Does It Ever Get Any Better? (Kinda Long)
Decorating By luv2cake Updated 9 Jun 2007 , 3:39pm by MichelleM77
I just had a lady call me for a cake for her daughter's wedding in July. They want to feed 250 people. Here's what I quoted her:
"3-Tier cake - 8", 12", 16" will feed 150 people if you want to save the 8" as the anniversary cake. If you choose to serve all three tiers to the guests, it will feed 170. Then you'll need a sheet cake. This option would cost: $400. ($1.60 per serving)
4-Tier cake - 6", 9", 12", 16" will feed 180 people if you choose to save the top tier as the anniversary cake. If you choose to serve all 4 tiers to the guests, it will feed 190. Then you'll need at least a half sheet cake to reach your number of 250 servings. This option would cost: $450. ($1.80 per serving)"
She just sent me an e-mail saying that they found someone who would make her cake for a special price. That's fine with me. But I wonder did I overcharge?
I am still new at this whole pricing thing and it just seems to me that the people who come to me for wedding cakes are on such a small budget that I feel guilty charging what I would like to charge for my cakes.
Another problem that I am having is that I have done 2 wedding cakes for people at church (same amount of cake, just different designs) and because of the difference in their financial circumstances I ended up charging $100 difference. I hate that. What if these two girls happen to talk and find that out? (Both were a 14", 10", 6" stacked cake. One was $265 and the other was $160).
I KNOW that my prices are decent, but I would rather have $160 than to lose out on the order all together. Does this ever happen to you? Will it ever get any better? What should I do: Stick to my guns on my prices and take the chance on losing the order all together OR do I cut my prices in order to make a little money and get my name out there more???
Sorry this is so long. I am just a bit stuck on all this.
Thanks for any advice anyone might have.
Brandi
.....I would rather have $160 than to lose out on the order all together. Does this ever happen to you? Will it ever get any better? What should I do: Stick to my guns on my prices and take the chance on losing the order all together OR do I cut my prices in order to make a little money and get my name out there more???
It depends on whether you are doing this for a hobby or a business. I've never understood the theory that it's ok to make a cake at a loss than to not make the cake at all. 
Because you DIDN'T get the $160 .... you got $160 minus supplies, time and effort.
You dont' want to gain the reputation of "oh, just tell her you can't afford it," they said in a loud whisper to their best friend, "she'll come down in price ... she ALWAYS does!"
If you're doing this for a hobby, then price isn't even an issue. If you're doing it for a business, then you need to run it as a business.
Good advice.
I definitely don't want the reputation of being the "Cheap Wedding Cake Lady."
This is a hobby but I do want to make a little money at it. I only average about 3 cakes per month so I am not going to get rich doing this. It just helps me earn a little extra money. (I am a stay-at-home mom and this gives me a little money to play with) 
It's the business side of it all that really gets me. I need to work on that. I guess if I want them to respect me as a business then I need to hold up my end and let them know what I charge. Thanks Debi.
I actually have to give my sister the credit for giving me that backbone. I was going thru the same thing we all go thru when we are getting started .... how to deal with someone who wants an unreasonably low price.
It was my sister who told me I better establish a policy and stick to it, for the same reasons I gave above. She said, "Otherwise, the word gets out that all they have to do is whine a little about the price and you'll come down. No one will ever pay your regular price ... it becomes just a suggested price." (Gosh, I hate it when I have to give her credit for being smarter than me!)
Fortunately, I had someone like her to turn on that lightbulb in my head very early in my "career" in this biz. Once I made the decision to stick to my policies, it became very easy to stick to my policies.
I look at it this way take it or leave it. When you go to buy a wedding dress you can talk down the price, why should the cake be any different. The cake is one of the MAJOR things at any evert. Everyone wants to see the cake. Pay or go to Walmart. Your time is worth money.
You are very right. I needed to hear this.
I was just worrying that I wouldn't get any business because word would get out that I was too expensive.
I have not developed a price list yet, but I think I will now. This will also hold me accountable to myself and stick to my policies.
Thanks girls!
Personally, I think you're undercharging!
I don't want to waste my time making a cake for someone who's not going to truly appreciate the time and effort it takes to make a cake that tastes wonderful and looks beautiful. Someone who wants a cheap cake isn't going to appreciate the cake -- to them "it's just cake". The people I do cakes for appreciate that it's an art form and takes true skill in addition to lots of time to produce an edible piece of art! Everyone else can just go to Wal-mart.
I would say that you offered a very fair price. It amazes me how brides will nickel and dime decorators on a cake. I budgeted and paid top dollar to get what I wanted in a wedding gown and my cake. Everything else, DJs, photographers, videographers, I negotiated.
I think your prices are more than resonable.
I have been asked to lower my prices and I just respond nicely that my prices are very low and I can't go any lower. I let them know to continue to look and if they would like for me to do their cake to give me a call, but I can't say the date will be available.
Haven't had one turn away yet.
That price was way below fair. Hon--don't sell yourself short. I agree, once you do for one, you'll have to do for the whole town. Make a price list and stick to it.
I had a MOB call and wanted to know my price for wedding cake...$2.25 a serving. She told me she had someone else that could make the cake but they lived 2 hours away and she was leary of it getting here with hot weather and buttercream. She was going to talk with her friend some more on the cake. She called 2 days later and booked a consult.
As my signature reads..."Quality cakes aren't cheap and cheap cakes aren't quality." 'Nuff said!
Calling around to other bakeries and just saying "How much do your wedding cakes start per slice?" as if you were a customer may help your confidence. Most wedding cakes, except maybe Walmart, will start at $2/serving and go up from there.
You can do what you want with friends and family but if you start getting outside orders (sounds like you already do) you have to stick to your guns....if for no other reason than to look professional! It is not professional to waffle on prices (its taken me years to even start figuring this out, trust me...). It is more professional to say "Here are my prices" and then let the bride decide what she wants. It would be better for you to not have the order than to do an order, make $40 profit, and be out 8-10 hours of sleep. It gets to the point where its just not worth that.
I'd say she got a good deal and should have taken it. Your work is great!
I am doing a wedding cake for Aug, this is my first order from "word of mouth"...when I first got the call the bride said she had been looking around and found that to feed 200-260 guest was out of her budget of around $600. The bakeries she called or visited were charging that for 150 guest...we met and she figured only about 200 servings not saving the top {I will make a 6in replica on their 1st anniv}. I told her I wasn't trying to "take" people but my time and my "craft" were both important to me and my family so I have to be compensated for BOTH. I told her i could not do it for less then $2.50 a srvng and I got $250.00 deposit in the mail today. Think about all the hours alone that you will spend and think about what else you could be doing with your time instead of giving it away for nothing.
our local grocery charges 2.00 a serving- bear bones and nothing custom- so are you overpricing I dont think so!!!!
I am afraid I just don't believe this woman. Who on earth would do a stacked cake for $.80 a serving...That's crazy talk. I bet she called and someone quoted her sheet cake prices.
Don't fret. Your prices are more than fair. You may very well hear back from her.
luv2cake:
I think that your prices are outrageously low and anyone who would challenge you on that is ridiculous! I don't know where you are, but where I am in Annapolis MD, cakes are NOT cheap.
I do this mostly as a hobby. I have a contract with one restaurant, but when I got that word of mouth call, I called around to the local bakeries in the area (skipping grocery stores-you can't compare apples to oranges) to get per slice prices. For most of the professional, single owner bakeries, to get a wedding cake is going to run you about $6 a SLICE. I am not even joking.
Hold your own, girl. I wish you luck in this situation.
I am dealing with the same exact thing... what was started as a hobby and dreamed of becoming a career once all of my young children started school... has become this huge business and I already have a full-time job working at least 10 hours a day and now my cake business has blossomed - not enough to support my family, but now about 2 cakes a week...
Anyway... the business side of things is where I need work and a lot of help. I,too, find that people are wanting Wal-Mart prices, but homemade quality. So, I do not know what to charge. Starting out, you are practically giving cakes away just so you can practice. Now you have all these cakes and have no clue what to charge... I am new at this, so I do not know what to charge at all. How do you add fondant, gumpaste, etc.. into your fee. I understand a certain per serving, but what if it is a cake covered in fondant, etc...
Cake contracts, etc... order forms to write down everything...
So, I feel your pain and it is nice to know that I am not the only one that feels this way.
DO not get me wrong - I LOVE DOING CAKES and would love more than anything to make it my career. I appreciate that everything is going so well. But, is it going so well because I spending hours on a cake and only charging for ingredients. Or maybe charging $10.00 more.
I like reading these posts because it gives me information that I might need in the future if I choose to go the cake route. So my question is this......
If I emailed a cake decorator and asked them for a quote to feed 250 people, I would expect a wedding cake that feeds 250 people...not a cake that feeds some and then a sheet cake for the rest. Is it impossible to make a wedding cake big enough to feed 250 or was that just a way you were trying to help her save money?
Thanks!
..... Is it impossible to make a wedding cake big enough to feed 250 ....?
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=93760
This cake I made for a bride was for 250 guests (by the wilton chart, it will serve 272). 16/14/12/10/8.
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=93756
This cake was another 250 cake (by wilton chart: 26
. 14/12/10/8, plus four 8" satellites.
The top tier is not counted in any of them.
MichelleM, the MOB asked me to figure it both ways. She was interested in saving money. There are ways to make a wedding cake to feed 250.
Also, thanks everybody for all the encouragement. I will be making a price list to share with potential customers. I think that will help me to come across as a legitimate business.
I hear that I am undercharging and I do know that my prices are much lower than the local bakeries, but I often wonder if my work is worth those prices. I am my own worst critic and I always get nervous that the cake won't turn out perfect. Afterall, it is their wedding day and all I can think of is that it will be in their pictures forever. Each cake keeps getting a little better though.
Thanks again. I soooo appreciate you understanding my situation and giving me insight.
.....and I do know that my prices are much lower than the local bakeries, but I often wonder if my work is worth those prices.
Are you kidding???? Your ladybug and the Roe Wedding are incredible and I'll wager that no bakery in town can match your work.
[quote="luv2cake"]MichelleM, the MOB asked me to figure it both ways. She was interested in saving money. There are ways to make a wedding cake to feed 250.quote]
Okay, thanks for the explanation! I re-read my post and it sounded kinda snippy, but it was not meant that way at all.
I have a hard enough time figuring prices for cookies that I don't know how you guys/gals do it for cakes! I know what I paid for my wedding cake which I feel was fairly simple from what I've seen on here, and if I just go by that, you are definitely undercharging!
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