A

AI can pretty much say I know a few of them in person. They squirm when you mention order forms (just do the order thru Facebook), change the subject when minimum orders come up (always for a friend, seems like every order is for a friend and has a discount for some reason), and positively has zero input when legalities get discussed. But as soon as it's Facebook time, wooooo, can't shut em up! Posting that cake here and there, sharing it to the wall of every big time page you can think of for moooore likes....blah. Anyway, nothing wrong with being a hobbyist and enjoying the attention your pretty work attracts, but you don't get to "play business" when it's convenient.

A^^ that's the part that just really FLOORS me.

A

I think the most difficult part about working out pricing is working out the 'value' of your USP.  Cost, materials, labour, time - they are all easy to quantify with tables.  Working out what people are willing to spend extra for your bit of uniqueness: your brand, your skill, your style, your special thing that no one else does - that's not easy.  I have spent hours and hours in front of spreadsheets and cost tables trying to work out my costs and still, it is being fine tuned (after some very helpful input from contributors on this forum).

There is a UK celebrity baker who 'makes' cakes - I say makes loosely because she has no real involvement in baking any more.  They sell a single tier, fondant covered cake with an edible print and few very basic flowers for over £300.  Would I charge that much?  No.  But that's fine because it's not my business.  The raw costs of this cake are probably £20 max but they have clearly decided that their brand/the bakers name is worth that price tag - and they're still in business so people are clearly paying it!  Just think of how much you pay for a Carlos Bakery consultation, of a minimum cost for an Ace of Cakes cake?  You could probably go to another bakery which would give you the same product for half the price but you pay for their uniqueness.

Then there are other things to think of - I still do this part time but when I came into it, I didn't want to be the cheap cake person.  Mostly this was because I wanted to be respected by other local bakers and didn't want to be undercutting them and stealing their business, but also because I will be paying copious amounts of tax on my profits so it has to be worthwhile!  Okay, I'm fairly new, so can't charge quite the same premium based on experience but providing I'm fair to everyone, being able to charge the same as my caking 'idols' is something to strive for....

just my 10 cents (or probably 50 cents...just realised how much I wrote...sorry!)

AI worked for a woman myself that opened a business because she just wanted to say she was the owner. She was so sweet and caring to te customers' faces, but behind the scenes, she was awful. She hated helping them, she actually hid from them when they came in to the bakery or she saw them in a store, she couldn't handle ANY criticism, and was an all-around moron. Her business closed after about 6 months. It was just too much for her to handle, so she quit. She honestly thought that she could just sit back and decorate pretty cakes all day, and not worry about anything else.

A

Are you referencing my advice with this? If so, im not really sure still why my advice differed sso greatly from anyone elses. Yes, you should be on par with the prices of your decorating equals. I didnt say "add 20%profit" or anything that would make for a finite price. However, if I see something that I havent seen before and am asked to price it, I figure out what costs im putting into it before even considering a price which is what I was was explaining how she could also do. It seems howsweet was offended (and others too) by me saying "if youre trying to make money when youre not.." I wasnt saying you shouldnt. Its a calculation I dont have t factor in so I dont, but was agreeing, yes, add it to the base price or labor. I just dont think to someone just starting to price cakes (which is difficult!) Saying "market price" and leaving it at that is overly helpful. Its not NOT helpful, I just wanted to elaborate more. If were both reaching the same prices I dont see how either are wrong and so dont understand why youd try to shut someones advice out. If you werent talking to me, well, im glad I got that out there anyway. This is not to be meant as rude or catty or anything btw.

AI meant her negativity. Obviously I read this to gain insight and advice like everyone else. if she had been constructive and said "you can use that to find your costsas long as youre considering market price and account for time doing your non cake related business." I would have either not replied because shes right or replied just to agree. If all someones going to say is I think youre wrong, though, then keep it to yourself because its not helping anybody.

A

It might not be the most polite thing to say, "you're wrong", without any supporting evidence/opinion, but it invites further conversation. Someone else may be able to say yes, it's wrong and here's why, or no, that's correct and here's why. I don't know, I guess I have a tough shell. I don't care how the information is conveyed to me, if it's something worth learning, remove the emotion from it and absorb the knowledge.

AI get it az, and like I said its ok to say hey I dont agree with that advice, heres why. But I was explaining a different aspect that actually was complimentary to howsweet and not contradictory. I say "if" because I have a catering office that takes cakes orders (aside from consultations with me) and they charge a service charge for their work when its needed. Thats why I agreed and said to add it to labor or base. Sorry howsweet, for offending you. I was feeling offended myself.

Sugarpuppet, I never meant to offend you. I realize I may have put you through the ringer a bit and for that I apologize. I have a very direct way of saying things if I'm writing them down, I realize it can sound harsh. My "forum training" was on a male dominated reef aquarium forum  where I have many, many more posts than I do here and I'm just used to communicating in this direct way. Over there, there's lot of lively discussion and no one is bothered if what they are saying is challenged. It's just the normal thing. I feel so strongly about these issues, that I have a hard time reining in.

I've always hated this phrase when people use it, but I want you to know that it's truly, truly not personal. I imagine that you're a lovely person and that you would similarly find me pleasant enough if we met in real life

AThank you, howsweet. :-)

Well, I came back to read my thread and I'm surprised of how it turned. I didn't mean to start and arguing  or anything like that, but I really appreciate your comments. All of the Comments here matter to me. I believe that everyone's opinions and suggestions are appreciated and helpful, it's a matter of taking what's best for you.

Thank you all again  

There were several discussions all over the internet about cake pricing. These two discussions helped me a lot: Pricing Help and Pricing For Beginners. 

I hope it helps.