I'm Embarrassed To Ask, Yet Another Pricing Question!
Decorating By nefgaby Updated 17 Aug 2007 , 12:45am by nefgaby
OK, here is the deal, I got a call today from my Realtor... her friend wants one of my cakes!!! 
Here is the story.... So far in my cake business/adventure, I've sold a number of cakes but mostly to friends and family OR for friends who will give them as presents, but there is always a "relationship".
So my realtor is the nicest lady in town and I we have become friends... I made her a "Thank You" cake since we just got a new house and she helped us a LOT! Here is the link:
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=862653
Soooo... she was super excited and loved the cake and showed it to everyone in her office (pretty BIG building) and everybody loved it and loved the taste, I was sooo excited to hear that, soo happy! But now, she is telling "how much would you charge for a cake like the one you made for me? A friend here at the office wants one for her grandparents birthday." OK, I'm freaking out here, this is my first ever order for someone I don't know, which adds a TON of stress... I don't want to scare them off by telling them a super high price but I did spend over 8 hours on this cake. It is all fondant, 8"x8"x5.5" tall, darn good chocolate cake with BC filling. Dusted with super pearl all around. My cost was about $30 including EVERYTHING!
Please help, I don't want to scare her off... 
It is very pretty! Do you think you could make it for less than $30 in supplies? I probably would say $45, but if it really cost you $30 to make it, that really isnt worth it to you.
Yep, it was around $30, it is 2 recipes of darn good chocolate cake and used the "fancy" chocolate chips... also used 1 1/2 recipes of MMF and BC ea. I was also thinking that, if they would like some less expensive cake recipe I could do it for less. Haven't called back to give a price! Thanks!
Wow you did a fantastic job on that cake. : ) If I was doing it I would ask $75 but I use the WASC recipe with box mixes and it's not that expensive. If it's scratch it would be worth more.
Care to share your darn good chocolate cake recipe? (is that the name?)
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!
Amy, the recipe I follow is from the cake mix doctor, here is the link.
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2163-Darn-Good-Chocolate-Cake.html
What ends up making it too expensive is that I use that fancy chocolate for chocolate chips. And honestly, I did spend a LOT of time in the fondant decs... maybe I'm slow decorator... 
Anyway, thanks everybody for your input, just one more question, since I'm in FL and I do not have a licence yet, do you think that might be an issue?
You should charge at least $100 for that - it's gorgeous!
I multiply my costs by 3, then add on a bit more for time consuming work, like bows and figures.
I got 100 for my burgundy and cream gift box (in my pics) and it was exactly the same size as yours - same height too!
Have faith in how good your work is, you're worth it and deserve to be paid accordingly for your time and skill!
Kelly
Your cake is beautiful ! To duplicate it , you should charge around $90 to cover the cost of materials, and your time & obvious skill. One option would be to use less expensive chocolate, to help bring down the cost.
But please don't sell yourself short, your level of skill is fantastic & you should charge accordingly..
Hi Bafishr,
WASC stands for "white almond sour cream cake" you can find the recipe on the recipe section here on CC. It is wonderful!
Thanks for your compliments on my cake! I really appreciate it!
Now, just to update... I called yesterday and quoted a $90 price for it, I left a message since she didn't pick up her cell. I haven't heard anything back.... I've had butterflies on my stomach all day thinking they are thinking I'm crazy.... I hate this position but as my sister said, rather have them think my price is too high than working for 8 hours for a $20 profit!
Will keep you posted!
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