Hi Everyone,
For those of you who use boxed cake mixes, I wonder how you go about marking up the total costs for your cakes.
Do you charge full/regular price for the cake mix no matter how much you pay for it, then just mark it up X amount? I mean, even if it's on sale do you charge what it would cost if it wasn't? I've been getting cake mixes very cheap which is great for my costs so I'm not sure how to do this.
Thanks for any input!
KimAZ
i always charge according to regular price...when it's on sale, it's your lil BONUS for the day 
i recently found Duncan Hines on sale and I bought 4 BOXES...not 4 mixes, but 4 boxes of mixes..so that i have some "inventory" and i get a lot of those bonuses 
When you are costing out your mixes,don't forget to add all the prices of everything that you add as if you are paying full price not sale price.
Remember eggs and such are very cheap at different times of the year.But make up for it at others.
never give a discount acording to your sale price for cake mixes.....if you save 10 cents per mix, you dont tell your customer that their 1/2 sheet cake is now 20 cents less. basically customers arent paying for a cake mix, they could make that themselves....they are paying us for a decorated cake.
happy baking!
melody
I charge the same price...in the long run, it balances its self out.
Very seldom in my area can I find a good sale price for the kind that I use anyway.
What is the regular prices of cake mixes in your different areas? Here in Western NY, Regular price at Tops is like $1.69 for about any different brand but I can go to Walmart and get DH or Betty Crocker for .89 anytime, but I have to drive about 25 miles one way to get to Tops or Walmart, but if I buy locally in my town I pay between $1.89 and $2.09 each. Which price would you go by then? I say my local price because, I can't always get to the other stores quick if I run out, as I have a full time job besides this hobby. Just wondering what you guys would do.
Wilma
never give a discount acording to your sale price for cake mixes.....if you save 10 cents per mix, you dont tell your customer that their 1/2 sheet cake is now 20 cents less. basically customers arent paying for a cake mix, they could make that themselves....they are paying us for a decorated cake.
happy baking!
melody
I agree with this response...it's my talent, time and education my clients are paying for..they can go bake a cake themselves if they were so inclined!
and when things are on sale, goodie for me, that's extra pennies in MY pocket..lol
TO buy more shoes..I mean...cake stuff! 
oh yeah by the way..someone told me if I was pricing the cake by the mix, that you should get about $15.00 per mix.
In other words if your cake is using 3 boxes of mix, you can figure on $15.00 multiplied by 3 = $45.00...and this formula was given to me over 5 years ago..maybe more?
But it's a jumping off formula for those of you that are having a hard time pricing your cakes.
Hope this helps!
I will not charge any less than $15 for a one box cake mix cake (that's a mouth full to say.. lol) If they want one for less, got to these big discount bakery stores and get it... if they want nice, fresh cakes, that are nicely decorated and personalized to exactly what they wanted, I'll be more than happy to do them.. but for absolutely no less than $15, even if the cake mix is on sale... like we say down here in Louisiana, it's just a little Lagniappe (a little something extra)... 
You know,come to think of it,it cost me about 12.00 to make a cake with decorations from a mix. 
And I have been automatically charging atleast 20.00 for a single cake mix cake,then my prices go up from there.
I agree on 20 to 25, that 15 dollar rule of thumb was pretty old...about 5 plus years ago...it may not be enough in a very Urban area like New York or Miami....
But, I wouldn't even go to 5 dollar for a place like New Orleans right now..I would rather make cakes for cost or below at a time like this, so no one would go without...!
going back to pricing...I decided if I don't value my self or my time no one else will...so I'm pretty much free to charge what I want.
I'm in between the supermarket prices and the top of the line Sugar Artists, so I"m comfortable asking what I ask..
coz they eighter go to the supermarket and get it there or have to pay a couple of thousand.
I'm happy with my prices, my clients are happy, plus...I'm not so busy right now, that I can't concentrate on school and any time I take away from studies is worth it for the money I"m making.
Every thing is relevant now...
When I want to buy something let's say for about 150 bucks...it immediately translates to cake..."How many cakes do I need to sell to get my money back?"..lol!
Wow! Thank you guys! Now I guess I have to totally rework up my prices. I've just been marking up my costs..guess I am cheating myself by doing that.
I am a coupon freak so I rarely pay full price for anything, let alone cake mixes. I've been getting them for .78c -.98c at Wal Mart which is the regular price there or $1.00 at the grocery stores which is their sale price. Then on top of that, I use coupons so I got MANY cake mixes this week for .44c each. In the past I've bought them for .19c each with coupons. This sure will make a difference in my prices now. I think the regular price at the grocery stores is around $2.29 each. Yikes!
Thanks again!
KimAZ
Kim AZ, what a great shopper you are...good for you!
That is wise shopping to the utmost..lol
Just wanted to let you know. If anyone is close to krogers. they sometimes have duncan hines on sale 10 for 10. I usually stock up. Thats the only cake mix I have used. I would like to try others but a little afraid to. Does anyone else use other brands. let me know how they are. I guess the old saying is if its not broke don't try to fix it. Have a great day and thanks for the cost thing. That really helped me out alot as usual.
Nancy
Here is Florida the DH mixes at the grocery store are $1.70, then I discovered Wal Mart has them for .78 cents. So last night I bought six.
Just wanted to let you know. If anyone is close to krogers. they sometimes have duncan hines on sale 10 for 10. I usually stock up. Thats the only cake mix I have used. I would like to try others but a little afraid to. Does anyone else use other brands. let me know how they are. I guess the old saying is if its not broke don't try to fix it.
Have a great day and thanks for the cost thing. That really helped me out alot as usual.Nancy
When I do cakes for friends and family...I ALMOST ALWAYS use DH, butter mix!--lol
Family and friends in my world..are VERY VOCAL and critical and have NEVER complained! as a matter of fact they are very happy with what they get.
of course I add extras to the mix...like evaporated milk, extra vanilla and an extra egg to my mix...for my yellow cake mix I coat my pans with granulated sugar and for chocolate I coat with cocoa powder.
I was actually afraid to try anything else but, Betty Crocker.. But now I have used them all.. Wal mart has one of them (not sure which one, but is name brand) for .78 cents.. They always have one or the other for .98 cents.. I like them all!!! In love with all the ones that have pudding in the mix..
I buy Pillsbury mixes more often lately because they are only .44c by me ( w/ coupons) and I really like them. They are very moist. Also I use DH and BC and have never had any complaints on any of them.
I haven't tried a generic brand but only because I can get the name brands cheaper.
KimAZ
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