I have sold baked good in the past but I am having a hard time knowing what to charge for decorated cookies. In the past, I mainly sold chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal explosion....generally drop cookies. I delivered my first order of dec cookies yesterday and they were at $1.00/per cookie. This was for an organization I am close to so I didn't want to overcharge. I have another order for a dec flower cookie and I told her $1.25/cookie. I wouldn't change the price at this point because that would be bad business...but I'm curious to know what's the going price for most dec cookies?

Please help because I don't want to overcharge, but I want the price to cover expense and some time.

Well most cookie and cake decoraters here charge anywhere from $2-$5.00 a cookie..This usually comes wrapped in a cellophane bag with ribbon.If the cookies are not wrapped I would still charge about $2-3.00..They are very time consuming to do...most people don't understand the time involved thus the cost.If it takes me nearly 4 hours to bake,freeze(Not all in one day) decorate ...leave overnight to dry...then package and ties ribbons..You can bet I'm not gonna make $2.00 an hour to do them...JMO

Thank you, KiddieKakes. I see what you are saying . I now have a framework of what to charge for the cookies. I wasn't factoring in packaging and all that good stuff.

Thanks again for your help!

I've made decorated cookies and I love making them although, I've never sold one...since this is my hobby I give them all away, and people do love them. But let me tell you...they are soooooo much time consuming!!!!!! it's, at least, a 3 day proyect to make 20-30 cookies for me.
So, if you're selling them I'd follow the advice of the experts here...and BTW $1.00 a cookies really is a give away.
Good luck!

My decorated cookies start at $2/cookie. I think the general rule of thumb on here is to charge $1 per inch of cookie.

You are really giving them awesome deals! Make sure you charge enough to cover your time otherwise you will get burned out real fast!

Happy decorating

The $1 per inch is a good starting point for pricing cookies. If it's a simple cookie design, I would probably charge less. If it's complicated or has lots of colors, I would charge more. You also have to charge an additional fee for the packaging. Decorated cookies are individual works of art that take a lot of time and patience to produce. Many people don't realize this, and will be shocked at the prices. So be it. As sambugjoebear stated, if you undercharge you'll just get burned out and start to hate getting orders!

Thanks every one soooo much. I'll know for future orders what to charge.

You ladies have been very helpful

Yes - there was another thread on here recently that said simple cookies start at .75 an inch and then depending on how many colors and how detailed, that it would go up to 1.00/inch and so on. I don't remember what the final amount was but it was for six colors or something. =o) Maybe someone can link you to that thread.

How much do you charge for fondant covered cookies as opposed to royal icing?

That is a good question, Spymale. I just started selling dec cookies but I'd like to know in case I try making them with fondant in the future.[/quote]

I'm just kind of starting too, and what I thing I'm going to do is this:

$2.50 for standard 3"-5" RI cookies, then have this disclaimer

"Cookies under 2" or over 5", those with more than 5 colors of icing, those with very simple or highly detailed designs will be priced on an individual basis."

That way I can cover my bases if someone says "well you say they're $2.50, why are you charging me $4 for a 6 inch cow? Or a 8 color clown?"

I am also selling them for $1 each right now to family but when I am licensed and open to the public I will do the above pricing. I just hope my little town will pay those prices.

Thanks, HeidiCrumbs...that sounds like a good idea...and fair. I also live in small town so I have to be careful not to scare people away with high prices. My town in not the chic-est place in the world.

For medium (3") cookies covered in a single color/cut of fondant, I charge $1.75-$2. If I do any shaping, painting, piecing different colors together, or shading with color dusts, I go up from there. From my experience, I have to individually package them, they don't stack like RI covered cookies do, so factor that in too. I heat seal mine in cello bags for three reasons: 1) it look more professional, 2) they stay fresher longer, and 3) it's cheaper than tying each back with a tie or ribbon. For 3" cookies, you can wrap 2-3 cookies per treat bag by heat sealing. It also gives you a smoother surface to affix a label. Best cookie trick I ever had shared with me? Buy a cheap, narrow flat iron to seal your bags with.