Ok, I would first like to say this is my first post on a forum, and hope it goes right.

I have been decorating cakes for over two years. My family and friends have seen me evolve with my baking and cake creations, and I am really proud to have come so far. I have sold several cakes, have taken Wilton Courses, private courses from Wilton Instructors, and my ultimate goal it to open up a shop, and make just great cakes. Now here is my frustration

One of my co-workers friend is asking whether I can recreate this cake
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetartcakes/3121173332/sizes/o/ and get this and she is "WILLING" to pay me $200 for it .

I almost fell on the floor. I can completely say there are sooooo many people here and to look at the creations they come up with, leave me breathless, because of the details they put in, carving skills and freehand, I can keep going and going. I haven't reached that point but I have come far, and it just seemed so rude to think that I would even be willing to do a cake such as that one for so cheap. In the end, I said no, I value my work and she can check other bakeries in NY/NJ and see what she can get for $200. Thanks for listening to me rant...my husband keeps telling me to just forget it, but I feel a little better putting this out here, because I know many of you will truely understand my frustration

The cake is lovely. I would have told her to shove her lousy $200 somewhere.

Hee hee...yeah. People are clueless, and think that by being "willing to pay you $XXX" is somehow doing you a favor. No thank you, it is not sufficient enough for that elaborate and time consuming of a design would probably do the trick. But yep, shove that $200 offer would be what I was thinking, for sure!

Eactly. Why should I let you do me a favor for $200 greens when I can get more than a thousand elsewhere......

this is why I love this place . I told my coworker there is no place in hell where she is going to find a cake like that for $200 in NY/NJ, but if she does let me know where!

I just felt put down, as if my work wouldn't be worth more than $200, I think that got to me more than her crazy price

Bwah, ha, ha, ha! (Excuse the momentary lack of decorum). I am sorry, but that is hilarious. I am a cookier, not a caker, but $200... bwah, ha, ha, ha! (uh, oh - there I go again!)

You should have told her sure...for $200, you can have the top layer, for $200 more, the second, and so on. She'd get the message!

I laughed out loud!!!

I just saved that pic on my computer, I think it is beautiful.

Possibly they didn't mean to insult you and that person is just ignorant about what a cake like that costs. However, the thing to do is ask what you charge not "make you an offer". Of course, generally the problem is that when someone is not informed they are the last to know.

Let it go, unfortunately, this is not the last time you will hear it.

I can almost guarantee you that she has gone to other bakeries/cake studios and discovered how much this cake would really cost her and figured she could con you into doing it for $200 because you don't have a store front. You did the right thing!!!

Good grief the ingredients for that is probably 200. Come on now !!!!!

what did she say when you told her no?

The crazy thing is when I seen the picture, I fell in love with it, it is a beautiful cake. I wanted to tackle it head on, but when she gave the price, all I could say was WTH?

This will be one of many crazy experiences, but still frustrating.

Whoever offered $$ to do this cake is not in touch with the reality of cake decorating. I would do one dozen of my cupcakes for that design. Then they would only get one pillow.

to answer your question moralna- she said that 200 was a reasonable price for just pillows....lol! thats when said well you may be right when its one pillow and I would throw in a butterfly for free.

$200 is a reasonable 10% deposit perhaps?

actually, i wouldn't be offended by someone asking me if i could make that, since she must think you're good enough to pull off such an obviously elaborate design.

as for the price, maybe she was thinking $200 WAS generous. we have people who have been on this board for years and still ask questions about how much they should charge or undercharge, and they're actually in the business...we can not expect cake muggles to know what our work is worth...we are there to educate them, and then take their next order if they want.

i've been married now for 7 years, and was a cake muggle myself until about 4 years ago...i can very distinctly remember the moment that someone informed me that cakes are priced per slice...i about fell out of my chair!!!!!!! now i eat, sleep and breath sugar, as do most of us, but it would benefit all of us to keep in mind the times before you lived this sugar life...it will only help you in the long run with your customer service.

trust me...if someone would have scorned me or ridiculed my lack of knowledge at that time, i would have not forgotten the name of that business!!!!!!!

If you really think you are ready to tackle this and you want to, why don't you tell her you will do a 2 or 3 layer cake for her 200. Assure her that since you have not done this is will be a learning project and you are doing it for a greatly reduced price and it may not be an exact replica. I have done free cakes for practise, it is really up to you.

I read your post, then clicked to see the picture, then promptly bust out laughing. I don't even know what to say about that price, BUT I am glad that you know thats too much work for that low price.

WHAT!!!

is she for real! there's no way i would do that for $200. oh...no, yes i would. i would bake the cakes for $200.00!!!

I would say "sure, but it would only be 8 inches tall for the whole thing, a miniature".. how clueless.

Either she doesn't have a clue and thinks $200 is extremely generous for the cake or she's already shopped around and thinks your daft enough to take her up on the offer.

That's one gorgeous cake....

oh wow, that cake is gorgeous!

i am soooo new to all this cake business, but have finally gotton to the point of charging around 100 here lately. the more i do the more i realise it is not worth my time and effort to charge any less than that and i am DEF not starving for customers.

honeslty though, i would have done it for 200 ...and later on my hubby would have gotton really pissed at me for taking on such a ckae for such a small profit, lol he keeps me in check with the pricing.

the pillow cake i did, i ended up charging her 75, she paid 80. i told her something like that i wouldn'g gp under 100 but i knew she was on a budget and really wanted to try it instead of compromise so i said 75 and we'll call it a first timer's discount since i told her i had enver done a pillow cake before. she was overjoyed and absolutely loved the cake. of course i was kidna regretting charging her so little after i had to start over twice, lol. but none of that was her fault. the first time i was carving away and realised the cake was probably going to end up smaller than i thought so i started over and dropped the next one on the floor veeeery frustrating.

and anotehr thing, when my customers bring me a pic of that showmanship i remind them that cake was made by an award winning professional and my version will not be an exact copy of ti, as so my price is not going to be in the thousands of dollars either so take it or leave it.

$200? Top 2 tiers and one butterfly! ( no creases either)

i'm curious to hear the follow up

She's just the type of person who doesn't really know anything about cake decorating.

Well, $200 is a lot to pay! Not for cakers, of course, who realise how much time, work and effort goes into these creations. But for muggles whose main contact with the cake world is the Walmart bakery, $200 could come as quite a shock!

Haven't you ever called around for some gadget or gizmo that you have no experience of and wondered if they would quote you $4, $40 or $400?

...All this is qualified by saying that if she has indeed called around and has come back to you as a cheapie option, then you are right to point and stare and ridicule her.

Good answer Nyree!!!

I would tell her the top 2 layers would be $200, and then give her an idea of how much the whole thing would cost in the real world! (And I don't even do this professionally)

GOOD for you for knowing not to take that for such a large amount of work.