I have a lady that wants a three tier cake for her daughters first birtday cake! What do you charge for a tiered birthday cake. Is it the same as a wedding cake? I

charging varies greatly. There are many factors in pricing. Your geographical location? What are the sizes of the cakes? what types of cakes are you baking? How much detail work is going into the cakes? Do you have to deliver and set it up? Any three tier cake is alot of work - don't be cheap with your pricing. Wedding cakes are in a price range all their own but again - get paid for the work your going to do. Hope this helps a little....

She orginally wanted a 1/2 sheet cake and two six inch cakes. I quoted her $20 for the 1/2 sheet cake and $16 for both four iinch cakes.

Like you said the tier cakes are so much more work and then transporting it. I hate the whole pricing of cakes. Now she wants a three tiered cake and a four inch smash cake. I think I will call a few cake places tommorrow and get quotes. Man, what did I get myself into!!!!

I just did a 2 - tiered 1st birthday cake (9" and 6") not a whole lot of detail - and a 1 layer 6" smash cake for $65.00 - the bottom layer was white with buttercream filling and icing, the top was chocolate with raspberry filling and buttercream. (I don't have my digital camera anymore so I have to wait for the roll of film to be full to have the pics developed of it!)

So this is a long rant................Do you all think that 60 for a two tier cake and a six inch smash cake is too expensive? Im trying to get this lady to make up her mind. She needs the smash cake for tommorrow and the tier for Saturday. I talked to her last night to make sure she was still going to do it. And she said she got to thinking and that 60 is too much for a cake, but she still wants to have a tiered cake. So reading between the lines she wants a tiered cake but doesnt want to pay anything!! Then she was like maybe for Thursday night can you make one big cup cake to save some money. Sorry, but that isnt even worth heating up the oven. I still would be making a full cake mix and batch of frosting!! So in the middle of trying to figure it out she is like well I have to call my sister and see what she thinks. I will call you right back. I waited up until 11pm and no call back.
I called the bakeries in town and most charge between 78 and 113. What would you all do?
If she doesnt make up her mind her soon, Im not going to have time to bake it. What would you do in this situation. Lower your price or give her a time to respond by.
My first gut feeling was to not do this. I should have listened to it. From now on I will just stick to friends and family!!!

Well, if you are out of time, tell her, you are sorry, but you need a minimum of 5 days for the order. If you want to still do the cake and you have time, tell her there is a 10 or 15 dollar rush fee

Pricing cakes can be a "sticky" or difficult situation when you are starting out. When people starting asking me to make cakes for them, I had no idea how much to charge because I didn't even know how much cakes were at the grocery store.

You definitely need to know what the prices are of your "competitors" in the area. Once you have set a price, I think you should stick with it. Don't second guess yourself, you know how much time, effort and materials go into the cake and that's why you set your price point in the first place.

Having referral business is good, because they know how much you charged the person before. If you went down in price for this lady, she might refer you to others, but then they might expect you to change your pricing for them also.

Be confident and stick with your original quote, if she doesn't want the quality of cake that you can offer, than she is really the one who is losing out. Trust me, there are more people out there who are willing to pay what you charge and more to have a delicious, fresh and beautiful cake!

Hope that helps!
Karen

Pricing cakes can be a "sticky" or difficult situation when you are starting out. When people starting asking me to make cakes for them, I had no idea how much to charge because I didn't even know how much cakes were at the grocery store.

You definitely need to know what the prices are of your "competitors" in the area. Once you have set a price, I think you should stick with it. Don't second guess yourself, you know how much time, effort and materials go into the cake and that's why you set your price point in the first place.

Having referral business is good, because they know how much you charged the person before. If you went down in price for this lady, she might refer you to others, but then they might expect you to change your pricing for them also.

Be confident and stick with your original quote, if she doesn't want the quality of cake that you can offer, than she is really the one who is losing out. Trust me, there are more people out there who are willing to pay what you charge and more to have a delicious, fresh and beautiful cake!

Hope that helps!
Karen

When I was doing cakes I had a price for tiered cakes (weddings & tiered special occasions) and a price for regular cakes. $60 for a tiered cake and smash cake is not enough, in my opinion. My buttercream tiered cakes started at $3.00 per serving so I would have charged her $180.00...If that was too much for someone then they could go with a sheet cake or round cake. I explained my pricing for tiered cakes up front...Some would say yes and some would go elsewhere. The more cakes you do the easier it will be to stand your ground with pricing.

What's a smash cake?

A smash cake is usually a 6 inch cake that is made for a infant toddler cake. That way all the adults & older kids can enjoy cake. Yet the small child can enjoy playing with the cake & icing

just remember that you price for the cake and the work involved, not for what they want it for. Why should a complication tiered b-day cake cost less than a simple wedding cake?

If she can't pay your prices, tell her"sorry" and let her move on. You can't be everything to everyone.

Don't fudge, don't waver, and don't back down. Your prices should be firm - don't let people sense that you are unsure or they're going to try to badger the price down.

Some people just want champagne on a beer budget, as the saying goes.

Don't encourage or support that attitude.

I wouldn't deal with her at this point, especially on such short notice. When/if she calls, I'd tell her that you took a firm/pre-paid order, or you have plans (this is true each day!) and are no longer available. Remind her that all bakeries need a few days lead time. Good luck!

This is why it is so important to have a price list available so you don't get caught loosing money on our hard work. Tiered cakes cost more because of the work involved. They need to be doweled, supported with boards & it takes much more time to decorate. I know you need to give her an answer ASAP. BUT please know, that if the customer does not want to pay your price, it's ok! They can go somewhere else & pay less but not get the quality they would have gotten. As decorators, we need to be prepared with our price & flavor lists, be confident in our ability to produce a quality product, and when we show our confidence & the fact that we are prepared, it gives the customer the feeling that they indeed, are dealing with a professional home baker. I have a price list & flavor list on my website. Yours for the taking! Helen

Unfortunately for customers, we need to charge what is reasonable for us. I've heard customers ask for a $20 cake that can serve 100 people. What are they, nuts?

What I usually do is ask the customer how many people is the cake going to serve and then suggest a couple of arrangements and let them know the different prices. I also specify that any changes in design could affect price.

I suggest you do the same. This way you will have your customers happy and not lose any money because you have already given a price. You do an estimate, that is all it is, an estimate. The word says it all, if it is an estimate that means the price could go down or up.

Im relieved she called and left a message on the answering machine. That she will not need a cake. That her mom makes a delicious made from scratch chocolate cake that she will be bring to the party!!! Never been so happy to be off the hook!!! I quess a learning lesson to listen to your gut!! Thanks for all the advice, you all are great!!!

Mara

The one thing I will say, is never be afraid to refer someone to Wal-Mart, or wherever it is they are comparing you to! LOL

If I talk with someone, and they say, but I can get it for so much at Wal-Mart, Publix, wherever, then I just smile and sweetly say, if Wal-Mart can meet your needs you need to go there, because I am too expensive for you. I don't deal with them, and that's it. If they want that dry old cake with those decorations, why in the world did they call me, I figure. But I'm always nice about it. Nice and firm.