I have YET to receive my plates from a June 26th wedding & I have yet to receive my plates & pillars back from an August 7th wedding. I'm not too worried about the June 26th one since it was only one "plate" and I doubt I'll ever use it again but the August one was 3 plates & most of my crystal pillars. I haven't heard a WORD from them yet even after emailing them and politely asking them. I'm not sure what to do... I have it in my contract but I'm not a legal business so I really hate to "threaten" them with anything but I still really want my stuff back. This is why I am finished making cakes for other people. I have lost so many things from borrowing them out to people.
When my customer pays for the cake, they also pay a depost down on the items that need to be returned. I call this the stand deposit. They receive a full refund of the stand deposit if all the items are returned, on time, and clean. I make the deposit large enough that it is fully worth their time to get it all back to me on time.
Since I've been collecting stand deposit for years.... I guess I can't be of much help to you. Hope you get it all back.
I'd either charge a deposit amount, or figure the cost of replacement into the cake price.
Chances are if they haven't replied and the cakes were from 3 months ago, the pieces you are missing are probably ended up in the trash or lost. 
That's why you don't offer anything that has to be returned in the first place. They can rent their own stands from a party supply or rentalplace, or you can move to SPS and work it into the cost of the cake. I don't have the patience to keep track of stupid pillars and crap like that.
I made my friend rent the fountain, plates and pillars so that she was responsible for returning them to the cake shop. I to had this problem years ago. A lady I worked with wanted a two tier cake for her grand daughter. I never saw my plates or pillars again.
im a hobby baker and i made my friends 21st cake as her gift, put it on my ONE AND ONLY cake stand, and have never seen it again. I did ask her for it back, she apparently thought it was the restaurants, even thought i had specifically said it was mine and that i would pick it up later on in the week. I even asked a friend to remind her after i left because I had to leave the party early.. was not happy!
NO MORE CAKE FOR YOU!
getting sick of being taken advantage of. I make cake for friends as birthday gifts, but lately i think im being taken for a ride from alot of them. so, im following the advice of so many ccer's .. NO MORE CAKE FOR THEM! lol
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