Here's something I had saved in case I ever need to ship a cake:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-53147-ship.html
It's so expensive; I'm afraid to try! I can't believe how demolished your cake arrived. How sad! I think I'd try for a refund.
Another post w/detailed instructions by knoxcop:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-37841-dry.html+ice
Oh, Michelle---what can I say, except drive next time
That's a real tragedy--and I can't believe they had the nerve to charge you $93 !!!! What a supreme rip-off.
I know that when Colette ships cakes she uses the shipping division of Continental Airlines. She claims that her cakes are hand carried to the belly of the plane and carried off again. The client has to pick it up at the airport, if I remember correctly.
I don't know if the USPS overnight would be any better......
Bravo for trying, anyway.
Rae
in reference to the airlines shipping (im a lead dispatcher for an international courier company..... everything is actually hand placed on an aircraft. (it travels up the belt to meet the people on the inside of the plane) who place it in bins in the belly of the aircraft. We ship high dollar packages that get torn up all the time (from falling off the baggage cart or the belt) sometimes you can be lucky and it will arive in one peice other times it is a wreck (i have lots of pictures of torn up packages) and the airbills are higher than fex ex....
I am so sorry that about what happened to your cake.....I think I would be email, writting and calling FED EX.....
Autumn
Amazing ... like many others here, I have not had much luck with FedEx, so I don't think I would have paid the $93 to ship a cake from OH to PA. That being said, I HAVE shipped cookies in the past, from Michigan to a Bride in New Jersey. 10-1/2 dozen, via USPS.
Each cookie was put into a cellophane bag, tied with a bow. I then put 9 cookies per box into pizza boxes with a sheet of bubble wrap underneath and above the layer of cookies, which had 3-D calla lilies on them made of chocolate paste. Then the boxes were stacked 7-high, wrapped AGAIN in bubble wrap and put into a USPS shipping box, then padded with even more bubble wrap. Two boxes and lots of bubble wrap later, they were ready to go. It only cost me about $36 for the postage and they arrived in 2 days, with only about 5 broken cookies. My Bride was very happy.
The UPS cost to ship? $293.00, not including any boxes/packaging, which (of course) they would have done for me at an additional cost!!!! My pizza boxes cost me $14.95 at the local GFS Marketplace, and I still have 36 left. The bubble wrap cost me around $20 (had lots on hand to start with), so I did okay.
Would I ship a cake??? Nope, but cakes are not quite as sturdy as cookies, I think.
Finally, I was watching some program about weddings on Style or Lifetime or We or some such channel, and they covered the wedding of figure skater Todd Eldredge. His fiancee was concerned that Todd's beloved red convertible (a Mazerati?) could not make the trip to Florida (apparently it's his baby), so she had a cake designer in Washington-state make her a replica as the Groom's cake. It was shipped to them in Florida, to arrive at the hotel where the wedding was held, and arrived in one piece. I don't know what shipping method they used (presumably it had to go by air at some point), BUT their packaging was shown on the program and I thought it was a really good idea at the time.
The box was a really sturdy-looking, standard, cardboard box ... heavy-duty, courrogated, etc. The baker had cut a fairly sizeable "window" out of one side, which showed the cake clearly. The window was then covered in clear acetate or plastic or something. There were plenty of red & black arrows pointing "UP" and the words "FRAGILE" everywhere, but on the front of the box, above the window, it was very clearly printed (with arrows pointing at the window) "YES, THIS IS A CAKE! PLEASE BE CAREFUL!"
When they showed it at the reception, there was not a crack on it. I was plenty amazed.
Maybe this will help those of you who are considering shipping cakes in the future. (And if I am not mistaken, Sylvia Weinstock also ships her cakes, too. But, as someone said, the recipient is paying the price ON TOP OF the cost of the original cake ... and we all know those big-name cake decorators are getting a lot more per serving than many of us little people. Just remember that.)
HTH,
Odessa
for future reference for any shipping:
I used to work for one of the above mentioned companies in the warehouse, and saw first hand how things were loaded and unloaded...the loaders DO NOT CARE what the package says, they will chuck it from truck to belt to truck...without seeing a fragile sticker...as a matter of fact...i saw them THROW a t.v. onto the belt--and broke it...shrug the shoulders and say..oh well thats what insurance is for....
Ok, not the same thing, but have you ever seen the airline people load your luggage into the plane as you are on it, looking straight at them? They don't care when there are people watching, they're chucking it from the belt to the plane. I've seen things FLY and never once saw them LOOk at the luggage. And I've taken lots of flights. And if they're doing that when you're watching?!? Oh, I can just imagine.
As for shipping, whenever I've recieved cakes (albeit simply decorated) they have been frozen with dry ice. Dry ice would actually make the cake fresher than freezing it in your home freezer because it can get the temp down lower, faster, so you're not getting the big ice crystals as normal freezing. They've always been shipped in boxes barely small enough to fit the cake and placed with dry ice and other boxes so they won't move, in styrofoam coolers. I've always had UPS deliver them to me. (My MIL orders them, she loves mail-order.) I save the styrofoam coolers in case I need to ship something to someone else. HTH
I am so sorry your beautiful cake was destroyed, it is such a shame.
I have used FedEx, UPS & the Airlines to ship over the last 17 years and have had problems with each on occasion. (Not with cakes but with computer hardware.) Unfortunately, most workers don't care if the package is marked fragile. I never put a fragile sticker on my packages, because I don't want to give them an excuse to kick the box. lol
I have been thinking about shipping a cake from OH to PA to a friend of mine, but when I do, the cake board will be the same size as the bottom of the cake and the cake will be completely wrapped in plastic wrap to secure it to the board, and then completely in bubble wrap. That will go into a box large enough to give it 6" of peanuts around the cake on each side. (They require 4" on each side.) Any flowers or decorations will be package separately with instruction on how to attach it to the cake. I'm thinking something simple of course.
I plan to ship it FedEx Home because it will arrive in 1 day anyway. I'll let you know how it arrives.
We ought to have some sort of networking on here where we can do cake favors for other decorators... for instance, I live in PA and I'm sure I could have gotten a shoe cake to the person (if they lived in E Pa) for less than the cost of the failed shipping!
I wonder if something like that would work...like a list of decorators willing to do "favors" for other decorators...then if we wanted to have a nice cake with certain specs delivered to a family member in another state, we could call up the decorator and maybe get a small cake made for a discounted price...or cheaper than FedEx anyway!
Maybe its a dumb idea but its just a thought.
Sorry to hear about your cake being destroyed. But I think fault lays with the way the cake was packaged. there should have been saran wrap over the entire cake before it was packaged in the first box then bubble wrap to prevent it from shifting. It should have been packaged tight so as it could not have any room to shift. You have to keep in mind that along the way to its destination as few as 10 to as many as 20 different people handled that package. I ship (not cakes) with fedex on a weekly basis and never have had any problems with items arriving damaged. I can not say that for UPS or USPO.
I don't think it is dumb at all. Actually, I read a thread a while back about how to handle it if you get sick when your cake is due. Someone made a suggestion to network with local cake decorators so if it happens, the customer doesn't suffer. It's kind of the same thing.
BTW I just looked at your website. Your cakes are great!
msauer & fellow CC members...
I don't know how to approach this subject because I work for FedEx and I understand the inner workings of our system that may or may not help explain what happened to your cake without offending anyone...
FedEx is extremely good at shipping perishable products for large companies, but less than desirable when shipping individual perishable products. As shown in the picture.
I am very sorry that happened...
FedEx ships See's Candies, Corky's BBQ & sides, Fresh fish, King Cakes during Mardi Gras, etc, but months of planning, packaging designs, engineer consulting and the like before FedEx will work with a large company shipping perishable products to customers. On top of the that, food shippers sign a contract stating that FedEx will not be held responsible for Acts of God that may ground a plane or truck, broken planes that cannot fly, weather conditions (heat/humidity of summer, cold/freezing conditions of winter) etc. Of course, FedEx will do all possible to get their products to the door in the same condition it was given to us.
The reason why FedEx or the original vendor would not offer insurance is because a cake is considered a fragile-perishable product that will more than likely be damaged during transit no matter how well packed. In all honesty, if they did charge an insurance fee and tried to claim on that fee for a cake, FedEx would not honor the claim.
Please keep in mind that nearly 3 million small packages move within the US domestic system each night with at least a dozen employees handling your package and lets not forget the convyor belt everything rides on to get from the drivers truck to the can to another truck to airplane to the sort in one of our hubs and in reverse when it takes off and lands at the destination station.
With all that handling, I can almost guarntee that your box will be moved, tipped, flipped, sometimes flung around during hours of sorting during the middle of the night make sure your package arrives at your door the next day or within two days. The last time I was at one of the hubs for a tour, I was amazed at how fast things move. It is truly an amazing sight.
Again, I am not saying that the cake was not packed to withstand an over night trip through the Fedex system. I hope that I am shedding some light on what happens to a package when it is given to FedEx to ship.
Again, I am sincerely sorry...
We ought to have some sort of networking on here where we can do cake favors for other decorators... for instance, I live in PA and I'm sure I could have gotten a shoe cake to the person (if they lived in E Pa) for less than the cost of the failed shipping!
I wonder if something like that would work...like a list of decorators willing to do "favors" for other decorators...then if we wanted to have a nice cake with certain specs delivered to a family member in another state, we could call up the decorator and maybe get a small cake made for a discounted price...or cheaper than FedEx anyway!
Maybe its a dumb idea but its just a thought.
After watching one of the Ace of Cakes episodes, this idea was actually done. According to the show, many bakers in the same city will call on each other to help with a speciality they cannot do. IE... Duff made a Gumball cake while the original baker made the three teir topsy turvy cake. It was really nice to see that kind of colaboration.
I think it is a great idea!
Quote:
Amazing ... like many others here, I have not had much luck with FedEx, so I don't think I would have paid the $93 to ship a cake from OH to PA. That being said, I HAVE shipped cookies in the past, from Michigan to a Bride in New Jersey. 10-1/2 dozen, via USPS.
Each cookie was put into a cellophane bag, tied with a bow. I then put 9 cookies per box into pizza boxes with a sheet of bubble wrap underneath and above the layer of cookies, which had 3-D calla lilies on them made of chocolate paste. Then the boxes were stacked 7-high, wrapped AGAIN in bubble wrap and put into a USPS shipping box, then padded with even more bubble wrap. Two boxes and lots of bubble wrap later, they were ready to go. It only cost me about $36 for the postage and they arrived in 2 days, with only about 5 broken cookies. My Bride was very happy.
The UPS cost to ship? $293.00, not including any boxes/packaging, which (of course) they would have done for me at an additional cost!!!! My pizza boxes cost me $14.95 at the local GFS Marketplace, and I still have 36 left. The bubble wrap cost me around $20 (had lots on hand to start with), so I did okay.
Would I ship a cake??? Nope, but cakes are not quite as sturdy as cookies, I think.
Finally, I was watching some program about weddings on Style or Lifetime or We or some such channel, and they covered the wedding of figure skater Todd Eldredge. His fiancee was concerned that Todd's beloved red convertible (a Mazerati?) could not make the trip to Florida (apparently it's his baby), so she had a cake designer in Washington-state make her a replica as the Groom's cake. It was shipped to them in Florida, to arrive at the hotel where the wedding was held, and arrived in one piece. I don't know what shipping method they used (presumably it had to go by air at some point), BUT their packaging was shown on the program and I thought it was a really good idea at the time.
The box was a really sturdy-looking, standard, cardboard box ... heavy-duty, courrogated, etc. The baker had cut a fairly sizeable "window" out of one side, which showed the cake clearly. The window was then covered in clear acetate or plastic or something. There were plenty of red & black arrows pointing "UP" and the words "FRAGILE" everywhere, but on the front of the box, above the window, it was very clearly printed (with arrows pointing at the window) "YES, THIS IS A CAKE! PLEASE BE CAREFUL!"
When they showed it at the reception, there was not a crack on it. I was plenty amazed.
Maybe this will help those of you who are considering shipping cakes in the future. (And if I am not mistaken, Sylvia Weinstock also ships her cakes, too. But, as someone said, the recipient is paying the price ON TOP OF the cost of the original cake ... and we all know those big-name cake decorators are getting a lot more per serving than many of us little people. Just remember that.)
HTH,
Odessa
================
I have a cake to ship from Florida to Bahamas....
Brilliant...just brilliant...cutting out a section of the box so that all can see (and play a part in) the success of delivery to be in one piece. In this case...seeing is believing and I believe that is what made the transport successful. Thanks for sharing this...now to figure out how to insert the acetate LOL!
I'm sorry, this is not likely to help unless you're planning to put the cake on a plane yourself. . The baker out of Washington referred to was probably Mike McCary of Mike's Amazing cakes in Redmond WA and he has an agreement with an airline (or several airlines - I can't remember). He doesn't mail cakes, he flies them out and they are picked up at the airport. He doesn't use UPS or FedEx or anything like that. And I got that info straight from him.
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