Is My Price Too Low?

Decorating By Angelfire3 Updated 22 May 2011 , 7:39am by sweettreat101

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Angelfire3 Posted 2 May 2011 , 2:49am
post #1 of 10

Greetings All,

A friend/neighbor of mines has asked me to make his wife a shoe box cake exactly like the one I made a few weeks ago http://media.cakecentral.com/gallery/644985/normal_1301891417.JPG.

Unfortunately, I only charged my friend from high school $125 for it the 1st time, but I quickly realized that my price was entirely TOO low. So, I told myself that if anyone wants the same cake, I'm charging way more. So now I have to make it again (shoe & all).

I'm thinking about charging him between $190-$225. His budget is $300 and he wants me to charge him full price. Do you think I'm being greedy?

9 replies
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KalliCakes Posted 2 May 2011 , 3:11am
post #2 of 10

Ignoring the brand name issue (I'm assuming you got permission to sell something with their brand on it) - how many servings is that? I would take into account the size of the box - charge for that and then charge for the shoe. That shoe looks pretty detailed, charge $30-$60, depending on your market and then add the price of the cake itself. Only you know how much time and how much your ingredients are. Good luck!

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jason_kraft Posted 2 May 2011 , 3:28am
post #3 of 10

In addition to the cost of ingredients and labor (the amount of time it will take to make the cake * a reasonable hourly wage), you should also incorporate your overhead costs, such as license fees, liability insurance, marginal cost of utilities, etc. on a per-order basis.

We probably wouldn't make that specific cake due to copyright infringement concerns (unless Jimmy Choo grants permission) but we would charge in the $300-400 range for a quarter-sheet sized cake of that complexity including the shoe.

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cakeandpartygirl Posted 2 May 2011 , 3:49am
post #4 of 10

I couldn't tell on the picture but how large was the cake? How large does he want the cake that you are making for him?

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carmijok Posted 2 May 2011 , 4:10am
post #5 of 10

Your shoe is amazing and while your box is cute, I don't think it's in the same league as your shoe. Depending upon how detailed this next shoe is, I would keep the $125 price for your box and charge separate for your shoe. Perhaps $65, $95 or whatever time and materials you have in it. And because you are increasing the overall price I would put it on a thicker board and maybe put a ribbon around the base...or cover the board with fondant to dress it up a bit more. Don't just ask $300 because you know that's his budget...unless that's truly what you think it should be. Good luck! thumbs_up.gif

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Angelfire3 Posted 9 May 2011 , 4:19pm
post #6 of 10

Sorry for the delayed response CCers. I've been a busy-bee between church activities, motherhood, hubby's pending deployment and my brother's graduation cake. Anywhoo, Thank you everyone for responding & your tips. I really appreciate it. The cake is going to be 9x13x4. I charged $185 to cover supplies/materials, time etc. Again, this is just my hobby that I really do enjoy.

The only people that order my cakes are my friends, some family, my neighbors, and those I fellowship with. I will post pics of the cake on Friday. Trust me, it will be a lot better than the one I did before. I've had more time to make it plus, my client didn't call me a million times to change his design.

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believer Posted 9 May 2011 , 5:13pm
post #7 of 10

The shoe is very nice. Please give details how you made it. I see you are in Virginia - what part. I am in Lynchburg.

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Angelfire3 Posted 14 May 2011 , 6:27pm
post #8 of 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by believer

The shoe is very nice. Please give details how you made it. I see you are in Virginia - what part. I am in Lynchburg.




Hello Believer, Sorry for the delayed response. I wasn't notified of your reply. I live in Culpeper, VA. The shoe in the photo is an Ash Heidi Gladiator shoe. I printed off photos of the shoe from different angles and broke the shoe down in geometric shapes, then made templates of the shapes dimensions that I wanted (for accuracy and precision). I then built each shape individually and attached it with either water (on fresh/wet gum paste) or royal icing (on dried gum paste).

I created the sole and the heel the same as everyone else. I basically did this shoe in stages. To get the dark colors, I mixed gel icing colors with a clear spirit or extract and painted it on. Be warned, if you do paint your shoe, please allow at least 1-2 weeks for it to dry. If you have any more questions, please let me know.

UPDATE: The shoe box birthday cake I inquired about earlier was a success. Here is the finished product: http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2034097 All suggestions/critiques/advice is welcomed.

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rubycurls Posted 21 May 2011 , 6:06pm
post #9 of 10

Hi

I just wanted to say I think your new shoe box cake is lovely. Your detail is much cleaner than your first. It's so pretty. X

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sweettreat101 Posted 22 May 2011 , 7:39am
post #10 of 10

Great job. If it were me and I was going to post a pick I would leave off the designers name. You never know when someone is going to try to sue you for using their name without permission. It doesn't matter if we are just hobby bakers it's still not legal. Try putting the recipients name as the shoe design then you won't have any issues.

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