First Pricing Complaint

Business By SweetShop5 Updated 9 Aug 2016 , 1:53am by FrostedMoon

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SweetShop5 Posted 8 Jul 2016 , 2:09pm
post #1 of 23

I've read so many stories on Cake Central about some clients freaking out about cake prices and I've been lucky enough to never have that happen to me... until today haha!

A client wanted a 6" cake like this one: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/b8/10/83/b8108344d87f49f277885168cff405f1.jpg which I charged 75$ for lemon cake with lemon icing.

She then replies: It would be $75 ?!?!?!  thats insane...

Not even sure if I should bother replying lol I had to share since I thought it was funny.

22 replies
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Jeff_Arnett Posted 8 Jul 2016 , 2:48pm
post #2 of 23

First of all, the general public thinks you can make a cake in an hour or so.  She thinks that because this is a "small" cake, only 6 inches it should only cost a few dollars...she probably expected to pay about $25 for it.  People who are not bakers don't comprehend that ingredient wise, there's not a lot of difference in the cost of making a 6 inch cake or a 10 inch cake, but either way, the amount of time and work is pretty much the same.


Do reply...it's professional.  Simply say "Thank you for your interest in our cakes.  We are sorry we were unable to meet your needs" and leave it there.  That's why there's all kinds of decorators with all kinds of skill levels and at all kinds of prices...if price alone dictates what a person is satisfied with, then your work would probably be undervalued anyway.

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SweetShop5 Posted 8 Jul 2016 , 2:53pm
post #3 of 23

I'm sure that is definitely what she's thinking. It's exactly what crossed my mind when I saw her reply. Thanks for the advice!

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Webake2gether Posted 8 Jul 2016 , 3:11pm
post #4 of 23

Welcome to the club @SweetShop5 ‍ lol it happens from time to time to all of us :)

i always reply politley similiar to what Jeff_Arnet said. I thank them for their inquiry and even say we hope you have a wonderful event. It may not be in their budget this time but maybe next time they'll want to order from you and now have an idea of your pricing. You never know she may end up ordering. 

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mattyeatscakes Posted 8 Jul 2016 , 5:18pm
post #5 of 23

most often potential clients are genuinely shocked by the price and not necessarily meaning to offend us.  it probably was her first time ordering a custom novelty cake outside the usual store bought cake and she had a price range on her mind of what she had thought the cake would/should cost.

5 ago, before started creating cakes, i had ordered a simple 8" fondant cake with Winnie the Pooh and Piglet fondant toppers for my baby shower, and i paid $90.  at the time i was shocked, but didn't say anything but i was definitely thinking something! lol but now i know how much time and effort goes into creating even the simplest of cakes, so i realized that I actually got a good deal that time :) hehehe


so ya, i agree with both @Webake2gether ‍ and @jeff_arnett and send her a quick reply of thanking her for her interest and move on to the next :)



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hippiecac Posted 8 Jul 2016 , 6:30pm
post #6 of 23

LOL, well at least she responded!

Probably 75% of people who ask for a quote (and don't order) don't even bother responding when I give them a price!

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SweetShop5 Posted 8 Jul 2016 , 7:40pm
post #7 of 23

@hippiecac ‍ haha so true! I do have quite some people who never respond and others who are truthful and admit it's over their budget and thank me for the quote.

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jgifford Posted 8 Jul 2016 , 11:34pm
post #8 of 23

My first bad reaction was for a quincenera cake ~ 15 TIERS of zebra stripes, airbrushed hot pink or lime green. Two tiers here, three tiers there,... They were inviting half the town.

When I quoted $2375, she told me, "Well, Walmart sheet cakes are only $40 and they're not bad, so maybe we'll do that."

I agreed with her and wished her well.


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bubs1stbirthday Posted 9 Jul 2016 , 12:20am
post #9 of 23

It happens to hobby people too, no understanding of the cost and time that is involved :-( The other day I got a msg on f/b from my mum (who I don't get along with very well and I only hear from when she wants something usually) and she says

'Could you donate a cake to the Italian Greyhound Luncheon' as she show Italian Greyhounds. I replied with 'Is it a fundraiser? Depending on what you want I may be able to make you something but you will need to pay for the costs and I will give you the time to make you something, for an 8 inch with decorations/boards etc it will cost you about $50.'

Right away she writes back 'Oh no, not a fundraiser, just a BYO plate of food to a luncheon but I don't want to pay for it, I have already donated ribbons for prizes, if you don't want to pay for it then don't worry about it'. Clearly she expected me to fork out for it. 

Keep in mind that her and her partner are now doing well enough to be travelling Aus all the time in their new caravan  showing those Italian Greyhounds and Hubby and I are a single income family with me being a Stay at home Mum and I don't keep anything in stock as I only make what I need at the time for whatever project I am working on so all the fondant/ganache/SMBC needed to be made. Needless to say I offered to make her some biscuits because she is 'far to busy to make some herself' and told her the cake was off the table.

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costumeczar Posted 9 Jul 2016 , 2:15am
post #10 of 23


Quote by @bubs1stbirthday on 1 hour ago

 Needless to say I offered to make her some biscuits because she is 'far to busy to make some herself' and told her the cake was off the table. 

You should offer to give her some cookies, but just dump a bag of Oreos onto a paper plate and give those to her.

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810whitechoc Posted 9 Jul 2016 , 2:38am
post #11 of 23

That cake would be $168.00 from me, if she thinks $75.00 is insane can't imagine what she would think of that.

J.Gifford - that is hilarious made me lol.


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Pastrybaglady Posted 9 Jul 2016 , 8:39am
post #12 of 23

@jgifford ‍ 15 tiers, seriously?!?

I've never had someone say anything to me about being too expensive to my face or in an e-mail, I'm sure they tell their families and then I never hear from them or "someone else is bringing cake".

@SweetShop5 ‍  You are worth every penny you charge, your cakes are perfection and perfection costs!

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bubs1stbirthday Posted 9 Jul 2016 , 9:32am
post #13 of 23


Quote by @costumeczar on 7 hours ago


Quote by @bubs1stbirthday on 1 hour ago

 Needless to say I offered to make her some biscuits because she is 'far to busy to make some herself' and told her the cake was off the table. 

You should offer to give her some cookies, but just dump a bag of Oreos onto a paper plate and give those to her.

Haha - it did cross my mind, except they weren't going to be oreo's, I was looking at the home brand biscuits grin.pngstuck_out_tongue.png 

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costumeczar Posted 9 Jul 2016 , 9:49am
post #14 of 23


Quote by @bubs1stbirthday on 16 minutes ago


Quote by @costumeczar on 7 hours ago


Quote by @bubs1stbirthday on 1 hour ago

 Needless to say I offered to make her some biscuits because she is 'far to busy to make some herself' and told her the cake was off the table. 

You should offer to give her some cookies, but just dump a bag of Oreos onto a paper plate and give those to her.

Haha - it did cross my mind, except they weren't going to be oreo's, I was looking at the home brand biscuits grin.pngstuck_out_tongue.png 

Bwuahahaha! Generics, I'm dying.

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MBalaska Posted 9 Jul 2016 , 11:15pm
post #15 of 23

This is so well said @Jeff_Arnett ‍. Short, sweet, and to the point!

and generic cookies is a real hoot hahaha  

Do reply...it's professional.  Simply say "Thank you for your interest in our cakes.  We are sorry we were unable to meet your needs" and leave it there. 
Read more at http://www.cakecentral.com/forum/t/831689/first-pricing-complaint#b8p1SXaY5QRj7xgr.99
Do reply...it's professional.  Simply say "Thank you for your interest in our cakes.  We are sorry we were unable to meet your needs" and leave it there. 
Read more at http://www.cakecentral.com/forum/t/831689/first-pricing-complaint#b8p1SXaY5QRj7xgr.99


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Jenmarlene Posted 11 Jul 2016 , 3:27pm
post #16 of 23

i had someone tell me she found out she can order a cake from Walmart using food stamps and canceled my order. I couldn't believe she even told me that. LOL

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sugarbritches Posted 11 Jul 2016 , 8:54pm
post #17 of 23

Wow.  I am way underpricing myself.  This thread was really informative - and hilarious!  Cake from Walmart with food stamps...LOL.

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KimmyO Posted 11 Jul 2016 , 9:26pm
post #18 of 23

I just usually respond with a "Thanks for following up with me and I understand having budget constraints."  


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Tootall Posted 11 Jul 2016 , 9:33pm
post #19 of 23

I am just a hobbyist, so I don't sell my cakes, but I HAVE had a family member tell me, "We paid THIRTY DOLLARS for this *generic sheet cake* at the grocery store. We should just pay YOU to make all the family cakes!" HA!!! I managed to not snort in her face, but I did tell her that it costs me that much in supplies for a large cake, not to mention all of my free time after work, part time jobs and taking care of my family/house. Pass!!

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catgirl Posted 25 Jul 2016 , 2:13pm
post #20 of 23

I agree that people don't understand the time and skill involved in making cakes  I'm sure you will be quite professional in your response

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LelekBolek Posted 25 Jul 2016 , 6:34pm
post #21 of 23

After my first burn with "You are crazy! Your price is ridiculous!" I started to respond to verbal quote requests differently, first politely asking - if the person understands that the custom cake price will differ RADICALLY from grocery store price, and also vary within my prices, depending on level of decoration.  Gives them a little bit of a cushion for the blow, I feel. 

Email requests are rarely as "shocking" in overall feel to them. Most often, people don't bother replying in typing "your price is ridiculous", but when in conversation it is hard to hold that back, I guess. 

Yes, most people have no idea what goes into custom cake making, as many pp said on many threads. And as said before, the "reality" cake tv shows also make things impossible for the _real_ reality bakers, providing idiotic basis for consumer expectations. 

I am often asked: "wow... that is SOME cake! - was it hard to make? how long did it take you?!..." and I answer: "does it look like something that is hard to make and takes some time?". Usually, I get a good glimpse of sudden realization in their eyes of "oh, that is, like, REAL work!" 

Some of my friends don't even ask me to make cakes for them, because they know it is not something that can be freely given away, as if it's nothing labor and $ and time consuming. 

But most people - no, they don't know. Not necessarily from stupidity or something, but they Just Don't Know. 



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KatieScarlet Posted 29 Jul 2016 , 10:16pm
post #22 of 23

Don't mean this to be snarky. I swear. Just be grateful you can get that price. I live in Las Vegas, population 2 million and this market will not bear that price. 

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FrostedMoon Posted 9 Aug 2016 , 1:53am
post #23 of 23

This is why I often start off with "my minimum cake order is $100."    I've had people not respond, politely decline stating it's out of their budget or they are going to wait for a larger celebration to order, etc etc.  My personal favorite though is the customer who asks for a price reduction because "with the venue, party planner, and entertainment,  I was hoping to not spend so much on the cake."  Why does the extravagance of your celebration mean that my time & skill should be worth less ??!?!?

Honestly, I'm happy when people are up front about their budget or quickly decline based on price.  Custom cakes are expensive & I put a lot of time and energy in to them.  This includes emails & designing time.   I'm not looking for customers that want a bargain, and they aren't looking for high end custom cakes.  Both parties waste their time if they aren't upfront.

 I would respond with something along the lines of "I certainly understand this is not within everyone's budget.  I will assume you are no longer interested in ordering this cake and will free this date up for other customers.  Thank you for getting back to me!"

Be glad no more of your time was wasted!

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