dont worry, she will learn, if shes only 4 months in she has no idea what it takes to whip" up a cake..her time and cost are already in the negative for 150, let her do a few and her price will rise, lolol. just sit back and watch!

The CL in my area is rife with illegal cakers offering below bargain basement pricing for multi-tiered cakes. Additionally they have no trouble walking all over copyrights to produce images and characters.

I am only a home baker for friends and family (no money). It seems to strain the sense of fair play that they seem to post and not get into trouble.

Heck, I spoke with one who has her own detailed cake website. She proudly told me she wasn't licensed, but that it really was only a piece of paper!

is it possible that they are stolen pics? i really hope that some poor bride doesn't order off CL-seems like a terrible scam and you will only get what you pay for that's sad even if she looks talented.

I dont see how they can possible whip up a cake in 24 hours. I mean 24 hours straight no sleep.. lol. And if they are a new baker how do they have every thing they need right on hand at the spur of the moment. I doubt it.

OK, so not for nothing, but how do you know if those pictures are really hers??

Well that's why I asked......HOW do we know those are hers? The answer is WE don't. It's not like she's going to say " ohhh those aren't my cakes"

could be a scam.. i didn't realize selling cakes from home is illegal without a license at first either.. I was just making cakes for friends and family anyway. I'm always tempted to email people on craigslist posing to be a customer asking if they are licensed.. (in my area you can be licensed from home) but I doubt most of them are..

could be a scam.. i didn't realize selling cakes from home is illegal without a license at first either.. I was just making cakes for friends and family anyway. I'm always tempted to email people on craigslist posing to be a customer asking if they are licensed.. (in my area you can be licensed from home) but I doubt most of them are..

The entire thing is probably a scam anyway. There is NO CAKE... Because she's new, she asks for the money upfront to pay for supplies. She get's your money and you never hear from her again... or him... or whoever the heck they are...

~diem

Here's a good one! http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bab/1899098072.html
I can understand someone not wanting or being able to pay for a cake from a shop in a city. But really??? This is proof you get what you pay for!

Yikes Malene. You'd think with all the cake shows on these days that customers would know quality when they see it...that is not professional.

So I totally understand what everyone is saying about illegal bakers. Michigan no longer has illegal bakers, which has hurt business a little at the bakery but not that bad. And that is because of the new cottage law that just passed allowing people to do baked goods out of their home without a license but you haveto state that it was made in a non approved kitchen.

With that being said what kind of bothers me is that CC is a place for all people who enjoy making cake and decorating cake. Where people can come to get help, hints, or idea. It saddens me that people are actually cutting down peoples work because they are not experienced as others. Every single person started out the same way with a little 9x13 rectangle cake at home. That is where you relized that is what you wanted to do for a living.

If they are illegal in your area notify them by email that its illegal, unless you live in a state with a cottage law in effect. But dont cut someones work down because its not on the same level as yours....


Just my opinion.... Not trying to start a CC war here. Because again I totally understand where you are all coming from about the illegal bakers out there....

Kasey

You should have posted the link. I would have responded: "Hello, I need s five tier to feed 300 tomorrow. Let me know what time I can pick it up."

Totally agree with the last 2 posts. I understand the illegal thing, but there is no need to demean ppl's work. Here is one that I did with just 2 MONTHS experience, and I don't think it was terrible! Yes, I do better work now, but just b/c ppl lack experience does not mean that their work is bad.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1407368.html

I do agree that a cake in 24 hrs is super funny...I mean, yea, doable if you have a team of people, but I doubt she does.
As far as knocking on inexperience, I think its a little harsh. I have no formal training, never attended any cake class whatsoever, and taught myself using CC and youtube. I've only been caking for 8 months now and I think my work is pretty close to professional level. I mean there is alot of learning I have left to do, ALOT, but I know I can sell my cakes at a competitive rate. Here's a pic of a cake I did with 4 months experience.

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1662875

With that said, yes, she is definitely desperate and will find out soon enough her errors, but don't knock on her inexperience! At least she's got a goal and trying to accomplish it, right?

I too am in the same area and have seen this ad. I actually did email her and ask why she is selling cakes so cheap. (I pretended like I was price checking) She told me that she wants experience and she is charging for supplies NOT labor. So I just thought to myself good for her, and it may take business away from me, but so be it.

When I first started, I was offering cakes at SUPER cheap prices because I wanted to get more experience as well, and the cheaper I was the more likely someone would come to me, and I could gain knowledge.

In WA you can run a legal business, all you have to do is go to your church or find a commercial kitchen to rent hourly. Yes I have to pay for a kitchen and also pay to put my kids in daycare so do I always come out on top? no. But we are all here because we LOVE to cake, and that is all that should matter.

I really hope she isn't a member here and comes to find her ad posted here with all this negativity. I would be so hurt!