From One Extreme To The Other..blah,blah,blah
Decorating By olana11 Updated 26 Nov 2006 , 5:04am by indydebi
I already posted about my first cake order(beyond family/friends). I hadn't set a price with the woman but she was very familiar with my work from my donations to the school. I had the "feel bad about charging" blues...since she is one of my daughter's teachers. She stated she would only let me make the cake if she paid me..... ok,...... it was a double birthday/football party cake. So,as we all do, I bust my buns coming up with an idea,implementing the plan of action, then create. Hours and hours spent.
I think the estimated servings was about 40.
She came and picked up the cake and said"here let me give you this.." I take the money,and in my head I'm saying"ok,there's one bill here" but I don't want to look while she's there.,..."could be a $50 or a $20..CAN'T be a $20!!!" After she leaves I look down and don't ya know it-a $20!!! I realize I am not a professional but $20 
dollars!??!?! This woman is upper middle class and pulled up in a 2007 SUV. I believe Walmart charges more than that! 
I was literally stunned.
I went from feeling guilty for accepting money to ..How DARE she???!
My DH said it's a lesson about making payment agreements CLEAR in the beginning(thinks he's so flippin' smart!)
I also hope this will make me think about the value of my time and all energies when coming up with a price in the first place instead of "feeling bad"
Some people just kill me.
It's almost like, I'd rather not even be paid, than have that paltry amount given to me!
Most of the time, however, it's just not like that. Just yesterday I finished the "glamour girl" cake in my gallery. When the customer saw it, she just freaked out. 
She was so thrilled with it. When I told her it was $50, she said, "That's just not enough--here's $70." I just balked and smiled---AND TOOK IT!!! 
You'll have those days, too--just remember to set your prices as high as it takes to make that cake you're turning lose of WORTH IT.....
Anything else is gravy.
--Knox--
Wow. She got a deal. You HAVE to make a price clear. Don't be afraid. You are only setting yourself up for disappointment if you don't give a firm price. Some people are just clueless and don't get it. She did take advantage of you because she got a beautiful custom cake... and she got to pick the price.
I'm so sorry. It's just so hard to price cakes and usually people are shocked at the price, but don't let that stop you. Be clear and agree on a price before you make the cake. You decide your worth.
Good luck
Angie
Too bad you have to see her again - I'd give her back the money! What an insult!!!! Guess you live and learn but that is really terrible!!!
Your cakes are beautiful! The Bugs Bunny one made me laugh out loud!
Keep up the great work! But charge!!!!!! You're worth it!
Sometimes people who don't bake cakes have NO IDEA how much time and energy we put into it! I have had a couple of people pay me and when I try to give them change they say...."Just keep it. That's your tip!" I balk and I KEEP IT! LOL One lady gave me a 12.50 time for a plain sheet cake! Well....not plain. It was actually kinda cute, if I do say so myself! LOL
Sorry, you had to learn THE LESSON. Sometimes I think I'm STILL learning it!
Great job on your cake! It's worth more than $20.00 for sure!!
Beth from KY
yah know it is sooooo darn hard to ask for what we are worth(and i'm not worth as much as alotta folks here).
@ weeks ago i did a cake for a lady and i always do more than i originally planned - she saw it and loved it and then says oh is $50.00 enough- i mean what am i gonna say-
Next cake i said 35.00 and the dear man said " I am not going to insult you" and "paid" me $60.00
-go figure-
But i agree people who don't make have no concept
of a. thetime involved and b. the cost of ingrediants alone !!
Well your cake was great and worth much more....
now if we can just figure out how to ask for it !!
Your cakes look great! I can't believe she only paid $20 for that cake. Gee what was she thinking? I don't bake for the public but only for family and they never pay lol.
I want to tell you about my daughter's 21st birthday cake. I had not taken decorating classes at that time and wanted my daughter to have a wonderful cake. I went to a local bakery and ordered a stacked cake. The bottom was an 8" round with a 6" round on top. The entire cake was done in buttercream. There was a shell border and 21 white roses (I requested pink) on the top. That was all. There was no writing because the bakery claimed they had no room to write "Happy Birthday" because the roses took up all the space. This cake cost me $125. Sorry for the long story but your cakes are worth much more.
YEAH.......i learned my lesson hard and fast when I was soooooooo proud of one of my cakes and really wanted to see how much i would get because there was no way they all loved it!!! and all i got was 25.00....from that point all (after two weeks of sulking............ I vowed if you dont want to pay I wont make your cake.............)
I have great ever since...........
The tree stump with the bunnies in my pics was the cake I GAVE her for mother's day-maybe I did myself in!
Anyway,I really didn't think anything could make me feel better about this but everyone's support on here has really given me a sense of relief-if that makes any sense. I appreciate everyone putting in their two cents (which, btw, I value at more than 2 cents! 
) and sharing your stories.
Ugggg! It sounds like she assumed you were giving her a freebie and so the $20 was her being "generous" in her mind. You made a great cake-- and I'm sure that's the last time the pricing will be unclear. Don't you just love these live and learn moments? 
OMG, I just cannot believe that happened to you.
You poor thing, I'm so sorry 
At the very least, I hope you get (decent) referrals from the football crowd that got a piece of your cake.....
And I hope the teacher was shamed when she received abundant accolades on serving such a beautiful and tasty creation!!!!
$20.00 should have been the tip.....
You must learn from this; if you aren't clear people will rip you off. Please start charging realistic prices from now on or you'll stop enjoying your work. We'd hate to lose you from CC because you got disillusioned with it.
Yep after taking so much time making a cake like that to only get 20 measley bucks....You need to give a price up front and if they say that is too much then let them find someone else to do it. My time is worth something and I am not giving it away for nothing unless it is for someone that means a lot to me.
It's important that as the "business" end of the deal, you make clear the price for the cakes you make. I've been burned like this more times than I care to recall. Way back in the beginning, I'd just blurt out a "cheap sounding" price to get the order, because I wanted people to try my cakes, and if my prices were low, they'd be more inclined to buy. No more. I always hated after they picked up or I delivered, sitting around and thinking...WHY did I say THAT much? I could have been paid THIS much. Be clear and up front about YOUR price. The $20 "payment" that she gave to you wouldn't hardly make a dent in your supply cost, much less your time, electricity, etc. Live and learn, right? I hated that lesson!!! The cake looks great, and she needs to know that SHE got herself quite a deal! Good luck to you!!!
Amy
I totally feel your pain. When I started doing this not too long ago, my friend started paying me for the cakes and gave me $15 for 8 inch rounds. I mean I literally spent hours making these cakes, and it probably cost me somewhere around $8-$10 in supplies, so I am working for like a $1 and hour. At first it didnt bother me too much, because at least someone was paying me to practice, but after a few months and about 6 cakes later....I started to resent it. So finally a few weeks ago I finally told her I couldnt do it for $15 anymore. I felt badly, but I also didnt want to resent it anymore. It wasnt really her fault that I never set a price. It was mine. Now I am not too shy about stating a price upfront. They arent obligated to buy from you. If they say no, it is their loss. In fact here is a thread that I started about it awhile back. Lots of helpful info from cc members here on getting the guts to set your prices!
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-44354-i.html+tell+friend
I'm right there with you! I'm getting better at this (slowly), but sometimes I'm still learning this lesson!!
The last cake I did was an adult themed cake for a guy's birthday. I charged his girlfriend (also a friend of mine) $50 for the cake but she gave me $60. About a week later I was getting coffee with the same friend and I was talking about opening a cake shop in the future but was worried that there was no money to be made in it.
Her response? "Well not at what you're charging, everybody thought I paid $200 for that cake!!"
Lesson learned? If even my friends are offering to pay more than I'm charging, I definitely must not be charging enough!
You guys are great! 
merissa,I read the other post and at least I am not alone-thanks .(btw, your cakes are beautiful.) I just looked in the supermarket to day out of curiosity of their cake prices,... $15 for a small,round,sloppy cake with MINOR embellishments. No where near as elegant as yours-not even close.
i think I will print out both posts and tape them to my kitchen cabinet for courage!!!
You are right bout walmart charging more for a cake like that they charge 77.00 bucks for one like that (can't do fondant though sheesh) so prolly for a cake with the fondant on it n stuff you could charge double what wallymart charges. (actually they really only charge like o let's see, bout 1.18 a serving). So you could def get away with charging twice that and still be reasonable.
I think all of us tend to underprice for people we like, but you can find yourself in a trap. I suggest you sit down and figure out what you want to charge for all types of cakes, taking into consideration what other CUSTOM cake decorators in your area charge. Don't look at Walmart. People who want Walmart cakes won't appreciate the skill and quality you put into yours. So, anyway...figure out what you want to get for a plain buttercream with piped fllowers and borders. Something simple. Then go from there with added costs for added stuff...like fondant figures or decorations...or gumpaste flowers...or total fondant covering....or luster dust, etc., etc., etc. Then write this all down and USE It when quoting prices in the future. You'll tend to hem and haw otherwise. And, then if you DO give someone a special price, refer to your grid anyway and say, "Well...normally this cake, with the fondant trim and luster dust...would cost $75, but for you, I'll do it for $50." That way, if they refer you to someone else, MAYBE they will not quote your "bargain" price as fact and get you off on the wrong foot with your new customer. You owe it to yourself to establish a realistic price range and stick to it, or you'll end up kicking yourself over and over.
You know, I'm really glad this subject came up, I'd like the thoughts of the friends on a situation that just happened to me: I have set prices on wedding cakes for fondant/buttercream/etc. It's 3.50/slice for buttercream, $4.00/slice for fondant and gumpaste flowers are more. Now my question is: I had a lady call me just yesterday and say "I want you to do a bridal shower cake for 50 people in March, what will it cost?" I told her my prices per slice on wedding cakes but (mistakenly?) told her that it would depend on what she ordered. She wanted a ballpark figure and I told her $50-$80, depending. Now I'm thinking that I should have told her to budget around $2.00-$2.50 a slice for this cake (which will drive the cost up.) What would y'all do? How do you handle situations like that?
I don't think some people think about you having to go to the store and buy ingredients, order supplies on-line, use your gas, elec, water and time.
A co-worker came over and asked me what I charged for an item, when I told her she said she could get a similar item at the supermarket for a lot less. I told her it sounded good because there was no way she could get it from me for that price! The supermarket buys in bulk, they can charge less. There is nothing like home-made.
let's put it this way, do y'all change your prices (lower them) for special occasion cakes (as opposed to wedding cakes?) Or should I set my prices and leave them be?
Let's see here.......if the cake is stacked or tiered (have to have the infrastructure) I would charge the same as wedding cakes. It doesn't matter imho what it's decorated for. It all depends on the work you put into it and the supplies n stuff. Stacked cakes take longer (because you are actually decorating more than one individual cake) as do tiered cakes (not to mention some of the outrageous prices some places want to charge for cake stands, sheesh). Flat, single layer cakes I would figure a flat fee for whatever size, and then charge extra for each fondant piece or gumpaste or stuff. Ya know like charge (ballpark here) 15-20 bucks for each gumpaste flower spray etc.
Well,I ran into this woman in the hall tonight during a school conference...she just acted like there was nothing wrong( I don't know why I disillusioned myself to think she'd somehow,at least verbally,redeem herself). She said,"The cake was a BIG HIT!!!!"
OOOO I was so angry I could barely speak to her ---sorry to bring this up again just had to vent .....
Sometimes people who don't bake cakes have NO IDEA .....
When my husband and I got married 18 years ago, I was going to have someone else make the cake. I mean, geesh, I was gonna be a little busy being the bride, ya know!
But I relented because I wasn't going to pay $300 for a cake that I could make for next to nothing, so when I told hubby-to-be I was going to make it, he asked why. When I told him, he about hit the roof because he thought a wedding cake for 100-150 would cost about ....... oh don't fall off your seats! ...... $35!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why? Had he ever bought a wedding cake before? nope. Had he ever been involved in a wedding at all before? nope. He just somehow, somewhere, out of the blue decided that THAT was what a wedding cake cost. No rhyme.....no reason......just the idea that he had planted in his own head with no good logic.
They have no idea.
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