Hi all!!

Just out of curiosity....this is about the bride and groom cake pops.  What do you all charge for them?  I have a set price for them, but lately have been second guessing myself because I have had a rash of customers lately ....with "That is way too much....what are they made of gold?"

I know that I have to let it go and move on but when you get several customers in a couple week span it tends to hit you right in the confidence area!

Thanks,

Teresa 

I am making some in a few weeks but they are for a close friend so she is getting them very cheap as most my labour is her wedding present - around £1 each...and I will be having a stiff drink when I make them!  BUT, were it a standard order, I would be looking at about £3.5-£4.50 + per pop easily.  It may sound a lot but it's the same calculation I use for all my other cakes...materials + (time to make each one * hourly rate) + extra to cover gas, rent, insurance etc.  If people bawk at the price, in many ways, I'm delighted...i don't have to do them and can talk them around to something significantly more sensible!!!  Out of interest, what were you charging?

For what it's worth, there was a lady near me who specialised her business on cake pops.  She quit after less than a year because people wouldn't pay the price she needed to charge to cover the time it took to make them.  

A baker (licensed commercial kitchen) in my area charges $25 a dozen  ($2.08 each) I personally don't make them but they are really cute and the possibilities are endless with them but too much work for something so small for me lol. I admire those who do them :) 

if I had to guess as to why people are saying that they are too high is because to those who don't bake and decorate think smaller should be easier and cheaper right? Wrong!!! I find the smaller something is the harder I'm going to have to work on it.  I don't see a whole lot about cake pops  where I live I don't think there is a big enough market for them here. Our market is for custom cakes and cupcakes. I know the baker I mentioned earlier stays busy and has even had people tell her that her prices are high but she has enough customers to share with us when we open so don't worry about it too much :)

Actually what I quoted was a bit cheaper than I charge for most of my designed pops.  I quoted her a price of $2.25 each.  Which really does not cover my time completely....I usually have no trouble with that pricing but, as I said in my earlier post, the last 2-3 weeks I have had a lot of comments to the negative on pricing.  I just smile and say thank you for enquiring and have a great day!!  :)   But it does  get to me a little.  I just wanted to get some other pricing comments.  I have looked online and at other businesses to see what they are charging and I am cheaper.  But for my area, I have to be a little cheaper...I live in the middle of nowhere!

Thank you for your input!  It does help me to put some perspective on the whole issue though.

Teresa 

Wow...that seems insanely cheap to me.  I think GBP3.50 is around USD6?  There is no way on Earth I would make them for that much.  I can't see how you can cover your costs let alone make a business out of it!  I reckon that each pop takes at least 10 minutes to make for a simple one, even when you're making a lot.  The bride and grooms are longer than that.  When you consider making the cake batter, smushing it, making the balls, chilling them, melting the candy, dipping them, dipping them again, adding decorations, and wrapping them up and then clearing up the epic mess you have made (and associated paperwork).  To be fair, i think that the candy melts are much cheaper in the US so the costs are less but still, this is really interesting.  That's why I love this forum :-) 

We no longer make them because there is not enough profit in them to make it worth my while.  People just don't get how time consuming they are for the size.

Another business nearby used to do them - they specialise in cupcakes only and added cakepops to their list.  They are no longer making them, I'm guessing they figured out they weren't worth it too.

Snowflake bunny your comment that you were delighted when customers thought they were too expensive so you didn't have to do them made me laugh, I remember that feeling. 

I really love making them.....that is the only reason I continue....but to be honest...I am starting to get frustrated.  I also have another job and this one is not my sole income.  If it was, then I probably would not continue either.  Sometimes I wish I had never started making the designed ones as they are where I do not make enough...but I so love the challenge of making the different designs.  So I guess I have some big thinking to do about how to carry on.  What is really funny though, is that I have no problem with my regular customers paying what I charge.  It is only the ones who want wedding pops who give me such a hard time.  Go figure!  :)

Thanks again for input.  I really do have some major thinking to do.

Teresa 

here is an idea for you -- for every dozen make only a few fully decorated ones and have the others to coordinate in color -- that might help with the trauma and drama of all the labor intensive work -- then just display them all together so you see all the cool artwork but it's not quite so nutso where you gave your life for a cake pop -- you have to sell it that way in the first place too but just a thought -- then you can raise the scale as you wish if they want them all decorated it's x amount -- half decorated a bit less  --  4 out of 12 a bit less -- gives them a scale? maybe maybe not just a thought

best pops to you

That sounds like something I might think about doing K8memphis!  Thank you all for your input!  Part of me knows that I just need to toughen up a little and not let a few customers get too me so much.  I do good work and I need to focus on the good instead of all of the negative!

Teresa