I was asked to make a 6" round cake with "gold" ganache dripping down it and 44 red velvet cupcakes with flowers piped on to them and sprayed with a gold sheen.  I costed the ingredients, baking cups, boxes, boards etc and then added time on to do everything and gave my figure of £150.  The client thinks it's too expensive and has said they "might just go for a cake".

I'm now concerned that I've overpriced my time and was wondering if you could give me advice on what you would've charged?  I'm new to this and don't mean to come across as though I'm a money grabber! 

Thanks.

Are all of you who are responding from Europe? 

I really am curious to know if your supplies costs are expensive. 

I'm in the US, and I think the price is right. There are people around me that charge $9.00 per slice, or have a minimum order of $150.00, so if you want a 6 inch cake, it's going to cost you $150.00. If you have priced all of your ingredients, overhead, and are paying yourself a good hourly wage, and what you're charging covers all of that, so be it. You're not being a money grabber, but you're not working for free, either. And there is more to pricing than just the cost of supplies. 

Ypierce82  you are Damn lucky to be in a location that you can charge that. I would never be able to sell anything in my area if I charged that. The demographics of where I am it is mostly blue collar and lo income families.

I am well aware that pricing is not just for supplies. I guess since I sell my cakes as a side job I don't have to be so competitive with my costs. 

You only asked about supplies, therefore, that's what I responded about. I live in Ohio, not near any major cities, and my prices are in line with the brick and mortar bakeries in this area. I'm not going to undercut them just because I don't have the same overheard that they do, but I know my work is just as good, if not better than, and I price accordingly. OP, customers aren't always going to like or be able to afford your prices, but that doesn't mean that your prices are off. If there is something you can offer within their budget, go for it, BUT do not short change yourself and do all of that work for less than what you quoted. Good luck!

Thank you for the replies.  I took into consideration the cost of ingredients, time, electricity etc and thought the hourly rate I was charging was reasonable.  It's always good to have a bit of back up and that nudge to say I'm right.

I should stop doubting myself! 

You really should! Self doubt is evil. 

People have no clue the amount of time that goes into decorating a cake, let alone the cost of ingredients, tools and supplies.

@ypierce82 ‍ shout out to a fellow Ohioan

Oh and if one more person asks me to make a cake for them because Giant Eagle prices are "ridiculous", I will lose it. You'll probably see me on the news. "Woman gets arrested for beating person with spatula"