I had a lady call me & ask me for a full sheet cake. I told her it would feed 96 people. I charged her $65....considering they're friends of some good friends of ours; and I KNOW that they don't have much money. She wanted a graduation cake.

She told me that walmart could do it for $38?!?!?!?!

She was rather rude the whole entire time talking to me anyway; and I was kinda glad when she said, "well walmart.......so I should just go with them, I guess....."

BTW, I'm in Kentucky, and cake prices range from $1.75 - $4.25 per serving...it just depends on where you go.

SO, I'M CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT YOUR WALMART CHARGES........BECAUSE IT'S HARD FOR ME TO BELIEVE THAT SOMEONE CAN BUY A FULL SHEET CAKE FOR $38.

I've never checked, but I'd say Walmart can beat any price...that's what they're known for.

Someone can always find a cheaper product, more cheaply made...I'd tell her to knock herself out...

Even at $1.75/sv, if that is your area's low-price, that cake would be $168.00. Your price is $0.68/serving--tell her that even if she wanted to take everyone out for dessert at McDonald's (affordable!), she'd be looking at about $1.50 each or more, and a restaurant would be more like $4.99 a piece...

Of course for some people, price is really all that matters. For them, there is Walmart...

I checked over the week-end at my Wal-mart and I am in Ohio and they charge $34.99 regular and $39.99 for one with a plastic decoration kit.
I do not like there cakes....YUCK!!!!

I almost told her that if she wants yucky dried out cake thats rushed as fast as possible, then she can have it. BUT, I didn't.

This is my first experience with this; and I've read about it on here so much, that I was prepared for it, LOL!

I just told her Ok, Thank You after she said she was going to go with walmart.

Some People! LOL

Well, this is not a Walmart price but it is from Publix, Orlando, FL.

They charge for a full sheet between $59.99 to $69.99.

Well I just called Wal-Mart cause you know curosity killed the cat. She said just a decorated sheet cake was $34.97.

I just don't get it.

How in the world can they make that big of a cake for that cheap of a price?!?!

I mean, why wouldn't someone go there?

You have to draw someone in, yes, and this woman has bought my cakes before. She has complimented me to my face and dh's face....I just don't get it.

They can afford to charge those prices because they have the volume & there isn't a whole lot of detail that goes on the cakes so they can put out a greater number in a short amount of time.

I am in Ohio, (Cincinnati area) and Most all groceries here charge around $40 for a full sheet. Kroger has been running a $10 off special lately, so you can get one for $30 right now. Most people I know still come to me, and are willing to pay a little extra, because of the taste. There is just NO WAY I can compete with those prices.

Sherry

Here in Ontario Canada you can get a full sheet from Sam's Club (basically Walmart) for $45.98! I was shocked by the price as well - but its crap! Not even torted, just thick heavy gross icing on top of the cake. Tastes terrible!

My Wal-Mart is about the same @ 39.99. I agree with everyone else. I don't like there cakes. I've just started decorating and have read lots of posts about pricing. I had no idea of the cost of cake baking! I've made a list of what all my ingredients are so that I add up what I spend. Just for a simple 1/4 sheet it costs $13.02! So if I multiply that x2 I charge $26.00 & $36.00 if x3. It's hard to compete w/Wal-Mart @ $15.00. I sure couldn't make a living doing this.

And someone approached me today about baking cookies fofr a coffee shop. They would pay .50 per cookie. What a joke! That wouldn't be worth my time. Am I being a snob?

If she prefers a cheap price over quality and taste then tell to go buy the Wal*Mart cake. She can't be very intelligent if she thinks that you could possibly compete with Wal*Mart. Lets see....Big huge conglomeration (sp?) vs small home based baker. Give me a break. Obviously she just wanted a cake... any cake. No matter what it tasted like as long as the price was right. But remember that this is also the way a lot of people live their lives. They "settle". Instead of purchasing quality products they "settle" for cheap goods made at a cheap price. Personally I don't settle!

Lazy_Susan

Our walmarts doesn't do cakes, but all the groceries are right around the 40-50 dollar mark. No way i can do a full sheet for that price. And i have told people that too. If you want my product you will have to pay for it or you aren't going to be wasting anymore of my time.

How can they sell cakes for this cheap, well first of all they don't bake the cake, its a frozen sheet that they just pull out and ice, the icing is made in bulk from a mix, slapped on the cake and some plastic decos are thrown on. Lets face it if you see a nice grad hat on a cake in the grocery it sure isn't chocolate like you would get from me.

Then to top it off the bakery is a lost leader, they count on people coming in and buying that cake then spending a whole lot more money on stuff that has a much higher mark up.

Does WalMart even bake their own cakes? From what I understand they are shipped in frozen. No wonder they are dried out.

I have a friend who used to work in the Wal-mart bakery. She was telling me about the wedding cakes. She said they use frozen cakes that are shipped in (so obviously the cakes are made in a factory setting, gee sounds yummy lol) and the head cake decorator did all the wedding cakes and she worked them like a conveyor belt. No wonder they can sell wedding cakes for $1.35/slice. Makes me want to run out and get one haha!

Youre right, lazy_susan...they settle!

I don't want to talk bad about anyone, but these are just friends of friends, so it's not that big of a deal to me, really. I'm sure she probably thought that since I give our mutual friends a deal, that I'd give them a deal too. I don't know.

I guess I'm actually more shocked over what walmart can sell one for, lol!

If I do nothing more than make my own childrens cakes, then that's fine with me! (as long as they don't have to eat walmarts!!! LOL )

i think wal-mart's are frozen & the price is about the same in s. ga. (where i shop) BUT GET THIS Sam's Club is cheaper than that, i think you can get a sheet for @ 30.00.

I think the big picture that everyone is missing is that we specialize in "Flavor". I don't think you could go to Wal*Mart and order a Banana Layer Cake with Pina Colada Frosting (like the one I have to make).

Lazy_Susan

That sounds yummy susan!

I'm in Columbus, and it's the same price here, the $35-40 for a sheet. At Krogers to, and our Giant Eagle is less then that! But all of the grocery store bakery cakes are frozen cakes, I used to work in the deli and then the bakery at Big Bear before it went out of business, and I've worked in the deli/bakery at Krogers also. ALL of it's frozen, it's kept in their big freezers and when ordered it's brought out and they throw some icing on it, and a few deco. Then of course they keep some decorated and out on display that you can just go in and grab. They'll usually write something on it real quick for you IF you can find someone that can do it because usually if the decorator isn't around, no one else knows how to even do that at most of them! And yeah, they mix up HUGE amounts of icing at once, it comes in a big package and they throw some water in it in the mixer. I always look at the cakes when I go to krogers, habit lol. And the roses on them aren't even nice, they look like they used runny icing to make them and they just seem to sag on the cake. But it's definitely hard to do it from home and get business when they are soooo cheap on theirs!!

walmart cakes


I have not work a walmart but I have work at another bakery ( in side a grocery store) and there cakes come in frozen . The only thing you had to do was thaw and ice. I am a little derpess my self because just unill last week I had cake orders, cake orders , cake orders. Yet , I was only charging $20 for a 12 x 18 and $ 11 for a 9x 13 . I Post a discussion to the board about not charging enough. After everyone gave me their advice I went up on my prices I start charging 30 for the 12x 18, 20 for the 9x 13 and was now doing a 1/3 sheet for $ 25.00 which was the 11 x 15 . I was now offering an 1/4, 1/3 and 1/2 sheet cake for the prices above. Well I had Three cancel orders and only one order for the prices that I increase to. I have spent so much money on pans , fondant tools, printers and so on and so on. It seems as if as long as my prices were a little lower then walmart I had everyone comming to me but when I decided to raise my prices . I guess they said that could get them for walmart a little cheaper considering I am doing the from home.

walmart cakes


I have not work a walmart but I have work at another bakery ( in side a grocery store) and there cakes come in frozen . The only thing you had to do was thaw and ice. I am a little derpess my self because just unill last week I had cake orders, cake orders , cake orders. Yet , I was only charging $20 for a 12 x 18 and $ 11 for a 9x 13 . I Post a discussion to the board about not charging enough. After everyone gave me their advice I went up on my prices I start charging 30 for the 12x 18, 20 for the 9x 13 and was now doing a 1/3 sheet for $ 25.00 which was the 11 x 15 . I was now offering an 1/4, 1/3 and 1/2 sheet cake for the prices above. Well I had Three cancel orders and only one order for the prices that I increase to. I have spent so much money on pans , fondant tools, printers and so on and so on. It seems as if as long as my prices were a little lower then walmart I had everyone comming to me but when I decided to raise my prices . I guess they said that could get them for walmart a little cheaper considering I am doing the from home.

I only charge $20 for the 1/4 sheet to, but I haven't had anyone complain about that yet thank goodness!! Our Krogers 1/4 sheet is about $16.99 or 17.99, so mine is just a bit above that. And I keep reminding everyone that you can't go to Krogers and make special request, what you get is what you see! But I still think even $20 for a 1/4 is really cheap considering all the work that goes into it.

cakebgood


I guess now it seems like it's a big increase from what I had been charging they were getting an 12 by 18 inch (1/2) edible picture cake for
$ 28.00 now it's $38.00


I look a walrmart and sam's 1/2 cakes theirs are not the 12 by 18 sizes that are smaller it seems like the 11 x 15 size

People need to realize besides the whole quality and one of a kind design things, walmart makes their cakes for next to nothing. It's all premade my walmart somewhere for a few cents and shipped in big bags like flour and it makes cakes. They are making a huge markup on those cakes. As home bakers, we are paying retail prices for all of our ingredients and making them in small batches, which takes gas for our ovens and electricity to do all these dishes We can't give our cakes away for nothing, IF WE DO WHAT IS THE POINT?????

tame, I know what you mean about their sizes looking smaller, I KNOW their 1/4 sheets aren't as big as mine, and I even asked them what size theirs were and they said 9x13. The ones in the store are SOOO small looking though, especially in height, theres hardly anything to them.

At only $20.00 for a 1/4 sheet, you'll only profit about $7.00. I don't know how long it takes you to bake and decorate, but you're worth more tan $7.00!

That is very true! I think I was thinking like a few others, if I could keep prices a bit low till word got out then I could get more business. But I think word gets out more about the low price then anything else ! Maybe I'll raise that to $25 and see what happens

I currently work in a Kroger bakery.

It gives me a chance to decorate all I want without the cost to me. The cakes you see on display are frozen and we can write on them for you.
If someone special orders a cake we have the cake frozen (it's maybe 1 1/2" high and I can't tell you the exact size because I've never measured it, but I'll do that tonite) sometimes we even have them prefrosted and all we have to do is slap on a border and a few roses or balloons or something like that.

The icing is a whole other story:
Its premade we get it in 5gal buckets. We even have buckets of pre colored icing. Does not have to be refrigerated or anything done to it (even the cream cheese icing ) The funny thing (or disturbing depending on how you look at it) the icing does NOT melt when put under hot water. Kinda scary....

No, I would not let my family eat a cake like this - but I guess you get what you pay for. Hope they enjoy there freezer burnt cardboard grease concoction.

Barb