I charged $125 for this cake. Probably should have been more like $175
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1964730
It was an 8 inch Red Velvet Cake, Cream Cheese Frosting, Covered in Fondant
The Betty Boop with hand cut our of Fondant
Heart was a Fondant Gumpaste Blend[/url]
SOme of these cakes are so beautiful and WAAYY Under priced! Start paying yourselves more than minimum wage!
Hi, I'm new here I work in a bakery but also do some cakes on the side. I charged about $450 for this one including setup and delivery. 6-8-10-12 inch rounds
http://cakecentral.com//gallery/1968962
You all are way below minimum wage...a simple chocolate ganache cake from me is $100 and it goes up from there...The hardest customers with whom I deal in my area are the attorneys...they want their money up front, but do not want to pay up front for their cakes...I finally told one of my clients (who buys from me constantly) when he was complaining about how expensive I was that I would barter with him and he could pay me his hourly rate ...because I was not only more educated than he, I was an artist...suddenly he shut up and wrote me out my asking price. Now he shoots his mouth off and tells everyone how "fabulously tasty" my beautiful cakes are. He tells everyone I am worth the price...
You have to believe that what you do is the best in the cake business...and make them pay what you are worth!
Hi Guys!
I have looked at most of the cakes you all have posted and I agree with lutie that you are waaayy underpricing yourselves. Some of you are giving away cake for free! Or even loosing money because of the time it takes you to decorate the cake. I own a bakery in York, PA and the market is tough right now..no one wants to pay for cake. But I tell people all the the time you get what you pay for. So my base cake price is $4.00 per slice and go up from there depending intricacy of the design. Some people balk at the price but like I tell them you walked into a custom cake shop not Walmart. I bake from scratch for everything including my fondant. You won't get that at Walmart so they either pay the price or leave. I am fine with that..if you are too cheap to not pay more than $40 or $50 for a cake then you aren't the client that I want any way.
Kima
http://media.cakecentral.com/gallery/722470/1298086871.JPG
I charged $95 for this. It took me forever to make! Do you think it was the right price?
I swapped a nice big hunk of blue fin tuna for this cake!
12" with a 7" on top
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1963860
I swapped some electrical services for this cake(after complaining here on cc, I was chastised and now realize I got the better end of the deal)
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1882603
And I got an awesome haircut with highlights, eyebrow and mustache waxing for this cake: (I think those of us nearing 50 can appreciate that last)
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1932275
I'm kind of being silly here, but for real, that is what I earned on these cakes. Many of my cakes are gifts and have been given away including wedding cakes. But...It's now a business. Honey says I have enough nice photos for my webpage and it's time to start treating it like a real business.
And I've been doing my homework.
Your donkey cake is great! I think we should make a T-Shirt for all cake decoraters " I undercharged and now I'm p--sed! " Its such a recurring theme here....
We don't have a 'like' button, so I did this instead. The funny thing is, I think we're all p.o'd at ourselves for under cutting ourselves!
Bates123, The first cake you posted I would have charged $120 for the cake and then an additional $10 for the gorilla on top. I think for those who aren't sure what to charge I would call around to local bakeries and other places and see what they charge and take a look at their site to see if you do similar work. If so and you are under them as far as pricing then you know you need to come up. We are work hard on our cakes and the last thing you want to be known as that decorator who underpriced all the other bakers in your area. You also want to make sure you are factor in your decorating time. I think if you had one number in mind I would add extra for cushion because decorating is the longest part of making a cake.
@Tokazodo I have bartered advertising for cakes before and for reviews of my cakes on local websites.
Kima
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1970319
I just sold this one today for $70. The girl who bought it was ecstatic. I really had a good time working with the fondant- still practicing that skill
The more I watch this thread the more I feel I am under charging. However, right now I'm not complaining because I'm still in the process of getting licensed. However, once I have everything back I'm wondering how will I raise my prices without scaring away my customers
http://media.cakecentral.com/gallery/722470/1298086871.JPG
I charged $95 for this. It took me forever to make! Do you think it was the right price?
Absolutely not! You put a lot of hours in this...it shows (and is cute)...you should have charged much more!
My most recent cake for my sister, charged $100.00. Not sure what I would charge if it were someone else. Any suggestions.
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1970965
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1971025
This one isnt a cake but a cookie. I posted this in the cookie section but havent gotten many replies.
I took a class this passed weekend with Susan Carberry. We learned how to make 3d Cookies.
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1958118
What do you charge for 3D cookies. "Herbert" is 9 inches long from nose to his back fin. Body is 2 cookies, and his fin is a separate cookie (in all 3 different cookies). He is covered in Satin Ice fondant. He also has a candy surprise on the inside....gummy worms!
A co worker said he would pay $20 for sure but would have to think about paying $25. My husband said $40-$45. One of the Directors I work with said she would easily pay $75-$100.... I'm at a loss.
oh wow....herbert is adorable! great job! I guess on that one, I'd say you should charge whatever you would for a 3D cake of that size....maybe a bit more per serving if it's more difficult and time consuming than carving and building a 3D cake. At my price structure saying it has 11 servings would be $30.
my latest cake http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1972128 is a 9" and 6" and I asked for $40, but she gave me $47....not sure where that other $7 came from, but whatever..lol
wow - I can't believe how many of you are giving away your cakes! Have any of you used software like cakeboss to price out your ingredients, supplies, time & things like water, electricity? I think you'd find you aren't making anything! What is minimum wage for all of you? I think its upwards of $10/hr here so that's what I charge (in my full-time job I make more than that but ppl wouldn't pay that much!)
I did this cake for a friend - she drove an hour to come pick it up - I charged her $200 (fed 50-60 ppl) - Lemon curd filling with vanilla cake. She ended up paying me $250 - she agrees I undercharge - I hadn't realized by how much until a customer said she was curious as to how much Charmcitycakes would charge for my cake & she was told they would START at $1800!!! (I guess that's what happens when you have a TV show, lots of staff to pay & the fame Duff has!) She emailed me to tell me as she was floored - but it made me feel good
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1955779
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1975008
I'd be asking $90 for this one. It's a six inch, but its 8 inches tall, so it should serve at least 24. Of course if the "gold" was real. . . . . . ., lol.
wow - I can't believe how many of you are giving away your cakes! Have any of you used software like to price out your ingredients, supplies, time & things like water, electricity? I think you'd find you aren't making anything! What is minimum wage for all of you? I think its upwards of $10/hr here so that's what I charge (in my full-time job I make more than that but ppl wouldn't pay that much!)
I did this cake for a friend - she drove an hour to come pick it up - I charged her $200 (fed 50-60 ppl) - Lemon curd filling with vanilla cake. She ended up paying me $250 - she agrees I undercharge - I hadn't realized by how much until a customer said she was curious as to how much Charmcitycakes would charge for my cake & she was told they would START at $1800!!! (I guess that's what happens when you have a TV show, lots of staff to pay & the fame Duff has!) She emailed me to tell me as she was floored - but it made me feel good
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1955779
Yes, and $250 was a steal! Great cake! I agree with your pricing statement.
OMG, I live in the UK and I think our prices are ridiculous, most of the cakes I make range from £20 -£25. OOps dont know how to attach, but there in my pics anyhow. And no that wasnt a ploy to get you to take a peek
wow these prices are very low!! although i'm sure the area that you live in has a big effect on prices as well. but remember that when you price your products soooo low that you are severely undercutting the competition and that is bad for ALL business! there is a woman in my town who is just starting out and is charging $0.50 - $1/serving for her cakes and shes thinking about opening a shop with these prices!?!? regardless...this thread is great to get an idea of what everyone else is charging, we all understand at some point but its good to not make it a habit. happy caking everyong
OMG, I live in the UK and I think our prices are ridiculous, most of the cakes I make range from £20 -£25. OOps dont know how to attach, but there in my pics anyhow. And no that wasnt a ploy to get you to take a peek
My local cake shop prices start from 40 quid for a plain 8'' sponge so your prices are way out. Think of all the hidden extras like gas electric, cling film, foil, greaseproof etc and are you including colours and powders, tylose extracts, jam etc. You may only use a small amount but together they add up, especially if you had to buy a colour or tool specifically for 1 cake.
My cakes are almost all gifts , occasionaly I will do it at cost and I don't include those extras but I know they are there and if I was a business I would certainly take it into consideration.
http://media.cakecentral.com/gallery/722470/1298086871.JPG
I charged $95 for this. It took me forever to make! Do you think it was the right price?
I have come to the realization of time behind my cakes and resently decided to charge a minium of $125.00 on anything that is 3D carved work and your work on this cake was alot more than mine, and this cake I charged $125.00 and should have charged more because of the time behind it. http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1962194
I charged $75 for these cupcakes. I helped her to the car with them and after she got in the car she said "oh I almost forgot to pay you" and then she handed me the money folded up and drove off. After she drove off I counted the money and she had only given me $60!! I didn't think I charged too much and she acted like she loved them...I'm not sure what the problem was. Do you guys think I charged too much? They took me a long time to do. I was pretty shocked..I've never had that happen before.
I charged $75 for these cupcakes. I helped her to the car with them and after she got in the car she said "oh I almost forgot to pay you" and then she handed me the money folded up and drove off. After she drove off I counted the money and she had only given me $60!! I didn't think I charged too much and she acted like she loved them...I'm not sure what the problem was. Do you guys think I charged too much? They took me a long time to do. I was pretty shocked..I've never had that happen before.
Your photo didnt attatch...
I charged $75 for these cupcakes. I helped her to the car with them and after she got in the car she said "oh I almost forgot to pay you" and then she handed me the money folded up and drove off. After she drove off I counted the money and she had only given me $60!! I didn't think I charged too much and she acted like she loved them...I'm not sure what the problem was. Do you guys think I charged too much? They took me a long time to do. I was pretty shocked..I've never had that happen before.
I'll try to re-post the picture
[quote]I charged $75 for these cupcakes. I helped her to the car with them and after she got in the car she said "oh I almost forgot to pay you" and then she handed me the money folded up and drove off. After she drove off I counted the money and she had only given me $60!! I didn't think I charged too much and she acted like she loved them...I'm not sure what the problem was. Do you guys think I charged too much? They took me a long time to do. I was pretty shocked..I've never had that happen before.
I'll try to re-post the picture
Still didn't work...one more try..if it doesn't work the cupcakes that I'm referring to are in my photos they are the one on the stand with the baby on top.
How many of them did you do? There very nice looking. I have never had some one stiff me! Id be pretty pissed.
Interesting thread. I just wanted to chime in here to say...
If you want a photo to show up in your post, here's how:
First upload the photo into an online photo site like Photobucket (getting a photobucket account is easy and FREE) then just copy the photo's image code (IMG Code) from photobucket and past it into your post. Then when you hit 'submit comment' the photo will display in the thread. Easy.
Photobucket is here: http://photobucket.com/
I'm pretty sure you can also use Flickr like this too - just look for the image code (IMG code) and copy and paste it.
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