Ok, I had my first paid cake over the weekend. I made a double layer 1/2 sheet cake with a large fondant supergirl badge and stars on it. 16 mini star cakes that spelled out HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARI and I also threw in 30 cheesecake stuffed strawberries dipped in chocolate (got that idea here on this board and it went over really well - thank you!!!). Anyway, because I was doing this for a friend and it was my first paid cake I didn't know what to charge her. I ended up telling her $35 and I felt really guilty. So my question is, why would someone want to pay us more for a cake than they could pay Publix or any other grocery store? What justifies charging more? Not that I think it is a bad thing, I just feel bad that they could go to the store and get probably a bigger cake for less money. How do you guys feel about this? What would you have charged for this party?

The grocery store is not going to add all the details that you put into that cake.

And generally, grocery store cake is inferior in taste. This weekend I made a baby shower cake as part of a family reunion and the next day at a different function, Sam's Club cake was served. I think the cake from Sam's and Costco is superior in taste to most other grocery store cake, but it still isn't as good as homemade. My brother-in-law, after eating both my cake and the Sam's cake said, "The store-bought cake is nowhere near as delicious as yours."

I don't always bake from scratch, but even when I use a mix, I add extra ingredients for flavor and texture. And my ingredients are good quality: real vanilla extract, real butter etc. You're not going to get that in a grocery store cake--you'll get imitation flavorings and shortening.

I really don't think we should ever look down on anyone for buying a grocery store cake--sometimes budget has to be your overriding concern, but nor should we compare our products with theirs. Our cakes are custom and they (hopefully) are far superior in taste and appearance.

whether it be box or scratch cake they are getting a custom made cake that tasts better. Not knocking store bought cakes cause in my area they are really good ,just not the same. We charge more because we can't buy in bulk like the big stores and if they wanted a Publix cake they would go to Publix. You way under charged, did you figure how much the ingredients cost you, factor in supplies such as cake boards, coloring,packaging, then the hours you spent baking, decorating ect....

They are paying you for a home baked, custom designed cake created just for them that they cannot get anywhere else.

wait...you charged 35 for 16 cupcakes, stuffed strawberries and the cake???!!!! Then felt guilty about it??!! How many hours did you spend on this project? now divide that by 35...I am guessing it took at least 4 hours all told so that means you made 8.75 an hour...now subtract your ingreidents...I bet you ended up paying her for the goodies in the long run. Don't you think you are worth more than that?
Yes she can go to publix and get some generic cake that everyone one else on the planet has with no cupcakes and certianly no strawberries and probally still end up paying more than $35

Well, I only do this as a hobby, so I can't speak for everyone, but personally...

I believe it's because the quality of the cake is better, and they have more choices.

Most stores, at least the one I worked in, the cake comes in frozen. Not baked fresh. The icing, some of it is made on the premises, other is brought in already colored and not made fresh.

The detail is very limited. We were only allowed to do roses (and only a certain number depending on the size of the cake), or candy sprinkles, or what they called streamers, which is basically just icing drizzled over the sides and border of the cake. Also, we were allowed to do a few copyrighted items, but again, only minimal and had to be exactly as the design on the photo. No embellishments at all.

Also, most stores do not add different flavors or fillings to their cakes. You are stuck with chocolate, white, or marble. Buttercream or whipped icing, and that's it.

So, all in all it comes back to this saying .. "you get what you pay for". You pay for quality cake, you will get it. You don't want to pay for quality cake, then go to Publix, or Walmart, and settle for what they give you, not what you want.


Again, this is just my opinion.

Holly


Also, this doesn't even begin to include your time, labor, and all other bills included in the making of a gorgeous work of edible art.


**edit** again, there are 4 replies in the time it took me to type my own. hahaha

Dupl post .... see other responses on this thread, also:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-4579963.html#4579963

First I have to say that you WAY under charged. I am a decorator at Publix, and we charge a LOT more than that for something like that. A 1/2 sheet alone, just Buttercream is $32.00. In fondant I belive it is more like $45.00. The cupcakes in fondant would have probably run AT LEAST another $15 - $20 (probably $1.45 each)- depending on the decorator, and the strawberries.. sold by the pound. $8.99 a pound for chocolate dipped. NOT including the cheesecake. So even by our standards you charged far too little.

Now, on another note. No need to be bashing Supermarket cakes here. If you have ever had a Publix cake vs. a Walmart cake you wouldn't have even put them near each other. We make our buttercream in store, and there is a LOT of training we go through. Our wedding cakes are all baked in store, and we spend a lot of time on them when needed. You get what you pay for though. You can walk in and order a standard cake out of the book, and you will get that cake. If you find a decorator who is able, you can do anything you want within reason. But you will pay for it.

Publix pays a decorator quite well, and if you live in a small town where every bakery has failed, and you just want to make beautiful cakes then there is nothing wrong with working for them. You learn the basics, and if you want to you can branch out and learn anything you want.

We are timed on our cakes, so yes, if you want an 8" round, you will get a standard amount of flowers, in a standard layout. On the same note, we can do a wedding cake in 1.5 hours that is just as beautiful as many of the private bakerys, that would cost you much more.
How many other places can you walk into that day, and walk out with a full wedding cake in under 2 hours? (I have done several like that)

So no need to bash. Many of us are just as skilled as any other cake decorator, we just are limited on what the customer will pay. You can't expect a cake you saw on TV that was $500.00-$1000.00 for $50.00.

[quote="tattooedlucy"]We are timed on our cakes, so yes, if you want an 8" round, you will get a standard amount of flowers, in a standard layout. On the same note, we can do a wedding cake in 1.5 hours that is just as beautiful as many of the private bakerys, that would cost you much more.
How many other places can you walk into that day, and walk out with a full wedding cake in under 2 hours? (I have done several like that) /quote]

I don't question the ability of the decorators here, because there are some really cute things coming out of supermarket cakes. (Has anyone else copied the little puppy cupcakes from Wal-Mart? ) But I noticed taht you can walk in and out of the store in 2 hours with a fully decorated wedding cake. That's about how long it takes me to decorate one too. But I assume in this case the cakes were not baked fresh like they would be in one of our kitchens? I think the baking part of it is just as important as the decorating. And I think when people talk about bakery or Walmart cakes, that is the question that comes to mind, not necessarily the artwork that went into it.

Well, honestly if they can't plan their wedding, we can't either.
No, it wouldn't be baked in that 1.5 hours, but neither would your's be. Now, if they called and wanted on the next day, Yes, that would be baked. (even give us 6 hours, and you have a good chance of a baked cake) As with anyone else our baked cakes would need time to cool down to ice. (Preferably slightly frozen)

I agree on the baking part. No one wants a wedding cake to be slapped togeather, and that is why only a Decorator does wedding cakes. We do have Apprentices, who are so until they are able to do everything that is manditory.

I personally put a lot of myself into my cakes, and no matter what I never turn down a cake. I do 3d sculpture cakes through Publix, and anything else a customer might want. I take a lot of pride in my work, and will not let an ugly cake go out the door. I will redo other peoples cakes if they arn't up to our standards and I catch it in time, and have a tendancy to make sure that if a more difficult order does come in I am there to do it.
We start at 4 am on most saturdays to make sure that we have the time to get the cakes done to the best of our ability. (Usually 3 or 4 decorators on Saturdays - and at least 40 cake orders, sometimes 3 - 4 wedding cakes. We had 9 on 7-7-7) I have worked many 12 - 15 hour days to make sure everything was done right. Our store might be more dedicated than some others, but I choose to be up at 2 in the am to make someones cake special.

Yes our cake does come in frozen (the sheet cakes, and 8" rounds) but we do get them in 4x a week, and only order as needed. (Just in time)

I HATE that puppy cake. With a passion. It is in one of our books as well, and one woman orders it every year for her dogs birthday. It is a pain in the butt for what it costs. (I'm sorry to the people that like it.. I have 80's flashback issues)

I was feeling a little bit like that when I charged $3.00 a slice for a cake I'm doing but when I figured out all the time and materials I ended up feeling like I didn't charge enough.

Then I went out for pie with some friends. It wasn't very good pie at a restaurant that has a reputation for excellent pie and we still paid $4.00 a slice. It got me thinking though that people will pay it in a restaurant so why feel bad when I charge for an excellent, quality product.

For me, I don't make sheet cakes, an my cakes are nothing like what you get at Sam's etc (I also have a licensed shop). I charge a good amount for my cakes and when people can't or don't want to pay it, I tell them to go to Sam's for their needs because I do understand lots of ppl don't want to spend that much on a cake. I only bake from scratch, and one of my strong seeling points is that you get a unique delicious cake not one that looks just like the one some had at their event the week before. You may not get as many customers this way, but you get a nice size customer base who is willing to pay and they in turn get you referrals from others who also want to pay for the quality. As of recently take new customers by referral from my current loyal customers, and people love the exclusivity of that concept. They feel like not just any1 can get a cake like theirs.

If you under price yourself too much, word gets around and every1 will be wanting cheap cakes from you.

I think most people under charged when they first start out. I started out gifting people with cakes then just charging for ingredients, next I tacked on ingredients and a few dollars more, then when I sat down and figured all my actual costs and time spent on a cake from start to finish I realized I was still not charging enough. After reading several pricing threads here on CC I now charge 1.75 for basic BC, filled and iced w/BC deco's.Still low but I will increase price as my skill level increases.

As for grocery store,Wal Mart, Costco, Sams cakes in my area their cakes are very good, some even have gumpaste deco's. If someone thinks my prices are to high I always recommend they go there. I let them know they won't offend me or hurt my feelings if they pass on my cakes. People have budgets and I sympathize. I still just do it as a paying hobby so I imagine if I did it for income I'd sing a diffrent tune.

edited to say: oops, meant to say $1.75 per slice not whole cake!!

It's all in the details and personalization. They can't go to Walmart or whatever the local grocer is and say I want a double sheet cake and 16 mini star cakes. The person at the bakery would die laughing and say you've got the wrong place lady!

But I know how you feel because when you're just starting out, you do feel kind of hesitant about charging people alot for your cakes. But once you start feeling resentful of how much time you spent on something and you don't feel that you were properly compensated for it, you will begin to realize that you need to increase your prices to prevent feeling that way.