she really doesn't deserve it.
please don't do it, you'll regret it....
70 mini cakes is so much more work than you think....i'd rather do a regular sized cake any day than a mini...so hard to work on.
i find if you turn these picky cheapo !@#$%^s down...there someone nice right behind them to fill thier empty slot.
Re: the "call from mom saying they should get a deal".......
"Attention Mom: I did 43 weddings last year (2006). From May to October, I didn't have one free weekend. I don't NEED to discount anyone to get add'l business. My calendar is full with my REGULAR pricing. Paying me less money for more cake is NOT doing me a "favor". See ya!"
LOVE IT!!
P.S. Your cakes are way to amazing to be selling 70 mini cakes at that price. Maybe I would do them at that price, but only because I still consider myself a beginner with not alot of wedding cake experience. But your cakes are incredible and well worth the price.
Oh Yes...Costco. My son has a Costco in Visalia, CA where he lives! I've been there...I've looked at the cakes! When I mentioned the "really cheap" prices (actually, the cakes didn't taste bad at all) my son said "Sure they are cheap. You have x amt of designs to choose from and all they do is write your name on the cake!" I'm SURE they will write her name on a sheet cake.....for a PRICE! LOLL
Beth in KY
They will probably spell her name wrong (which is what she would pay for). I got my sons 1st birthday cake there (long before I started decorating) and it said Happy 7st Birthday. They thought the 1 looked like a 7...with a st behind it. So that and a few disastrous store bought cakes later led me to doing my own.
I don't have time tonight to read all these posts but I HAVE been looking at your cakes. You do wonderful work! Don't you dare bend to this idiotic woman! Geez, the nerve to bring someone to you and demand/whine about getting a two-fer deal, well almost. It never ceases to amaze me how some people think. As someone wise once said "Too bad stupidity isn't painful!"
Send this gal on her merry way to Wally World.
You know, I have a lot of respect for brides that stick to a modest budget and buck the trend of getting into huge debt for a wedding. HOWEVER, if you have a strict budget, you need to buy what you can afford, not try to get an extravagant cake for nothing.
If $250 is her budget, she needs to be willing to accept $250 worth of cake.
didi5, your work is AWESOME! The nerve of that bride and her friend and mom to get involved in trying to cheat you. Well I never! 
I always figured that if I weren't to make my own wedding cake I would at least be prepared to pay anywhere from $700 to $1000 for the green sugardelites cake. Honestly where do they come off thinking that wedding cakes are cheap? Keep on truckin'! 
I hope you send them on their way - your work is worth much much more! I would also worry about this kind of person upon completion of a project too. Make it COD, 100% in advance or take a huge security deposit, - like their car!!! I would also NOT be alone at hand over time, I would cover my behind in every way I could, photos and writing, because this kind of person will always try to find fault to save a $.
I hope reading everyone's posts has convinced you not to take this order. Here in Orange County, I have paid anywhere from $50-$85 for an 8" birthday cake. The price you quoted her is an amazing deal, I would be happy to pay that! Of course that would never happen around here.
Sometimes I freaking hate brides.
I'm on a Bridal forum to bounce ideas off one another, commiserate in the stress of in-laws jumping in on your planning.. but they have this section detailing the food, drinks, and cakes.. I get so angry when I read some of the threads and now a lot of people in those areas think I'm a bitch, heh! One bride was going on and on about how her four-tier wedding cake was going to cost a "whopping" 400 dollars and I finally posted, "So you're basically whining that you're a selfish bitch who will pay thousands for some pretty white dress you'll never wear again but won't pay a fraction of that cost for a beautiful and edible cake that someone besides you may actually enjoy"... Same thing with catering-- I see other brides that are like, "Try to talk down the caterer, we must stick to our budget!"
Now I usually post in huge letters, "YEAH AND WE HAVE TO MAKE A FREAKING LIVING!" in response. They don't understand that Bakers are people just as much on a budget as them with a family to support and children to feed. These people feel so entitled.. yeah it's your big day, but it's not OUR big day. GET OVER YOURSELVES BRIDEZILLAS!
Anyway. Sorry. That was my anti-bride rant for the day. >.<
Back on topic, do NOT back down on this, please please please. If she wanted a nice cake she would pay for a nice cake, and if she deserved the beautiful cake you could make for her, she wouldn't disrespect you by trying to "haggle" with you like a street vendor. I think she's getting a steal as is, and I think you're more than entitled at this point to kick this client to the curb.. your cakes are beautiful and you deserve more.
I am not in business but dang this lady is CRAZY! That to much work for the price you are giving her. I agree will others that have said if she is on a budget than she needs to accept a cake that is within her budget. I was on a budget for my wedding and had to comprise for a cake that I didn't neccessarly want, but it was what I could afford. On top of all that she is going to be trouble all the way to the end, she seems like the type of person that would sue or some craziness like that. We don't want to see you on People's Court. LOL
She has been watching too many of those tv shows about weddings, the ones that are showing people how to bargin w/ the prices for everything. 
Get out while you can!
Nikki_B, I can't understand why someone would think you're a BIG-ITCH just because you're trying to point out the error of their ways! I just can't see it! 
Seriously, if any of you have not signed up to get Stephi Stewart's daily email, you should. She is a big advocate of "Tell them this is what you can pay! They'll come down on their price!" I get her email everyday just so I can keep track of what she is telling brides. More than once, I've said to brides "Contrary to what Stephi is telling you......"
THe website to sign up is "www.fireyourweddingplanner.com". It's a free sign-up. It's like spying on the "enemy"!
Did you explain to her that you are not "Priceline.com"? You are a cake decorator and should stand firm with your price. I think it's a good price. She probably does this song and dance routine for everyone and most likely gets her way. Personally, I wouldn't budge an inch. You're worth the entire price.
Lazy_Susan
Can you even get mini hexagon pans, or are you going to have to carve them from sheet cakes??? That's even more work!!! I wouldn't touch this order for less than $8 a piece for those mini cakes, and I have a base price of $50 for the 6in cutting cake, so my price would be like this:
6in top tier : $65
70 x $7.50 : $560
Delivery : $25
Set-up : $50
Grand total: $700
That is so much work - you need to be compensated for all that time and stress!
I would tell her that you have had other quotes (take the examples other members here have given you), and work out the average price someone else would charge her - THEN TELL HER! Let her go else where if she wants, it'll be no loss to you!
You know, I haven't read a lot of these replies because everyone is of the same opinion so I am just adding mine to the list.
A thing is worth what it can do for you, not what you choose to pay for it. (quote by John Ruskin!)
You don't work on a stall in a market where people can haggle with you. You should be confident with your facts and don't underestimate your value......and especially don't let others do that to you. I've been there! 
Let her go elsewhere and don't lose any sleep over this! It's not worth it.
A lady told me I'd be getting a lot of exposure and a lot of business if I gave her a great deal on a cake (trying to get me to do it for nearly nothing!) and I told her "Well that is flattering, but I frequently turn away business - if I cannot assure quality I won't do it, so the prospect of getting lots of business isn't really a lure for me." 
Ironically -- she was sooo impressed with that answer that she quit arguing over price with me! Go figure!! 
Did you say 70 mini cakes? Shouldn't the price be more like ummmm......3500.00!!!!! Tell her to go ahead and shop around, I seriously doubt she'll find a better price!!!! Maybe that will convice her!!!
Stay true, one exception leads to another...word of mouth!!! Before you know it, all of your customers will be bargaining their own prices!!
Good luck!
Luv,
Jenn
[/quote]A lady told me I'd be getting a lot of exposure and a lot of business if I gave her a great deal on a cake
Pulling your pants down around your ankles will also give you a lot of exposure. For some of you folks in business, I can't believe what you hear from potential clients! And here I went to a store several months ago wanting them to do my daughter's birthday cake. (I get really lazy when it comes to family functions. I want to enjoy the day instead of stressing over a cake)
It took that lady two weeks to just give me a price on a two tiered butter cream with decorated fondant packages around the side. She quoted me $110, which I was happy with, and she was apologetic for her prices! (I had to end up doing it myself anyway because she took too long to respond and I figured she was busied up with weddings or something, so I went ahead and bought the supplies.)
I think the bride is right, you should only charge $250 for the cakes.
Delivery & setup will be $400
Of course the standard "pain in the ***" fee of $200 gets doubled to $400, since you not only have to deal with not one but two crazy brides.
Unfortunately quilting pattern cakes can only go on the new Foxfire 2000 cake boards, those will run her $3.00 each ($210 for the minis)
And finally, we can't forget the Cake Central mandated mini-cake tax of $2.00 per mini cake.
So before sales tax total is $1400 even, which coincidentally is exactly what we would charge to fill that order.
OMG You are too funny!!! Forget my post...THAT'S WHAT YOU SHOULD DO!!!!!
You know on second thought, I think I would ask Doug to be your CAKE PIMP for the day and have him send her the NEW PRICE!!!!
Oh my Gosh!!! Tell her that she will have to find some one else to do ALL the cakes she ordered 
.From experience those little cakes are a B#*#@H.. They are EXTREMELY time consuming..I wouldn't do them for less than $10.00 each.Where do people get off telling you what to charge and what they intend to pay!!! Go take a flyin leap Bridezilla!!!
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%