I have a friend who wants 150 cupcakes for a party. She wants me to buy a tower and rent it to her. I found one that I would love to have as my own and it costs $225.00. I have no idea if I will ever use it again, therefore, that is a big cost. How do I charge for rental? If I only charge her a small percentage of my cost and don't use it again, i am out a lot of money. Help!!!

Can you purchase something a bit cheaper since you don't know if you'll use it again? If you dont want to do that then you may have to suck up most of the cost. I usually charge a deposit fee of what it wold cost to replace the item then a rental fee of $50 that I keep.

HTH

Have you looked at the Penguin tower? We don't own one but I've heard good things about it, the big one is $65.

http://www.penguincupcaketowers.com/Emperor.html

Ask the bride to buy it if she wants it so bad. I just purchase "The Cupcake Tower" it's beautiful I bought it just because the popularity of cupcakes at weddings seem to be growing I have one wedding now that wants to rent it. Im charging 125.00 (the approximate cost) and giving 100.00 back when it is returned.
You can sell it on ebay, if you want some $ from it. I'll probably end up with it

When I rent things it's 1/3 the cost. It's paid for within three rentals. The refundable deposit is my cost to REPLACE (not necessarily what I paid for it - including shipping and tax).

I make my towers. Can you show us a picture of a $225 cc tower? That just seems unreal to me.

Check out www.CupcakeTree.com
(Mod edited to provide working link.)

The towers are heavy duty cardboard but very sturdy. They can be spray painted or covered with paper. Economical--about $35.00 for the original cupcake tree (or $25.00 each if you purchase 3).

LOVE THEM!

How wild .. I have the same thing going on .. A gal wants 150 c-cakes .. I went on ebay and found a few that I might buy (Clear).. 2 towers that hold 50 each with shipping 78.00 .. I even saw a few cake stands that I might get also .. The wedding is in November .. I have time to check out more places ..

The price is always super good but it's dog-gone shipping that get's a person ..

I like jason_kraft idea on those stands they look like a good deal and plus they hold a lot of c-cakes ..Thanks for sharing that website ..

Perhaps there is a local business that can rent one to her?

thanks all. She decided to get it herself. I was relieved!

My cupcake tower was $375. It is a custom made wood 2 peice tower. The top peice is the 3 smallest tiers (for small events). For large events the two pieces attach. The largest tier is on a lazy susan so the entire tower spins allowing for easy access to the cupcakes in the back.

I can fit 18 dozen cupcakes plus a 6" cutting cake on an 8" board or an 8" cutting cake on an 8" board.

Where did you buy it?

Penguin Tower looks great! I think I may just have to get one! (or two) lol

After researching towers, I bought the Penguin Tower a year ago and have all fantastic things to say about the product!

It's corrugated white plastic and stands up to my assembling, unassembling, changing the sizes, etc. with no signs of wear. You can attach ribbon around the edges with either double sided tape or strips of "Glue Dots".

I charge $80 up front for the deposit, and if it's returned to me undamaged within 7 days, the client receives $60 back leaving only a $20 rental fee for them. I've used it 5-6 times in one year and it's more than paid for itself. The best part is that it's so lightweight. I assemble it at home, and carry it into the venue that way in one hand.

I heart Penguin!

well i am not really sure how much space you need for that many cupcakes but i have to say that just last weekend i bougth a cake/cup cake stand at michaels from wilton and i was going to use a 40% off coupon with it wich would it make it $60.00 but the cashier, such sweet girl used my 50% off coupon that i had for another item and it turned out to be $50.00 at the end the stand holds up 6 tiers starting with an 8" and the bottom hold a 16" cake may be you can figure out if that would be enogh for you and if it is go head and get it because in my opinion it was a steal. good luck and i hope you find what you need at a good price

I just bought one recently. Its a Wilton 6 tier. I bought it from Jo-anns with a 50% off coupon. Michaels carries them too and has good coupons. They are normally $99. I have used it twice already, and will again in 2 weeks.

http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=6E0FE6D2-1E0B-C910-EA49669D12D34C75&killnav=1