I have a girl that wants a 3 tier cake for a baby shower. The sizes doesnt really matter she just wants 3 tiers. Let's say maybe size 6,8,10. With basic decorations, how do you begin to charge for a cake like this?

Size does matter as do the servings needed for all the guests. Most decorators charge a per slice price based on the design and icing type.

Well in this case size does matter. The first question to ask her is how many people she wants to serve and what her budget is?

There is a pricing matrix in the Cake Decorating Forum that will help you determine what your cost is to make the size cake you need.

You charge by the serving....so the 6, 8, 10 serves 74 according to the Wilton chart....74 X $x.xx = $xxx.xx

Per slice. So find out how many she needs to feed and then you may end up making her a mini cake (2-5-7) three tier cake which will feed 30 rather than the one you mentioned which will feed, I think, 75. You can find slice diagrams on Wilton.com to help you figure out the right size to make for the right number of guests. My cakes start out at $3 per slice for basic buttercream.

I wouldn't probably offer a three tiered cake for only 30 people. I offer a two tier, 9"/6" for 30 ppl....I suppose I could offer to top it off with a 3" if they really wanted to but generally I don't like to encourage all kinds of extra tiers because per serving, you are adding tiers for only a couple bucks more when you do that. I rarely do tiers smaller than 6"...only once in a while.

Just thoughts....

I price by the slice too. And for 30 you could do a 6,9 or 7,10 ( generous)