Posted 23 Aug 2013 , 12:03am
post #22 of 22

ADo you know what your neighbor is expecting to spend? Did they ask you because they like your work or because they wanted to save some money? It's all very well getting an idea of what market price is but that doesn't mean your neighbor is willing/expecting to pay it.

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