Ugh... The nerve of some ppl. About a month ago I went to one of my friends daughters birthday. And a woman there found out that I make cakes, she came up asking questions I politly answered them gave her my card with email ect.. on it.

Two weeks later I get an email asking how much a certain cake would cost for 30-40ppl I tell her the price and she says GAHH I thought we hit it off at the party and would get a better deal than that. I said no ma'am I dont give out discounts to anyone. She said fine then I wont be ordering from you I told her Im sorry she feels that way but that is how much the cake will be to feed that amount of ppl and that style of cake. Im sure she did the walmart thing. Im just so tired of ppl saying hey your the cakelady remember me at that thing, how about given me a deal on a cake.

Happen to anyone else like me?

Yes, I know what you mean. I never had some be quite as bold as that woman, but I have been asked why I wouldn't do the cake for free. I had a woman ask me to do a retirement cake for 100 people for a guy we work with that I don't even know and never met. I gave her a price and she said "Tsk, I thought you would do it for free."

You just gotta love'em don't ya.

Well, I'm sure this lady and her WalMart cake are very happy together...I wouldn't let it bother you too much.

Look at it this way...you stuck to your guns and now you are free to do another cake at the price you deserve. Bravo!

I just did a cake ( star one in my photos ) I told her I would do a nice big cake at cost for her. I explained that I cant give cakes away to everyone that asks. So I suggested if she wanted to pay for the ingredients for the cake I would make and deliver for free of charge. I emailed the picture and then called her. She and her husband LOVED the cake and it was so much more than they ever thought I would do.............. I told her 100 bucks and she thought oh I was thinking more like 50...... So, me being the nice guy says well how about 80 and she says OK. I get to the venue and she is so happy to see me gives me a hug and says she is sorry if she offended me on not paying the amount I asked for. Her husband was so mad at her and apologized. They gave me the 100 I had asked for.
Everyone loved the cake and I got my money Happy Ending for both

Give an inch they take a foot!

I am ashmed to admit but my adventure in cake decorating started out because an aunt of a friend makes cakes and she made a cake for a baby shower for me, all fondant 3 teir from scratch with beautiful flowers covering the whole cake and she told me 100.00 for the cake, well my aunt said that is to much ask her if she can do it for 60.00. If I only knew then how much work goes in a cake, she should have been paid way more than the 100 she was asking! ( it was a 10in, 8in , 6 in) I am so ashamed!!!

I don't do cakes for profit. It's really just a hobby for me. A relative of mine apparently mentioned to someone she works with that I "did cakes." This co-worker of hers wanted something for an anniversary. When I advised my relative of the cost I would charge for what she was asking, she her co-worker - who then sent a message back to me of "never mind"......I don't even know this person, but did she think I would do it for free???

delete

I'd like to see them buy a car like that "well i only need the airconditioning not the radio.. can you knock off a few hundred for me?"

I often wonder how to handle situations like this. For the most part, I don't have a problem saying "no" if they want it too cheaply but what do you say when the person you're quoting too has given you a (unasked for) discount on something they sell, like a haircut. I appreciate them doing it for me, but I can't afford to do it for them too! How do you handle that situation?

I am in a bad mood after this week. So I will say what I am thinking. She is a spoiled brat. Forget her!

How about the friends and family that order their cakes from Walmart's instead of you. I know my cakes taste great.

DH ran into our next door neighbor at a local store. She was there buying her son's BD cake. He reminded her that I do cakes and she said: oh, I forgot.

Or the friend of the family that ordered her baby's Babtism cake at Sam's and she could have bought it from me for only $3 more. And, we know our cakes are better than that.

I have to admit I do most of my cakes for free because I enjoy it. I'm a home baker and have a couple thousand dollars invested in cake toys. And, I use real butter, vanilla and it is not cheap to make these cakes.

I figure when I do sell a cake I'm making about $1.25 an hour. If that.

There are no Bakeries anywhere near us, we live out in the Country. I know it would be wrong to under sell a local Bakery and I wouldn't do that.

I get people at work constantly asking "Hey when you going to bring a cake to work?" I reply "When you order it and pay for it." I say this with a smile and as politely as possible and it gets the point across. I have five kids 8 and under, two jobs and I am starting my own business, like I have time to just whip out a cake.

We got a new neighbor last year about this time. We really liked her and her husband and they wanted us to join them for a cookout so we each brought stuff and grilled and ate and had a great time. Her and I started doing scrapbooking every Wednesday and used to have a good time. Then she started calling and asking to borrow stuff, but it was really weird stuff....like one night she called and said they were down there making pizza and had the shell with the sauce of it ready for the cheese and asked if we had any pizza cheese. Who makes pizza KNOWING they don't have cheese???

Anyway, last November she asked me to make her daughter's first birthday cake. I told her I would make a 12 inch round cake and put a 6 inch on it on pillars so that could be the baby's "play" cake. She told me she just wanted something iced and bordered and she was going to get things to stick in the cake with Tinkerbell on them so I thought I would be nice and told her I would make that for $25. About a week later, she said she couldn't afford the little picks to put in the cake and said, "just cover the whole thing with pink and purple buttercream roses" so I told her I could do that but that's a lot more work and it would be $40. She told me to forget it and she would just make it herself and then kept hinting that she would need to buy the pans to make the cake. I told her, not to worry, that the cake shop up the street has them all the time. hehehe Funny, but they don't bother with us anymore. They say hi but that's about it. My husband told me we didn't give them enough free stuff for them to be our friends. Oh well...too bad, so sad!!!! She was just so obvious about trying to get us to give her free stuff. I'm sorry, but we work for our stuff and she already has her sister in law falling for her crap and buying her kids shoes and clothes and toys because she constantly tells her they have no money. The nerve of some people!!!!

I get people at work constantly asking "Hey when you going to bring a cake to work?" I reply "When you order it and pay for it." I say this with a smile and as politely as possible and it gets the point across. I have five kids 8 and under, two jobs and I am starting my own business, like I have time to just whip out another cake.

this happens to me all of the time i always get someone who knows me or knows someone in my family and wants me to do it for next to nothing or free and it use to get to me but now i just laugh it off. if you let it get to you it will drive you crazy. like the other day i got a call from a lady who works with my dad and she wants a cake with an edible image and fresh fruit filling, i always charge extra for fresh fruit because it varies in price i only charge what i buy it for, and the same goes for the image i only charge the price of the image and nothing more, she stayed quiet and said i will call you back, still haven't heard from her doubt i will.

Good for you for sticking to your guns. If I donate a cake it is my choice.....not because they asked or expected it.

I have given my best customers discounts....again...my choice.

Some people always try to get something for nothing.

I do not normally sell cakes, but two years ago a relative of my niece (other side of her family) asked me to do a Dr. Who telephone booth (see BBC America if you want to see it).

I asked the dimensions she wanted, and quoted her a price of $60, which would have discounted the cake by about 50%. When she heard the price she asked if I could make one for about 12 people instead, because she only wanted to spend about $20! Even I won't start my oven for that! I told her that for such a small cake, I would have to charge her full price, which would be about $40. She said Thanks Anyway, Goodbye, and hung up!

Oh, well. I decided that I will have a minimum order when I start doing cakes for cash, and that full payment will be due before any work begins.

Theresa

Yeah, people think just because you know them, or have met them that they are entitled to a discount? This is so funny to me!!!!!!! Can you give me a discount...? Ah...NO! Just because you know someone dosen't mean it's cheaper to make/decorate cake! I don't give anyone discounts either! It's too much work, as it is I don't get paid enough! They should be asking to pay more, not get a discount!

I get that sometimes, and then other times I get "hints"... like recently I've heard twice: "well, I don't think we're going to be able to place the order because the economy right now just won't allow for the extra spending"...... and I say, "I completely understand - hopefully I can be of assistance in the future & thank you for your interest". One order didn't happen, the other did, so I felt she was just trying to get me to give her an "economy discount" or something.

I DO give my "best customer" a standing 15% off. She's a friend of my family, and she's the reason I went into business to begin with. She ordered 2 cakes from me even though I wasn't in business! So, I made them & started pursuing the next week. She also refers new customers like a mad woman, so I keep her VERY happy. She orders at least one cake per month. yes, I love her. =)

My brother who is the kindest guy will do any thing for anyone and spend his last dime doing it. He is out of work right now and had a family move in with him because they are out of work so his money is really tight. Well it was one of there kids birthday and my brother cant stand to see this kid go without a birthday cake so he calls me and I tell
him I will do the cake for practice because I know this is all the kid is getting for his 16th birthday so I did convertible car he loved it and was so happy
so was my brother . Made me happy to do a free cake when it wasn't expected

dg, I am so sorry about your Brother. And, extremely sorry that this 16 yr old boy will only be getting a cake. 16 is very special.

I notice you live in MI and we have been hit hard here. I sell my cakes dirt cheap because people are having such a bad time of it. Usually I just give them away.

I can't stand watching the news anymore because another company is laying off.

The rest of the country is starting to feel what we've been going through the last 2 - 3 years.

Houses here have been on the market for as long as 5 yrs and not selling. We had ours on the market and not even a nibble so we are stuck here paying higher mortgage and lower income.

I know of people thinking of taking in borders just to keep from losing their homes. You can't even find a min wage job anymore.

We are an Auto state and when the Auto Companies are hurting it a ripple affect. Business our closing all over. Seems like everytime I go out there is another business gone under.

I'm concerned that one of the big three will go under, what a mess that would be.

Keep up the good work you will be rewarded just knowing you are helping someone.

Janette
Where in MI are you I live in Chesterfield. My husband worked for Ford and had to take an early retirement. Things are getting very bad here my daughter lost her home of 5 years because they could not sell it they had to let it go back to the bank. They are back on there feet now and are looking for a new home better financing this time fixed rate

i happily do cakes for family for free however my MIL if she requests a cake for an occassion etc she insists on paying so i give her a quote for materials only used in that cake.. and she knows i do this and insists on paying me more- especially if the sheriffs dept (my fil's job) is who the cake is for etc.. i haven't gotten any requests in a while though nor has the family been wanting cakes lol they've all just gotten over the cake thing. oh well.

my neighbor lady sells home interior- i'll do cakes for her when i can= she usualy tries to buy as many of the ingredients as she can then "pays me with candles" she's really good about giving me the equivalent value of candles for the cake- if she doesn't give me all the materials/ ingredients needed for the cake i dont mind i just add them and don't add the cost- i know she knows what goes in to it. we've helped each other with our kids growingup together etc.. i consider it a fair exchange, plus i get some nice smelling candles hehe

she used to offer me either cash payment or candles in exchange- i just told her i'd rather do the candles- i didn't feel right taking money from her.