First Huge Order

Business By easyaspie Updated 23 Dec 2014 , 1:39pm by Norasmom

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easyaspie Posted 27 Nov 2014 , 6:02am
post #1 of 17

Hey everyone! so I have an order for 150 cupcakes, and a 6 inch round cake.

I am charging $245.

It's my first order over $100 so I haven't ever asked for a deposit.

I don't want to soundy greedy, lol.

I can't decide between 25%($61.25) or 35%..($85.75)

What percentage do other legal home bakers charge for a deposit?

just want opinions.

Does anyone ask for a 50% deposit?

16 replies
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julia1812 Posted 27 Nov 2014 , 6:44am
post #2 of 17

AIf it's a first time customer I charge 50% (am not a professional though). But another question: 245$ for 150 cupcakes AND a 6" round cake??? Is that the normal rate in your area? Sounds very low to me. Or are the cupcakes plain without decorations? Not that it's any of my business, just wondering...

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Pastrybaglady Posted 27 Nov 2014 , 7:57am
post #3 of 17

Yes, I ask for 50% deposit.  If you're going to be in BUSINESS you're going to have to get over this I don't want to seem greedy thing.  You are in business to make money!  Your time and skill are valuable commodities so own it.  How can you be greedy when you're not even charging $2 a cupcake?

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Natka81 Posted 27 Nov 2014 , 2:42pm
post #4 of 17

I have a cupcake shop near me. All scratch with buttercream swirl on top, $ 2.50 a cupcake. There is always a line of people for their cupcakes.

I don`t make cupcakes. Even  $ 2.50 per cupcake isn`t expensive at all, I go there every other week to buy a dozen for my kids for them it`s a special treat.

 With this order you are charging $ 1.63 per cupcake and free 6" cake.

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smysha Posted 28 Nov 2014 , 12:04am
post #5 of 17

Hello,

 

I have an order for 100 cupcakes and an 8" cake. Everything is simply decorated with buttercream and I'm charging £205 AFTER a big discount because it's for a friend. Otherwise the cupcakes would be £200 alone. I always ask for a 50% deposit. A deposit secures the date and confirms the cake.

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easyaspie Posted 6 Dec 2014 , 12:38am
post #6 of 17


Yes but I live in a small town, no bakery other than a gluten free one.

And it doesn't take me long to make cupcakes, I don't see $2.50 a cupcake reasonable, seeing as people can make a whole cake for  less than half of that here.

 

the 6 inch cake isn't free either, it costs $45. the cupcakes are $200.That's my prices.

Nobody can afford much where I live. Plus it's a hobby for me, 3 hours of my time and the order is done. that's a decent hourly rate.

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Pastrybaglady Posted 6 Dec 2014 , 12:59am
post #7 of 17

AYou get $45 for the 6" cake, that's about $4.50 a serving and the cupcakes are $1.33 each. That's quite a difference! Is the cake super decorated?

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Natka81 Posted 6 Dec 2014 , 1:11am
post #8 of 17

AWow, 3 hours for 150 cupcakes and 6" cake? You are fast!

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julia1812 Posted 6 Dec 2014 , 3:14am
post #9 of 17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Natka81 

Wow, 3 hours for 150 cupcakes and 6" cake? You are fast!

3 hrs for what? Bake and decorate 150 cupcakes and a 6" cake? That is completely unrealistic!!!

I think you will be surprised, easyaspie, how long it'll really take you and surely you'll rethink that price.

You don't have experience handling big orders, maybe that's why you underestimate the time it'll take so badly...

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Natka81 Posted 6 Dec 2014 , 4:15am
post #10 of 17

AI was trying new cupcake recipe today made 18 with no icing on them. It took me about 1 hour including clean up. As I was cleaning up I was thinking why I didn't just go 1 mile to buy 12 cupcakes all different flavors for $ 30.00

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rwarren Posted 6 Dec 2014 , 4:16am
post #11 of 17
Quote:
Originally Posted by easyaspie 
 


3 hours of my time and the order is done. .

 

Yowsa.  I want to know your secret.  it can't be coffee, that stuff puts me to sleep.  :P

 

I am a slowpoke.  it takes me an hour to make one batch of icing.  Then again I mix stuff by hand.  Very Zen.  :)  One recipe of cake batter takes me half an hour to mix, another half hour to bake (give or take a few minutes).  never mind the decorating time, the washing up time, the time to find some kind of box or container for delivery....

 

I expect a deposit for anything over $20 -- at least 1/3.  Depends on my mood when I take the order.  Your particular order: 150 cupcakes = 12.5 dozen = $250, assuming a basic flavor and a basic decoration.  For the small cake, need more info to come up with a price.  This won't be luggable on public transit -- delivery cost will be the price of a taxi.  (At this point my customer would have folded and walked away.)

 

I've done a couple of art shows where I brought cakes and cupcakes as my art.  2-3 full sized cakes and 4-5 dozen cupcakes would take me one entire day to bake and decorate.  (Assuming my icing and decorations are made ahead.) 

 

so yes please share your time saving tips!

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smysha Posted 6 Dec 2014 , 11:40am
post #12 of 17

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwarren 

 

so yes please share your time saving tips!

I am dying to know too! Last night in four hours I made two roulades, 20 cupcakes, two batches of buttercream (peppermint and vanilla), simply decorated the cupcakes (I had made toppers to go on them before) and cleaned everything and thought I was a star. Then I slowed down massively and spent 3 and a half hours making royal icing, meringue mushrooms and assembling gingerbread houses and spent at least an hour swearing at sweets that didn't stick.

 

Any time I look at something and think that will take an hour to make I add an extra half an hour and then another 15 minutes on top to boot. 

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melmar02 Posted 6 Dec 2014 , 2:06pm
post #13 of 17

For anything over $100, I require a 50% non-refundable retainer/deposit. Orders under $100 require payment in full prior to the order being considered booked. Any remaining balance must be paid in full two weeks prior to delivery/pick-up. 

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costumeczar Posted 7 Dec 2014 , 12:56am
post #14 of 17

Three things...First, if you're the only cake shop in town it means that you can charge more, not less. At least a reasonable amount, which isn't what you're charging. Once you take out your expenses and figure out how much time you're really spending on everything your hourly wage won't be as much as you think. It's totally up to you as far as what you think is a good salary, but when people are talking about raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour for saying "do you want fries with that" I would think that a custom baker would expect to be earning more than that.

 

Second, I'd require about half of the total for an order of that size to book the order, and it would be non-refundable and non-transferable to another order if they cancel.

 

Last, it might take three hours to decorate the cupcakes and cake, but not to make them and decorate them and shop for the ingredients and deal with the customer throughout the ordering process etc etc. Make sure you're including all of your time when you're estimating your pricing! It would probably take me a couple of hours to decorate a 6" tier and pipe 150 cupcakes but then there's the baking time, time it takes to put them all in boxes to transport, setup time, etc etc etc. And washing the dishes.

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ruellesmith Posted 11 Dec 2014 , 1:35am
post #15 of 17

If the customer is a first-time, I would ask her to deposit 50% but for the others, I would require a 25% deposit. Can you really make all that within 3 hours? I want to know your secret too. :) 

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CupcakeSeductio Posted 23 Dec 2014 , 12:10pm
post #16 of 17

AGreetings, I always do bulk orders for my corporate clients. Typical orders range from 150 to 400 cupcakes. It always takes much longer to process the orders than I thought initially. I find that making the frosting takes a super long time for me as I insist that it is totally creamy. I would encourage you to allot approximately 5 hours to complete the entire process of baking, frosting, and packaging. Once you begin doing it on a more consistent basis, you will become much more efficient. I use a commercial kitchen for my orders and I can do about 400 in that same timeframe. Congratulations on your first large order!!

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Norasmom Posted 23 Dec 2014 , 1:39pm
post #17 of 17

That might take longer than 3 hours.  I believe you underestimated price on this one, but even if you make a small profit it is okay…you learn for next time not to be fearful of asking your worth.

 

Too many take orders just to take orders but it's really important to make sure you pay yourself.  No one is in business to lose money.

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