I had a "friend of a friend" call me just now and she wants a b-day cake for her 10 y/o next Friday. That part is okay, but she wants it to have a Hannah Montana theme with some sort of stage lights!!! And she needs to feed 20 (some of which are small children). And she wants the sheet cake to be torted and filled!!! BUT she doesn't want to pay more than $30 for a cake and she "just hates the way Wal-Mart cakes taste!".

What do I tell her I can do for her???

HELP!, what would you do???

SugarLaced

stick to your guns and tell her just how little custom crafted cake $30 will buy

(what a 9x13? and that would be $1.25 / serving @ 24 servings -- way LOW -- with basic white BC, border and 3BC roses in one accent color)

a 8in round would be more like it!

don't be bullied or feel bad or like you have to give a break because referred by a friend, etc., etc., etc.

in fact, might wish to say, "Sorry, no can do -- my minimum order amount is $XX (suggest at least $75 or even $100)

Well gosh darn gee, I'd like to have a new car .... big enough for 6 people, like the Cadillac SUV, with air conditioning and a sunroof, I-Pod compatibility, remote control start, and a built in driver to chauffer me around (and it helps if he got that George Clooney look to him) .....

But I don't want to pay more than $6,000.

Yeah.....THAT'll work!

You can tell me what you want (and I'll tell you what it will cost) or you can tell me how much you want to spend (and I'll tell you what you can get).

You don't get to do both.

I would explain to her that you are glad she checked you out, but that your min. cake price runs around $xx.xx.... If they want a cool cake that bad, then they are going to have pay for it. It will not be worth your time to do it for $30. Hell, I dont even think I would do cupcakes for that.

Well, I looked at your cakes and quite frankly, you cannot afford to be picky about your customers. You can afford to be downright exclusive!!!

Nuff said.

For $30 you can go to walmart and get her a sheet cake. : )

Or maybe an 8" round more plainly decorated with just buttercream filling. : )

Tell her to cut small pieces though.

cupcakes.

Theresa

Can you ask her for and extra 10$ for an edible image?...

Plain iced, maybe a border (white) and writing. No filling and no other decorations.
I could see a small discount for a friend but for someone you don't even know?

All you guys are so great...thanks fo the wonderful support!!!

Gonna offer her a 9x13 wasc w/bc and an edible image(which she buys) of Hannah Montana!!!

In all reality people on here charge what I call "real prices" for cake . i chage 25-35 for a sheet cake filled or not b/c if i were to ask someone to make me a cake from theyre house and they want to charge alot then i would say whatever n go to the supermarket and pay under 20. but you could do a fbct and try to do a background and put little silver pearls to resemble the lights . make the cake colorful very girly and you will be alright.

What do you tell her you can do for her? NOTHING! That's ridiculous and I hate when people do that. When are they going to realize that they have to PAY when they want something different or special. If you want to pay Walmart prices, go get a cake from Walmart!

I just look at it from both sides of the fence as a regular consumer b4 i started making cakes I would've never known all the drama that goes into making one and on the normal basis as a regular consumer I also would've never paid $40 for a sheet cake either when i know walmart has then for $20. So I try not to charge too much, I really dont agree with people charging by the portions either but thats an industry thing and nothing can be done. Plus I enjoy doing cakes its fun and I feel like I just made something beautiful. So thats why I'm saying eventhough the lady offered up $30 I believe it can be possible, especially if its a friend. No it can't be like a pure vanilla bean cake with like rum sauce or something b/c now it probably takes $30 just to make the thing for real. but a plain old cake, even from the box. go to walmart buy 2 box cakes and spend what $3??? then go to save a lot and buy 2 bags of sugar at $.89 each so now we're up to $5. and so on, so to me it is possible.

these prices are real prices whether the cake made from a store or home. you still are using electic, gas and products to make the cake, and what about your time. for most of us "home bakers" we have other jobs so our time is limited so why not charge accordingly. i would tell her, so that you are booked for that weekend and tell her to go to the supermarket for her cake. i know around here, a sheet cake with "special" instructions cost approximately $60.00 so good luck in search of a $30.00 made to order cake.

Erika513x2,

Did you factor in the gas you wasted going from place to place? Or the gas it costs to bake the cake, the water it costs to clean up after you are finished, etc? I believe old girl asked for a filling. Oh BTW, she is not a friend... she is a "friend of a friend" which equals regular customer! $30 bucks get you a non-torted & non-filled sheet cake with all bc icing.

indydebi,

Can you get me the new BMW hardtop convertible for $6000 too?!

Dang!!! Now I'm wishing I charged more for the cake I just did. It was my first cake I charged for, usually I just did them for family and friends as their gifts. I only charged $30 but the girl paid me $40 for the Chucky cake I did and I was worried that I was charging too much. I guess I'll go higher next time.

Well, in my opinion, "real prices" are prices that reflect the value of an item. If she wants her daughter to have a cake for $30, then she needs to ask what $30 will buy, or ask if $30 will buy a Hannah Montana themed cake. If she doesn't like Walmart, she can go to the grocery store, or Baskin Robbins, etc. But, if she wants a custom designed cake, then she is going to pay a price that reflects a custom, designed cake and not a budget basement cake.

By the way, whether the person is a friend or not shouldn't matter. This is a business. If you offer a discount that is one thing, but you cannot give a deal to every "friend" and make your business profit at the same time. Personally, I don't make a decorated cake (or cupcakes) for less than $40, and that is for either a 9x13 inch cake or 24 cupcakes, buttercream only.

Kathi

I don't think you can get a Hannah Montana edible image can you? Is that copyright?

Lu

And, when the word gets out how beautifual AND affordable it was, you'll be getting calls from all over expecting low prices.

IMHO I couldn't do a HM cake for $30 for a party that size.

Heck, I don't even dirty my KA and turn my oven on for less $40.

Time is money and with three (almost four) little guys and five times that many baskets of laundry to do, I can't afford to do cake unless I'm pulling a profit that's worth taking time away to do the work. Until the kids all get into school, I can't have this be my "hobby" so it has to be a "side job" and therefore has to pay like one. I'd rather take three orders per month that pay me $20/hour than ten orders per month that pay me $3/hour. KWIM?

I am with the majority of the posters. I know when I first started selling cakes, and I would hear a sob story of how they couldn't afford to spend a lot on a cake or they "only" had xx amount for a cake, I am such a softy, I would discount a cake down for them. Only to find when I went to the party that they didn't skimp anywhere else (food, decorating, presents, location). It didn't take me long to figure out that lower my prices for peoples situations was not a good idea. I now charge $40 for a 12x16 sheet cake that feeds 30 - 35 people. That is buttercream decoration and no filling. If they want it torted and filled it is an additional $5. If they are wanting a cake kit or an edible image I charge the amount that it runs me for the parts and a small fee for my gas. Not only are you doing a customized fresh cake, but you are doing it at a higher cost than Walmart. I think the best way to do it would be to do cupcakes and purchase some hanna montana cupcake rings (if available) and if not then look at the party supplies and ice the cupcakes in the same color scheme to match.

never the customer supose put price for you cake