We all know that there are a lot of questions concerning how to price cakes, whether or not someone charged too much or too little for a cake and so on. I have a pricing question that addresses more than the simple answer of yes or no.

When someone asks "did I charge too much for this cake" most always the answer is "no". This is answered a lot of times without even seeing the cake that was actually made by the op asking the question.

In my opinion the quality of work is a very important factor that isn't being addressed when these questions are being answered. Many times if a photo of the cake is posted it isn't the cake that the person actually made themselves but instead is a photo of the cake that they've been ask to duplicate.

I remember a thread a few months ago that was about the customer being upset about the price of the cake. When a photo of the actual cake WAS posted it was clear as to why they were upset. Just because you make a cake to feed 50 and the "going price" in your area is $4.00 a serving doesn't necessarily mean that you made a $200.00 cake.

Am I wrong for looking at it this way? I just think that factoring in the "quality of work" isn't a bad idea. Anyone with me on this or am I wrong?

You are quite correct. Charm city and Carlos bakery whom are viewed as being tops in the business have a booking minimum that is higher than I paid for my first car...*LOL* Your finished product inside to out determines your price range.

I agree. As a newbie it makes it even more confusing when trying to figure out my pricing and the answer I see over and over is "no" or"you didn't charge enough." It doesn't seem so cut and dry to me. For example I charged x amount for a full sheet cake. It was my first order, I didn't having pricing figured out and felt I shouldn't be charging y amount when I am just starting out. From everything I read over and over I charged way too little. I was delightfully surprised to receive a "tip" when I delivered the cake after they saw the work I did. That's what I would like to base my prices on, what people feel my work is worth.
To make things interesting here is a cake I am trying to figure out a price for. It is my work done on a dummy for a display at a Breast Cancer fundraiser. I hadn't figured out a price until I dropped it off and then received calls after I got home from people wanting to order one and know how much it would cost. It's all fondant with 31 roses and RI "lace."
Please judge on talent and not on the "going rate."
Alright I can't get it to attach but it is in my pics.

I understand your point, but "quality of work" is subjective. Some people look at a cake...even one that isn't perfect...realize they could never do it themselves, and are more than willing to pay $3-4/slice. Even if a professional can see the flaws, many times non-professionals can't.

Also, we're often our own worst critic, so at what point do we look beyond the flaws and believe our quality of work is on par with the big guys?

And....some cakes turn out better than others, even for the "superstar" decorators. Should you charge less for the ones that don't turn out as well, and charge more for the ones that turn out exceptionally well?

That being said, you DO have to have better than average decorating and baking skills in order to stay in business. If you consistently deliver cake wrecks and charge $4/slice, you won't be in business for long. But, in my area, if you're NOT charging at least $3.50/slice, you might as well close up shop anyway because you aren't making any money!

I can understand if u as a skilled baker are looking at just your flaws on the cake and thinking ( I should charge less... ) as stated before... we are very meticulous about our work... we want perfection at all times... and while a slip of the hand while painting fondant or a glued together gumpaste figure might make us doubt if it's worth what we quoted or not.... those things are still within the scope of the quote you give ( in my opinion )
I believe that if you as a baker make a cake that it's so bad that it's not worth what you quote... then you need to get re-trained or a new career.... I don't think that a skilled baker/cakester can make such a huge mistake that it would merit you having to lower your quote...

personally, i think that if your are in business and dont know how much to charge for your product.. your in a spot of bother. im a hooby baker.. someday.. when i have VASTLY improved on my skills, id like to have a business, and ill be looking to make a profit.. so one of the first things ill be doing is figuring out prices..

cost of ingredients + how much you would like to be payed per hour + plus % of overheads = cost of cake.

When people post those types of questions on here and don't put a picture up, they probably know that the cake wasn't that good. They're not looking for real feedback, they want hand-holding and people to tell them that they're right and the customer was wrong. As soon as someone posts any kind of constructive criticism they get jumped on for being "mean." I think that most of the people who would be willing to post honest responses have figured out that people aren't looking for that, so they don't bother to.

[quote="noahsmummy"].. someday.. when i have VASTLY improved on my skills, id like to have a business, and ill be looking to make a profit.. so one of the first things ill be doing is figuring out prices..


Whatever Your cakes are awesome! You do beautiful work my dear.

haha thankyou. but i still think i need alot of improvement before i sell my work. =)

maybe one day ill be able to make cakes like yours.. maybe. haha

mamawrobin I completely agree with you!!! When I first started selling cakes 2 yrs ago I found out what the going rate was and then charged a little less, as my technique improved, my price got higher.

The ONLY other bakery that sells wedding/tiered/fondant cakes around here charges the same she did 2 years ago $1.50/serv. I now charge $2.50 but I've surpassed her in technique...she ONLY uses wilton fondant, her bc isn't smooth, she doesn't deliver outside of town, and she doesn't allow cake tastings (???) I still get a TON of business even being that much more than her because I'm more accomodating, my work is cleaner, and the cakes/fondant taste better.

I think if your work is equivalent to the other bakeries THEN you can charge what they do!

In my case, I HAD to raise prices because I couldn't even MAKE the cake for $1.50/serv. much less make a profit!

I made a cake this past weekend for my cousins little girl's birthday it was a free cake as my cousin has really helped me tremendously so I didnt charge for the cake. So she asked what would I charge for a cake like that I said $200, the cake was a 12", 9" and 4", around here the going price is between $2-3.50- per serving and to me I didnt think the cake was all that great but the little girl loved it and my cousin said when she was bringing the cake in that her sister said I know you didnt buy that child a $300 cake. I'm like wow $300.00. So then she posted the picture of the cake on facebook and I have gotten cake orders from that. She said people were asking her did you get one of those TV cake people to make the cake. And from looking at all the AWSOME work on this board and the breath taking cakes, when she told me that I'm like you're kidding me. But like another poster said we are our own worst critics. But it's good to know someone would have possibly paid $300 for it. But I think when you look at other peoples work that is just fabulous, you think oh if I could only get half that good. But then people who are not decorators just have a fit over what you felt like was just OK. I wouldn't even post the picture on here because I just didnt think it was all that!!!!!

Devil's advocate thinking:

What about cakes that look great......but the customer is dissatisfied with the taste? (Because of either a faulty recipe or a bad baking day) You need decorating skills AND baking skills to produce a great cake. Both the appearance and the taste are subjective. Should a less-tasty cake cost less? Do you charge less, or give refund if they don't like the taste? How would this factor into the logic here?

Many have heard criticism of one popular TV baker: "It looked beautiful, but it didn't taste good."

(I don't sell cakes.)

i hear that alot too; im a hobby baker and when i make cakes people are always shocked that they taste good! because "pretty cakes never taste as good as they look". one thing i do know is that i make a mean chocolate cake....

I agree with you Mamarobin and I do not believe quality of work is subjective. We all know what a well decorated cake looks like as opposed to one that isn't. It's why I always have a problem on here when people say they got asked for a refund and should they give one, then show the picture of what was requested and a picture of what was made and they are night and day. And what happens? Instead of people being honest, they tell the OP "It's not so bad". It's either bad or not and I would be pissed as a customer to pay $300 for a cake that looks like crap. People need to be more honest on here with people who sell cakes. Have some integrity for your craft and respect for the customer and quit doing all this hand holding.

Maybe we, as a community, are trying too hard not to offend that we aren't helping each other.

I really don't have enough experience to critic someone's work but if I posted a picture and asked for comments I would expect real, helpful comments - not fluffy words to make me feel better. However, I would appreciate that comments be restricted to helpful ideas not nasty remarks. Something like "what if you tried......" or "I do something similar but I do it this way...." or even "Now, Deah, that doesn't appear to be your best effort...."


PS - IndyDeb, your picture makes me feel better. Some days I feel so inferior in my skills but you shared that even a pro like you can have bad cake days.

I just sent my family pictures of a recent practice cake (not because it was good but because they like to see them regardless), and Dad's comment was: "Very pretty, but do they have to taste good too?"

My reply was: Of course they do! What is the point of going through all that work if they don't taste good?

The fun part for me is making them "Pretty" but I would be more crushed if I found out that no one ate it b/c it tasted bad than if they thought it was ugly.

I agree that pricing is almost never comparable unless you are comparing with your neighbor that has the exact same skills, same town, same customer base, same everything!!!!

Pricing TOTALLY changes depending on skills....taste....demand (no matter what they look or taste like, if alot of people want your cakes, you can charge more than if you have absolutely no client base)...cost of living in your area....etc.

I think deah's onto something. My biggest frustration on this site is the false encouragement. The "puppies and rainbows" effect. There's encouraging and there's lying to make someone feel better.

There have been a few posts, with pictures, of cakes that should never have left the poster's kitchen. And yet, the responses are full of, "You're your own worst critic", "the cake was fine" etc, and those few that offered gentle and constructive criticism were labeled "mean."

Really, sometimes we should just step back and say, "Girrrrll (Dude!), what were you thinking?"

"The worst thing about being lied to is knowing you are not worth the truth"


This is something my dear sweet little grandmother use to say all the time when I was growing up. Not sure where she heard it from or if it was her own saying, but it packs a powerful punch!

I totally agree...we can give constructive criticism in a nice way.... we don't have to lie...we can say "You did a great job with your colors on your cake! You might just want to practice getting your buttercream more smooth and your surface more even. I would charge around $xx for that particular cake."

Sometimes I think people are afraid to say something negative for fear it will be taken wrong...because there is that small handful that actually will say it with a mean spirit and that's not good either.

I know what you mean by 'puppies and rainbows'. Often I'll see a cake and notice that something could have been done to improve it, but I don't really want to say anything because who the hell am I to comment because while I'm not the worst, I certainly don't feel I"m the best to comment on someone else's work who is learning just like I am. I've never been to classes and am doing this for fun and a little money here and there, so I KNOW there's room for improvement for me! Which is why I just feel it's not my place to comment critically on others work. Not yet anyway. So I tend to Puppy and Rainbow it.

I think it depends on what is being asked...if they are like "Look at my cake, I'm so excited!!!!" Then we say "Great job!"

But if they say "I am not too happy with my cake, could you tell me what I should have done differently?" Then its wide open for honesty. Or, "What should I charge for this cake that I just made" or "I'm so upset with this cake"....any of those are options for us to give helpful and kind criticism.

But if they don't ask...then no need for us to say anything negative.