I know every area is different, but I am having so many problems figuring out how do my pricing. I have been doing this for a year and a half, and have booked every single wedding consultation and most of my party cakes. Everyone has told me I am pricing too low (I do wedding cakes $3.00 a slice to start, and go up from there, most of my party cakes are 65-80 dollars. (sculpted mainly) And that is why I am getting all these cakes. I want to go full time on the cakes but figured I would have to do like 12 cakes a week to make ends meet! So I raised my prices just a little (like charging 75-100 dollars party cakes and 3.50 a slice for wedding cakes) and people are telling me that is too much!! I don;t know what the medium price is in my area, because NOBODy posts their prices on thier web sites, and I don't want to charge the supermarket price (usually a different cake is 35 dollars) BTW, do you put prices on your web site? I took them off so I would at least get more calls and I could negotiate.
How do I figure this all out?
"create" a standardized order for several types of cake;
say a 12, 8 , 6 or so wedding cake in BC and in Fondant
then a sheet cake
then a sculpted cake
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call around to various bakeries and home bakers in your area asking for a price quote
(could even enlist family/friends to help)
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that will give you a range (and I'm betting if you call to price 3D lots will say "no can do"
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then decide --
where do you want to be -- high end, low end, midpoint.
and that doesn't have to be the same point for all types of cakes.
3D -- go high esp. if it's not readily available elsewhere (low supply, high demand = high price! see gasoline for example!!!!)
could even purposefully high end cakes you hate to do -- such as, if sheet cakes make you weep -- high end to drive customers else where.
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and as indydebi pointed out elsewhere -- figure in a "increased costs" factor as you will only want to adjust prices 2x or 3x a year but gas, butter, milk, sugar, eggs etc. constantly changing.
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if $3 was low and $3.50 was to high (an 16.7% jump BTW -- ouch!) then split difference and do $3.25.
and if $65-80 too low and $75-$100 too high -- the split would be $70-$90 -- though I think the $75-100 is a better price point especially for sculpted cakes.
pricing -- part art, part science, part guess, part blind luck!
BTW, do you put prices on your web site? I took them off so I would at least get more calls and I could negotiate.
How do I figure this all out?
(Soapbox out .... comfortable shoes .... mom finger at the ready... ok, GO!)
I am so against NOT putting prices on websites!!! My pricing is listed up front, where everyone can see it. Brides know ahead of time if they can afford me or not. If they can, they call me and the sale is half done. If they can't afford me, they move on to someone else and don't waste my time on something they aren't going to buy anyway. I consider it a pre-qualifier.
The archaic thinking: "I'll give them hardly any information and then when I force them to call me, I'll reel 'em in then! Wah-ha-ha-ha!"
This caveman style of sales went out when the internet came in. Brides tell me if a website has no pricing, they (a) assume they are very expensive (b) move on to the next guy! Many brides are surfing the 'net at work or during lunch or at midnight ..... they can't pick up the phone and call .... they are looking for information. Pricing information.
You think you will be able to "negotiate" with them when they call? How are you going to do that when THEY DON'T CALL?????
If brides wanted to call for information, they would be looking you up in the yellow pages .... and brides are using the internet, not the yellow pages.
My favorite example story: Husband was shopping for a brand new truck. He checked every dealership website in town. Most of them, when he "click here for add'l info", merely took him to a "give us you name and number and we'll call you!" screen. He never filled out one of those screens. He wanted pricing information .... he did not want to talk to some salesman!
He found a website that gave pricing, financing options, everything he needed. He bought the truck from that dealership and he told them to having the full information on the website is why he bought from them. The salesman had to do nothing .... the truck was bought before hubby ever drove onto their lot.
When my brides see my pricing and then decide to call me, then I'm already more than half way to the sale..... I pretty much just have to finalize it.
I am a big advocate of "let your website do the work for you".
I understand that some cake creations must be priced separately and individually. But you should at least offer some kind of price range so they know whether you fit into their budget or not.
But those who think they will be able to "....explain it when they call", I think they are missing the boat. Because according to what brides are telling me, they are NOT calling those websites. They are moving on to the websites who are giving them the research information they are looking for.
Your first chance at the sale isn't the phone call.....it's when they hit your website.
extreme example of putting prices on cakes -- look at her gallery
leaves no doubt about it, does it?
http://www.cindascreativecakes.com/home/home.htm
I used to have prices (Cinda is a very good friend of mine and I love her web site) but then everyone told me to take the prices off. I haven't noticed any difference in the phone calls. But they do take longer to price, more emails, etc, so I think I will put prices backup.
I tried the phone call thing. Most of the time I got "you need to come in for a consultation'. That is why I had put up prices to begin with, because I didn't want that kind of frustrating experience for my customers.
I will try out the 3.25 a slice and see how that goes. But with the price of gas, and eggs and wow, butter is CRAZY, it has been getting harder and harder to make a profit.
No, thats not bad! Although the price of your materials has got to be sky high because you have to order everything online, no?
luckily, there's a place in fayetteville that has lots of stuff I need, and of course there're Hobby Lobby, AC Moore and Michaels there as well.
so for most of the "normal" stuff, I'm covered.
dusts, americolor, premade flowers that I have to order online -- for if I can find a real deal on price online that beats the store in fayetteville.
You are better then we have it then..we only have Michaels and AC Moore. I have to order everything else or make it myself.
Speaking of making it myself, I have been thinking of offering gum paste flowers to other bakers in my area (that I make myself...much prettier then the machine made ones-have no idea how much to charge) Do you think that would do well?
I am looking at your website right now and I am going to give you my thoughts on some things.. Please don't take this as I am hacking at your hardwork.. pretty please?? 
Your pricing page.. you need to find a # of servings for each cake.. not a range. So when a customer comes to you and says I want this cake and you are charging XX per serving they can't say well I want it to feed the lower end of your spectrum.. why are you charging me this amount?
You also have raisins spelled wrong in your carrot cake description.. unless raisons are something special that I don't know about.. 
And you might think about saying you can have different flavors in each tier rather than layer unless you are really offering a single tier with multiple flavors of cake.
Sail Boats on your decorations page has an extra 's' in it.
On your gallery page you should say 'all our cakes are custom designED'.
Okay that's it I promise.. other than some wording changes here and there, but that is just *me*.. you have to have your own style. I know I hate having little errors on my stuff and when you are doing it all.. they just slip right on by. So please don't hate me..
I think your cakes are very nice BTW.. definitely worth the $3.50 a slice you want to charge!! 
Speaking of making it myself, I have been thinking of offering gum paste flowers to other bakers in my area (that I make myself...much prettier then the machine made ones-have no idea how much to charge) Do you think that would do well?
as always -- depends upon $$$
definitely something to look into
decide on the "TOP" price that you want and slowly increase your pricing about 10% every 3 to 6 months.
My friends web site has everything on the first page also, except for flavors and that was an oversight when she updated.
she does a LOT of sculpted cakes and they start at 50 for small ones feeding like...15/20 people IF that, then 75 all the way to 150 and people pay!
She also has the price of her wedding cakes right there on the front page.
Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut
and here is the big but, she also has a disclaimer on the front page, that if the client is looking for more detail work (whatever that is!! flying monkeys to buzz the party guests maybe) a consultation is needed.
She has NEVER had to have a customer come into the shop, because she also takes pay pal credit cards and delivers!
a win win situation.
And the pricing WILL continue to go up that 10% until she reaches HER goals, which were set when she first opened!
I am looking at your website right now and I am going to give you my thoughts on some things.. Please don't take this as I am hacking at your hardwork.. pretty please??
Your pricing page.. you need to find a # of servings for each cake.. not a range. So when a customer comes to you and says I want this cake and you are charging XX per serving they can't say well I want it to feed the lower end of your spectrum.. why are you charging me this amount?
You also have raisins spelled wrong in your carrot cake description.. unless raisons are something special that I don't know about..
And you might think about saying you can have different flavors in each tier rather than layer unless you are really offering a single tier with multiple flavors of cake.
Sail Boats on your decorations page has an extra 's' in it.
On your gallery page you should say 'all our cakes are custom designED'.
Okay that's it I promise.. other than some wording changes here and there, but that is just *me*.. you have to have your own style. I know I hate having little errors on my stuff and when you are doing it all.. they just slip right on by. So please don't hate me..
I think your cakes are very nice BTW.. definitely worth the $3.50 a slice you want to charge!!
Oh no, I appreciate it a great deal! (I haven't touched the servings page in like a year, so I will need to revisit that.I almost forgot I had that page! haha!) I often work on my web site like at 2 am, when I finally have a free moment..so i am sure there are lots of typos.
I put my prices back on my web site and the phone again is ringing with definite orders, not people just asking questions. I like the idea of slowly bringing up the price! I am kind of stuck right now, because I am very busy, but also working a full time job, but not busy enough to quit the full time job!!! everyone keeps telling me to take the risk and jump in..but i am chicken! hahaha!
Okay , watch me disagree . I think that you need to determine your target market segment before you decide whether or not to put prices on your website. Take a look st the Honda cars website they advertise the Civic " starting at $15,9811" etc. It is the FIRST thing you know about that car, which appeals to a price driven customer. Now, take a look at Jaguars website. You see the car, the performance features, etc. etc....NO prices unless you build out a car. It is targeted for a luxury buyer, to whom price is a secondary or tertiary consideration.
IMHO, if you want to market yourself as a Honda ( which is what I drive, so I am not knocking Hondas) then use price as a selling tool. If you want to be a Jaguar, then you need to market as a Luxury item.
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