Hello all!

I really haven't charged for any cakes I have made, and have only done a handful (less than 10). Mainly for my Daughter's birthday and a couple others here and there.

I'm now considering doing them to sell, because I have had a lot of people ask me about it.

While people are interested, I really don't think they want to spend the money so I'm not sure it's worth it.

I just did my daughter's b-day cake - a dream lite cake this year. I got REALLY tired toward the end and the wings came out kinda icky - but - other than that it looked ok I thought. The cake consisted of 2 half sheets plus a bit more, then carved.

Anyhow - materials alone were probably around $40 - so I just don't know what the going rate for this cake might have been.

for those in the business, can you give me some feedback? the pics are in my profile - please let me know what you think is a fair price for this - and assuming this was done as an 'order' and not for my daughter - i.e., if I had better lettering, and a more finished look for example.

Thank you in advance!

Tina

i cant get the photo to post

figured it out - I think it was because I was using Firefox - i was having all kinds of issues.  switched to explorer and no problem.   Anyone have any thougts?

APricing will vary depending on where you are located and who you are targeting. Generally you'll want to add up your ingredient costs, labor costs, and overhead costs on a per-order basis (including license fees and insurance), then add markup for profit consistent with market values in your area.

High quality 3-D cakes will often start in the $200-250 range, regardless of number of servings.

thank you very much for your input!      It's tough to 'rate' your own quality of work.  I think that's what is so hard.  with a typical cake - one that is not 3D or highly involved - it might be easier to rate price by servings - as you suggest

but all things being equal, number of servings, cost of materials, overhead, etc.  Some 3D cakes will be worth more because they are higher quality.  trying to put a price tag on your own work is rough because you don't know how much your work is worth - I'm just at a loss.  I had someone tell me that $300 minimum would be fair for the cake - but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around that - that someone would actually PAY that.   considering the labor and materials involved, 300 seems pretty fair.  but since I'm not perfect, should I consider less?

it's so hard.  a matrix I don't think would help in this case.  All things being equal, one cake may look GREAT, and another so-so, and another bad.   At a loss.

thank you for your help!

You have to consider your ability, what people will pay for comparable cakes in your city, (all cities are different), and what your time is worth to you.  I usually offer the price I expect for a cake, no matter what, and then offer a different style of cake in case they need to "trim" their budget.  It's their choice... pay for it, or get something different.  (Some say 3x materials is a good starting price...  But consider HOURS spent, too!)

ok  ty...    this was for my daughter and i was strapped for time.   the wings and cake board/writing were my weak points.   I think anyhow.  on a scale of 1 to 10, what kind of rating do you think?  this will help me figure where i stand for pricing purposes.    if the wings were better, and board/writing nicer too..