Okay Has Anyone Faced Anything Like This Before??
Decorating By Renelle Updated 30 Mar 2007 , 1:32pm by lionladydi
Here is a link to the cake...
http://www.colettescakes.com/imgs_cb_dream/caprice_de_jacques2size.jpg
My price for that cake is $1500. For a cake. For a dummy I'll go to $1200. That's a LOT of work involved!! 
Some people in certain circles don't give much time to their kids, they think that by spending $$ on them, they are giving enough. (the best nanny, fanciest house, clothes, toys, etc.) This woman(?) sounds like wone of those, so the more you charge, the more she feels like she's giving her little girl love... how sad.. 
Re charging: Money is not an issue for this lady who appears to be a conspicuous spender. If she's mentioning the cost of her daughter's earrings to you then it is unlikely that she will kick up a fuss about the cost of the cake and so you should ensure that you do make a reasonable profit. By the same token I would not overcharge by a country mile just because she can afford it (this is not to suggest that you would do so, I hasten to add).
I think you could charge much more for a cake if you are a 'name' in the cake decorating world, as this seems to be the norm - paying for the kudos of having a cake by esteemed/reknowned person (plus all their additional overheads). If you are building your business and your reputation keep it sane. As a previous poster says, there will be other potential clients attending who don't inhabit the same rarified spending stratosphere!
It is true that there are some people who are too stupid and too rich to realise / know if they're being ripped off but plenty of others who are willing and indeed able to pay who do understand the value of things, expecially if they've made their own money thru hard grafting. That has been my experience in another customer service environment.
I also think as long as she knows that she is being charged the same price as anyone else who came along and asked for the same cakes then she will know that you are straight down the line and out to rip her off just because she can afford it. Which may well happen in her life. She may well have money to burn but you cannot assume she is daft. Those earrings may have cost $10K but ...........acutally, what am I talking about... she must be just a little bit daft to be expecting a 3yo not to lose earrings!!!!!!! Follow your conscience and make sound business decisions.
Edited to add: 20$ per invite - pls describe them!!
So now she is wearing the regular $10,000.00 pair until mom can get around to replacing the others.
Wait a minute, $10,000 diamond earrings would be at least 1+ct per ear. Those are way too large for a 3 year old's ear. I would take anything she says with a grain of salt.
Curiosity hit me, I just searched $10,000 diamond earrings on ebay. There are some studs on there that would fit a 3 year olds ear -
http://jewelry.search.ebay.com/Diamond-cubic-cz-c_Earrings_W0QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfrtsZ50QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ3QQftrtZ1QQsacatZ10985QQsatitleZDiamondQ20Q2dcubicQ20Q2dczQ20Q2dcQQsbrsrtZd
Now don't flame me, but I think it's a big leap here for people to assume this woman is trying to buy her daughter's affection and just put on a show, simply because she has the means that many of us don't understand. We really don't know anything about this lady, her kid, her finances or their relationship - except that it's different than what many of us would consider normal. All of this could be very normal in her circle. The child could be ill and she wants to make as much as she can of the birthdays she has. She may be needing to offload some lottery winnings. Who knows. She's a customer, she asked for a cake or two, give her the price you would normally charge and do a good job so that you can get referrals into this circle. Is it right to charge her more simply because she's rich? No. As much as folks on here complain about trying to be talked down on their pricing structure, it's not ethical to inflate the pricing structure either. JMO
Hey I just wanted to let you know... someone just posted a picture of that cake you are doing! If it's not on the front page anymore, just go into "last uploads" to find it. Maybe you could ask what she charged for it. 
Good Luck!
That cake is gorgeous and those party plans are insane. Let us know what you decide to do.
Personally I would charge this lady the same amount I would charge any other person that requested this cake regardless of what the other party plans are or how what kind of invitations were sent or even the earrings her daughter wears. Charging her more just because the assumption is made that she can afford it is the flip side of how we might feel when people come to us asking for a discount or tell us that our cakes are too expensive. Fair is fair - if it were me I would treat her like any other customer -price it out like a wedding cake, just my 2 cents - Good luck!
I just went back and read the original post to this thread again. I don't think that Renelle implied in any way that she was thinking of charging this woman more just because she could afford it. I think her dilemma was just how much to charge for a cake like this (or a dummy cake like this).
Good luck Renelle, what ever you decide.
Diane
Hi everyone!! UPDATE>>UPDATE>>UPDATE
I checked with some of the exclusive decorators in the area and found out what they would charge for a cake similar to this one. I then spoke to the client and explained to her why I was charging what I am charging and she just said "Okay", no problem!
The CP cake is sized to serve 280 people. I figured 10.50 per serving.
The Peter Pan Cake will be sized to serve 100 people and is a bit less involved to decorate- - -9.00 per serv.
Have you done the math yet??? $3840.00
She said "Okay"
I went shopping today and spent $300.00 on supplies.
I will be very very busy for the next 2 1/2 weeks! The beauty is that since they are dummies, I can start now. Unfortunately, I also have 3 other cakes to do within that time frame. YIKES!!
Thanks for all of your input, I read all of the posts and I can tell you that this girl is VERY sweet and so is her little girl. It is a very different situation for me but I will remain as professional as I would with any of my other clients, no more and no less.
STAY TUNED......
I obviously live in the wrong part of the world. 
Diane
Hi!
I say - yes that's a heckuva cake, and yes, this cake is ALL about the MOM and NOTHING about the TOT.
Still.....
Take special care to charge fairly. You NEVER want to get even a hint of the reputation that you're taking advantage of a customer just because they have money. And be prepared - lots of people who have lots of money stay that way because of bargain-hunting. Your customer may move on to someone cheaper for the same cake if she gets a sniff that you might be padding the job.
I work for Citibank and talk to people every day who spend and pay off thousands of dollars each month on their credit cards, but who will call and fight tooth&nail over a 12 cent discrepancy in their bill.
And if you're considering bringing the dummy cake back with you to display for your own purposes, you better be charging her only to RENT the cake for an afternoon, not to make the cake for her. Because at that point you're not making it for her, you're making it for you.
Just handle the job professionally and fairly - and HAVE FUN!!!! This cake looks like a riot to do and I can't wait to see your rendition!!!
GO GIRRRRRLLLL!!!! 
I thought I had read all the way through the posts but I think I must've skipped a page and now I'm embarrassed - a real johnny-come-lately! Sorry 
I didn't mean to copy anyone's post and I didn't mean to post before I'd read everything....I sure thought I had!
Still -
GO GIRRRRLLLLL!!!!
I've been think about this woman. You may think this is crazy but there are some things when I shop that the price is too low so I think they must not be good.
Maybe this woman would fell if the price wasn't high enough she would be getting poor quality.
I know when I went to Las Vagas last fall I went into a shop where they had nice jackets for $10. I thought they must be junk for that price. I'll wash it and it will shrink to fit a 1 yr old. I bought one for myself and love it. I've washed several times and it's still like new. Now, I wish I would have bought some for gifts.
All I could say is WOW!! I have a hard time to justify spending around $100 on my girls parties let alone $thousands. The only diamonds I have are in my engagement rings!!! Oh well, with that said, just be sure to charge her what is fair. And like some one else had said, if you take it home for display then you should only charge her a rental fee. That is just my opinion though. Good luck and post the pictures for us to see!
From what I understood of this, the woman wanted the cakes for show. Whether she chooses to keep them or give them back would be up to her. I would not cut her a deal because they are dummy cakes. From the sounds of it she would probably be happy to let you have them back to use for display.
Diane
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%