What Should I Charge For A Cake Like This?

Business By ckpeaches Updated 19 Dec 2013 , 4:50am by enga

ckpeaches Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
ckpeaches Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 2:54pm
post #1 of 40

*

39 replies
AnnieCahill Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
AnnieCahill Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 3:45pm
post #2 of 40

You need to figure out what it costs you to make first, then add in everything else like power, water, supplies, time.  No one can tell you how to price your cakes.  It's an individual thing.

howsweet Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
howsweet Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 4:55pm
post #3 of 40

ADidn't you leave out something important?

AnnieCahill Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
AnnieCahill Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 5:06pm
post #4 of 40

I don't know, did I?  I'm trying to do 700 things at once here this morning haha.  I was just rattling off whatever. 

howsweet Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
howsweet Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 5:49pm
post #5 of 40

It's me, I'm like a junkyard dog with a bone on this subject. The most important part of pricing is finding out what cakes go for. In Jason's post below, it's the ONLY thing used to set price. Yes, one needs to know one's costs, but your individual costs don't directly set prices.

 

This is one of Jason's, posts:

Quote:
 

Your profit margin is determined by market value both on the demand side (what the customer is willing to pay for your product) and the supply side (what competitors are charging). To figure out your hourly wage, you can look at cost of living and salary surveys to see what market wages are, but the market value of your product factors in here as well, as does your efficiency.

For example, let's say a cake has $50 in ingredient costs, $30 in allocated overhead, and will take 8 hours start to finish of hands-on time. Salary surveys indicate that cake decorators average around $15/hour, so a starting point for your cost could be $50 + $30 + ($15 * eight) = $200.

Now you factor in market research and see that your competitors sell a similar cake of equivalent quality for $250, so you can add another $50 to match that price and end up with a healthy 25% markup for profit (15-45% tends to be the norm).

If your market research tells you that a similar cake sells for $200, you may be able to adjust your wage downward slightly to $12, leading to a cost of $50 + $30 + ($12 * eight) = $176. To match that $200 price your markup would be 14%, which is on the low side.

However, as your skills improve you may get more efficient over time, so the same cake six months from now might take you 6 hours instead of 8, resulting a new cost of $50 + $30 + ($12 * 6) = $152, and a new markup of 31% to hit the $200 price point. Alternatively you could bump your wage up to $15, so the cost would be $170 with an 18% markup. Your markup will also increase over time as you start filling more orders, since the allocated overhead for each order drops if there are more orders to carry the weight of your total overhead.

If market research tells you that this cake is typically sold for $100 in your area, it's time to shift to a new market, a new product, or both. Or just keep cake decorating as a hobby.

howsweet Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
howsweet Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 5:52pm
post #6 of 40

There are pitfalls:

One is you can't use "cheap cake ladies" to determine market prices. 

 

We have to honestly and brutally face the facts. I have seen posters on this board who are charging way under, who are at the same time thinking that they charge as much as the market will bear in their area.  Many of us can't wrap our brain around just how high we should be charging because we couldn't even afford our own cakes if we charged that much. 

 

So in price comparing, it's probably safer to use a brick and mortar bakery's prices if you can find some doing comparable work. Keeping in mind, for example, they may not use real butter or expensive chocolate and you do. 

 

It's possible high end custom cakes are not a viable business in your town. Just like some towns don't have a Ferrari dealership.  If you regularly have to discount to sell your product, you're trying to sell it to the wrong type of customer.  

 

And once people start paying a lower price, it's tough to raise it back to the level you need to make a good profit.   It's possible for the market to be "ruined" in your area.  I know of at least one situation where this has happened. You don't want to be part of this sort of thing.

howsweet Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
howsweet Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 6:01pm
post #7 of 40

Peaches, no one can even start to to tell you what they would charge for that cake unless you tell them how many it's to serve. That looks like a wedding cake. I don't mean to sound harsh,but if you don't realize that size of the cake is necessary to quote it out, it might be worth considering that it could be too soon to start taking on the responsibility of doing someone's wedding.

Godot Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Godot Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 6:11pm
post #8 of 40

AThe cake looks large when you see it in relation to all those flowers. It is, unfortunately, not very cleanly executed. You can see cake through the swirls, and the whole thing looks thrown together. Please tell me you didn't stick those flower stems directly into the cake!

shanter Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
shanter Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 6:40pm
post #9 of 40

I'm hoping they are artificial flowers if people are to eat the cake.

Godot Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Godot Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 6:50pm
post #10 of 40

AHmmm, on second thought they look like fake flowers. I still hope the stems aren't stuck right into the cake!

AnnieCahill Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
AnnieCahill Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 7:08pm
post #11 of 40

What I suggested was a base for how to figure your costs.  I would assume that anyone who is selling surely knows their market and knows how to price competitively. 

 

Wait...what did I just say?

jason_kraft Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
jason_kraft Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 7:26pm
post #12 of 40

A

Original message sent by howsweet

It's me, I'm like a junkyard dog with a bone on this subject. The most important part of pricing is finding out what cakes go for. [B]In Jason's post below, it's the ONLY thing used to set price.[/B] Yes, one needs to know one's costs, but [B]your individual costs don't directly set prices.[/B]

In the pricing method I posted, you are correct that individual costs are not used to directly set specific prices, but they have the just as important task of determining whether or not it is worth setting prices at all for a certain product and target market. For example, the last paragraph of my post tells you that if market value is below $X (where X is your cost at a certain minimum wage level) then the product is not worth your time to sell, if you don't know the value of X then the method does not work.

jason_kraft Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
jason_kraft Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 7:28pm
post #13 of 40

A

Original message sent by howsweet

One is you can't use "cheap cake ladies" to determine market prices.

If your target market is full of "cheap cake ladies" who produce quality products, then you absolutely do need to use this information to determine market price, which (based on your costs) will probably result in you searching for a different market.

enga Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
enga Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 8:02pm
post #14 of 40

OP why are you doing this to yourself again?

 

http://cakecentral.com/t/763080/how-much-should-i-charge-for-a-cake-like-this-i-am-not-good-at-knowing-what-to-charge/60#post_7439448

 

I have been off this site for awhile and this argument still becomes a heated battle. Why? Why do you allow yourselves to become enthralled into this much debated question?

 

I think it's kind of sad in a way because it always ends up locked or completely deleted. So what is getting solved? Why don't you all come together with your creative minds and create a thread just for this specific question. HOW MUCH WOULD YOU CHARGE FOR THIS CAKE?

 

Well come on over here and let me tell you.......... That way you wont have to stop whatever you are doing to to help this poor soul that doesn't have a clue on how to price a cake. If it has already been done then maybe management need to make a bigger sign. These old bitter augments are becoming redundant on CC.

 

p.s here is something I saw online even though I don't do character cakes, I make up my own, it's called creativity. Not being snarky but why risk it.

 

 

Due to copyright laws, XXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXX, LLC is unable to make cakes using licensed characters (ie. Disney, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon..etc.) unless a copyright release has been received from the copyright owner. If you would really like to order a cake with licensed characters you have two options:

 

1) Contact the copyright owner to obtain a release for the one time use. Please note that this may take some time and may be very expensive.

 

2) Choose a cake design that reflects the theme of your event, purchase or use your own character figurines and place them on the cake after pick up/delivery,

 

When searching online for ideas for your cake, you may run across countless galleries from bakeries with beautiful licensed character cakes but unfortunately these cakes were either made with the copyright release which can run in the thousands of dollars, or without the copyright owners consent (illegally).

 

 

More Information Regarding Copyrighted Characters

 

The following was taken from Carolyn at mycakeclass.com:

 

Character Images

 

Specifically, creating any type of image that looks like a licensed character that then is sold for commercial purposes is prohibited unless there is a specific licensing agreement with the licensor for that product and royalties are paid each time the product is sold.

 

Additionally a customer cannot bring a character pan/mold they have bought or a toy topper for a cake to a decorator or store/shop, and ask them to make the cake/candy/cookie in exchange for money. This is considered the same thing as above, because money is exchanging hands without the licensor earning royalties.

 

Edible Images

A copyright protects an original work or creation and gives exclusive right to that work or creation to its author. Copyright law protects the author's/creator's work by prohibiting anyone else from using or profiting from that creation in any way without the owner's permission.

 

In reproducing copyrighted figures, it does not matter if the character is drawn by hand, added using an image projector, or put on a cake with a computer cake machine. If the item carries a © or ® or symbol, then it is protected. Although most copyright materials will contain either © or ® or , U.S. law does not require it.

 

Can it really hurt?

The answer is yes. Some copyright holders may be satisfied with a cease & desist order, others could choose to file a lawsuit. Ignorance of these laws will not dismiss the suit, or get you out of trouble with a cease & desist order. The court could find you guilty and award financial damages plus attorney fees. The copyright owner can collect damages without having to prove that your infringement actually cost them monetary harm. Fines can vary. Some may only ask for a low fine but some well known companies are very aggressive in going after anyone and be as high as they feel their image use is worth.

 

How will they know?

In actuality they may never know if I were to do a copyrighted image or character on a cake. Some companies though do have legal teams dedicated to searching out their images being used with out permission. There are some well known companies who do focus on the cake decorators industry. In turn let me ask, how do I know you are not part of one of those legal teams who are testing me to do your image? I pride myself in my work, and running my business in a legal fashion. If you are part of a legal team looking for me to break the law, please rest assured its not going to happen at this place of business.

 

 

 

kikiandkyle Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
kikiandkyle Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 8:38pm
post #15 of 40

AThere's no lesson in telling someone a number, they need to learn the method of doing it for themselves.

enga Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
enga Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 9:15pm
post #16 of 40

Oh and they will learn it if they keep posting that question. Or simply stop asking or even posting on this site unfortunately.

enga Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
enga Posted 16 Dec 2013 , 9:19pm
post #17 of 40
Quote:
Originally Posted by kikiandkyle 

There's no lesson in telling someone a number, they need to learn the method of doing it for themselves.


Well OP have you learned your lesson? You have my deepest apologies.

 

Good luck with pricing your cakes!

enga Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
howsweet Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
howsweet Posted 17 Dec 2013 , 11:57am
post #19 of 40

AEnthralled? I doubt most of us find this subject anything more than necessary. Maybe Jason finds it interesting, but nobody has any business telling another person what should or shouldn't be enthralling to them one way or the other. Anyway a big pita is how I would characterize the subject. And how nice for you that you are not the slightest bit affected by undercutting to the extent that you have to ask why anyone bothers with this issue.

enga Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
enga Posted 17 Dec 2013 , 8:34pm
post #20 of 40

Sorry OP for posting off topic.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by howsweet 

Enthralled? I doubt most of us find this subject anything more than necessary. Maybe Jason finds it interesting,but nobody has any business telling another person what should or shouldn't be enthralling to them one way or the other. I never told anyone what should be enthralling to them, I merely asked why. Maybe you should reread my comment.

 

Anyway a big pita is how I would characterize the subject. I guess you answered my question then.

 

And how nice for you that you are not the slightest bit affected by undercutting to the extent that you have to ask why anyone bothers with this issue. How would you know what effects me?   

 

If I were a Dr. and a new Dr. opened up a practice down the street. I have my practice and he has his.  We would not have the same patients nor would we offer the same exact services. People might like me for my relaxed bedside manner; others may like him because he has been their family Dr. for a long time. Now if he was outright soliciting my patients and slandering my business, then I would have a problem.

 

People have been selling cakes from their homes to make a living before many of us were even born. The government sees it as a taxable wage and has set forth rules and regulations to legally do it. Do you honestly believe that most of the people on this site are legally selling cakes? If they were then they would probably know how to price their products.

 

Don't get me wrong I am not saying all of the people asking the proverbial "how much for this cake" question are illegal. Maybe they live in a state where they can legally sell from their home and started taking orders from friends and family without really knowing how to price their cakes. IDK

 

Some of them are really talented,(judging from the pics on CC and other sites), that and the fact that they are underselling their cakes IS a threat to legally established bakeries. Why the nerve of them, making beautiful cakes and not pricing them according, undercutting and ruining the market lol.  Well guess what? You are doing nothing more than creating more competition and undercutting for your selves by not helping them. Because they are going to sell their cakes whether you help them or not, legally or illegally.

 

Good sound advice is what most of them are looking for, without harshness or judgment. I applaud them for having the courage to still ask the cake price question on this site as some of the answers are blatantly harsh. While the giving it to you straight approach might be perceived as constructive criticism by some, it may be taken a different a whole way by someone else.

 

Some might say I sugar coat my answers, that's cool. I think some members force the OP say, "thank you Mame may I have another" before they answer their questions. We all have or own opinions on how threads should be answered. We are all different.

 

Thank you CC for allowing me to voice mine.

 

howsweet Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
howsweet Posted 17 Dec 2013 , 9:52pm
post #21 of 40
Quote:

Originally Posted by enga 
 

 

OP why are you doing this to yourself again?

 

http://cakecentral.com/t/763080/how-much-should-i-charge-for-a-cake-like-this-i-am-not-good-at-knowing-what-to-charge/60#post_7439448

 

I have been off this site for awhile and this argument still becomes a heated battle. Why? Why do you allow yourselves to become enthralled into this much debated question?

 

I think it's kind of sad in a way because it always ends up locked or completely deleted. So what is getting solved? Why don't you all come together with your creative minds and create a thread just for this specific question. HOW MUCH WOULD YOU CHARGE FOR THIS CAKE?

 

Well come on over here and let me tell you.......... That way you wont have to stop whatever you are doing to to help this poor soul that doesn't have a clue on how to price a cake. If it has already been done then maybe management need to make a bigger sign. These old bitter augments are becoming redundant on CC.

 

p.s here is something I saw online even though I don't do character cakes, I make up my own, it's called creativity. Not being snarky but why risk it.

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by enga 
 

Sorry OP for posting off topic. Because that long thing you posted about copyright was on topic?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by howsweet 

Enthralled? I doubt most of us find this subject anything more than necessary. Maybe Jason finds it interesting,but nobody has any business telling another person what should or shouldn't be enthralling to them one way or the other. I never told anyone what should be enthralling to them, I merely asked why. Maybe you should reread my comment. Why to you allow yourselves to become so enthralled.  I didn't say you did - You did, however imply that people were definitely enthralled   You asked why, but why what? QUOTE: "I have been off this site for awhile and this argument still becomes a heated battle. Why? Why do you allow yourselves to become enthralled into this much debated question?"
 

 

Anyway a big pita is how I would characterize the subject. I guess you answered my question then. Your question was why are people so entralled -- I didn't answer it, I was was saying that you were wrong

 

And how nice for you that you are not the slightest bit affected by undercutting to the extent that you have to ask why anyone bothers with this issue. How would you know what effects me?   If you don't understand why people are so concerned about pricing, it's logical to assume that you don't think it affects you.

 

If I were a Dr. and a new Dr. opened up a practice down the street. I have my practice and he has his.  We would not have the same patients nor would we offer the same exact services. People might like me for my relaxed bedside manner; others may like him because he has been their family Dr. for a long time. Now if he was outright soliciting my patients and slandering my business, then I would have a problem. Is this a free trade argument? The reason your analogy doesn't apply is that the two doctors both compete on a level playing field. If one of the doctors starts selling his services for a third of what the other does, one doctor is going to have a real big problem with the other doctor. But that's not going to happen like it does with the ladies selling cakes.

 

Trade laws assume that people will act in their own best interest and charge as much as they can.But in many cases that's not what's happening -- there are LOTS of people selling cake well below market prices. Their cake businesses are usually spouse subsidized. They may not have bothered to find out what prices should be or even know what their costs are. Not having a spouse, the sole source of income for my household comes form my cake business, so I find it aggravating to compete with people who "play" at business. Even if I did, I wouldn't sell a cake for less than it's worth. It's not logical to do so, but it may be the easy thing to do. You don't have to find the right customer, do market research or work up the guts to price your product correctly. It apparently takes courage to ask for a fair price.

 

 

People have been selling cakes from their homes to make a living before many of us were even born. The government sees it as a taxable wage and has set forth rules and regulations to legally do it. Do you honestly believe that most of the people on this site are legally selling cakes? Probably, because there are there are cottage food laws in all but something like 7-8 states, according to this. If they were then they would probably know how to price their products.  No, they really, really don't. That you would say that clearly shows that you don't know what's going on. And judging from what you said, below, that may be at the crux of our disagreement.

 

Don't get me wrong I am not saying all of the people asking the proverbial "how much for this cake" question are illegal. Maybe they live in a state where they can legally sell from their home and started taking orders from friends and family without really knowing how to price their cakes. IDK Good, because it's now against the User Agreement to do so.

 

Some of them are really talented,(judging from the pics on CC and other sites), that and the fact that they are underselling their cakes IS a threat to legally established bakeries. Why the nerve of them, making beautiful cakes and not pricing them according, undercutting and ruining the market lol.  Well guess what? You are doing nothing more than creating more competition and undercutting for your selves by not helping them. Because they are going to sell their cakes whether you help them or not, legally or illegally.

I thought you started out asking why we were discussing it? I have worked rather hard to try and educate people about underpricing. Ask anyone. They are sick of me bringing it up.

Good sound advice is what most of them are looking for, without harshness or judgment. I applaud them for having the courage to still ask the cake price question on this site as some of the answers are blatantly harsh. While the giving it to you straight approach might be perceived as constructive criticism by some, it may be taken a different a whole way by someone else. 

Some might say I sugar coat my answers, that's cool. I think some members force the OP say, "thank you Mame may I have another" before they answer their questions. We all have or own opinions on how threads should be answered. We are all different. That's a good point. Lots of people completely miss the point when answers are sugar coated. I'm kind of like that. What the person actually tried to say may hit me the next day...or not at all. I really appreciate it when people are clear and concise.

 

I've done most of my posting on a male dominated website and there are not discussions about how anyone should word anything so it sounds nicer and yet it's not a free for all, just good discussion.

 

Thank you CC for allowing me to voice mine.

 

enga Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
enga Posted 18 Dec 2013 , 12:49am
post #22 of 40

Sorry OP for posting off topic. Because that long thing you posted about copyright was on topic? 

 

It was brought up in her last post, and it was addressed to the OP.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by howsweet 

Enthralled? I doubt most of us find this subject anything more than necessary. Maybe Jason finds it interesting, but nobody has any business telling another person what should or shouldn't be enthralling to them one way or the other. I never told anyone what should be enthralling to them, I merely asked why. Maybe you should reread my comment. Why to you allow yourselves to become so enthralled.  I didn't say you did - You did, however imply that people were definitely enthralled   You asked why, but why what? QUOTE: "I have been off this site for awhile and this argument still becomes a heated battle. Why? Why do you allow yourselves to become enthralled into this much debated question?

 

Obviously the subject bothers you very much proves my point. I just wonder why you keep responding to the question.
 

Anyway a big pita is how I would characterize the subject. I guess you answered my question then. Your question was why are people so enthralled -- I didn't answer it, I was was saying that you were wrong

 

That is your opinion.

 

And how nice for you that you are not the slightest bit affected by undercutting to the extent that you have to ask why anyone bothers with this issue. How would you know what effects me?   If you don't understand why people are so concerned about pricing, it's logical to assume that you don't think it affects you.

 

They don't effect me because I don't let them effect me. The cheap cake lady is not my enemy.  I sell cheap cake to cheap people because that's the market I'm in right now.  In the end they are only hurting themselves if they don't make a profit.  I wont because my prices are set for that market. My business plan is set up to reach a different market that appreciates my unique cake and cookie designs and the quality of my ingredients.

 

If I were a Dr. and a new Dr. opened up a practice down the street. I have my practice and he has his.  We would not have the same patients nor would we offer the same exact services. People might like me for my relaxed bedside manner; others may like him because he has been their family Dr. for a long time. Now if he was outright soliciting my patients and slandering my business, then I would have a problem. Is this a free trade argument? The reason your analogy doesn't apply is that the two doctors both compete on a level playing field. If one of the doctors starts selling his services for a third of what the other does, one doctor is going to have a real big problem with the other doctor. But that's not going to happen like it does with the ladies selling cakes.

 

Ummmm. Okay? But not if he goes out of business for doing it.  Same rule applies, burn out or run out.

 

Trade laws assume that people will act in their own best interest and charge as much as they can. But in many cases that's not what's happening -- there are LOTS of people selling cake well below market prices. Their cake businesses are usually spouse subsidized. They may not have bothered to find out what prices should be or even know what their costs are. Not having a spouse, the sole source of income for my household comes form my cake business, so I find it aggravating to compete with people who "play" at business. Even if I did, I wouldn't sell a cake for less than it's worth. It's not logical to do so, but it may be the easy thing to do. You don't have to find the right customer, do market research or work up the guts to price your product correctly. It apparently takes courage to ask for a fair price.

 

 Alright for arguments sake you have worked hard to establish your business and this is your sole source of income I completely understand why your are aggravated. I'm in the same boat. I don't think people are necessarily (well some are) playing at business, and some people are not thinking logically when they try to start a cake business. They might not have done all their market and pricing research. They look at cakes in the local bakery or cake shop and think, I can make a better cake than that. Not once stopping to think about what really goes into it or that there are laws and rules that they have to abide by. There are people who want you to do all the hard work for them and then there are some who are good at it and just trying to put food on the table. The possibilities are as endless as the question about pricing a cake.

 

People have been selling cakes from their homes to make a living before many of us were even born. The government sees it as a taxable wage and has set forth rules and regulations to legally do it. Do you honestly believe that most of the people on this site are legally selling cakes? Probably, because there are there are cottage food laws in all but something like 7-8 states, according to this. If they were then they would probably know how to price their products.  No, they really, really don't. That you would say that clearly shows that you don't know what's going on. And judging from what you said, below, that may be at the crux of our disagreement.

 

What I'm saying is that people have been selling cakes form their homes before these laws were put in place. The cottage food laws in all but 7-8 states still have varying laws from county to county within those states.

 

No, I think that YOU don't know whats going on. When I post on this site I could tell you anything. I could say, I'm in a state that has the cottage food law but you don't really know that. Or I could say that I have my house set up with a home bakery, it's licensed and inspected, you wouldn't know that either. The only way you could possibly know if I was truly legal or not before I posted would be if CC started making people show proof of their businesses by providing a tax ID number or you knew my name and where I lived. You don't have to do that to join CC so you could be anybody asking or answering a question.

 

Don't get me wrong I am not saying all of the people asking the proverbial "how much for this cake" question are illegal. Maybe they live in a state where they can legally sell from their home and started taking orders from friends and family without really knowing how to price their cakes. IDK Good, because it's now against the User Agreement to do so.

 

Well maybe CC should think about my previous suggestion.

 

Some of them are really talented,(judging from the pics on CC and other sites), that and the fact that they are underselling their cakes IS a threat to legally established bakeries. Why the nerve of them, making beautiful cakes and not pricing them according, undercutting and ruining the market lol.  Well guess what? You are doing nothing more than creating more competition and undercutting for your selves by not helping them. Because they are going to sell their cakes whether you help them or not, legally or illegally.

I thought you started out asking why we were discussing it?

 

I wanted to know why you keep discussing it because it upsets people so much.

 

I have worked rather hard to try and educate people about underpricing. Ask anyone. They are sick of me bringing it up.

 

Well until they either get sick of asking the question or you get sick of bringing it up I guess it will continue the be a highly debated question.

 

Good sound advice is what most of them are looking for, without harshness or judgment. I applaud them for having the courage to still ask the cake price question on this site as some of the answers are blatantly harsh. While the giving it to you straight approach might be perceived as constructive criticism by some, it may be taken a different a whole way by someone else. 

Some might say I sugar coat my answers, that's cool. I think some members force the OP say, "thank you Mame may I have another" before they answer their questions. We all have or own opinions on how threads should be answered. We are all different. That's a good point. Lots of people completely miss the point when answers are sugar coated. I'm kind of like that. What the person actually tried to say may hit me the next day...or not at all. I really appreciate it when people are clear and concise.

 

I try to be clear and concise with my answers, not everyone likes them but as long as it helps the OP it's all good. In this case it probably didn't. *note to self, stay away from cake pricing questions, lolz.

 

I've done most of my posting on a male dominated website and there are not discussions about how anyone should word anything so it sounds nicer and yet it's not a free for all, just good discussion.

 

Good to know.

 

Thank you CC for allowing me to voice mine

ckpeaches Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
ckpeaches Posted 18 Dec 2013 , 2:14am
post #23 of 40

OK well i was told about this site by a baker  she told me it is a great place to get good advice to help you be a better baker. and to a point i see that but it seems like some of you are really rude and judgmental. i have not been doing cakes for long and have never taken classes i have taught myself everything  by watching you-tube videos and attempting cakes. Granted i don't think my stuff is great and i am a stay at home mother with 3 kids all under 4 yet i still try really hard and the get criticized on here when i just want to learn and be good at this. And for those of you who are trying to give me good advice i really appreciate it and thank you so much. And those of you who are being rude haven't you ever been told if you have nothing nice to say don't say it at all. And i have looked into my state laws i have the license which is all my state requires.

enga Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
enga Posted 18 Dec 2013 , 2:32am
post #24 of 40
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckpeaches 
 

OK well i was told about this site by a baker  she told me it is a great place to get good advice to help you be a better baker. and to a point i see that but it seems like some of you are really rude and judgmental. i have not been doing cakes for long and have never taken classes i have taught myself everything  by watching you-tube videos and attempting cakes. Granted i don't think my stuff is great and i am a stay at home mother with 3 kids all under 4 yet i still try really hard and the get criticized on here when i just want to learn and be good at this. And for those of you who are trying to give me good advice i really appreciate it and thank you so much. And those of you who are being rude haven't you ever been told if you have nothing nice to say don't say it at all. And i have looked into my state laws i have the license which is all my state requires.


Thank you for coming back to reply ckpeaches, I wasn't trying to be rude and I hope I have not offended you in any way. I wish you luck with your cakes.

ckpeaches Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
ckpeaches Posted 18 Dec 2013 , 2:50am
post #25 of 40

Enga you did not offend me and i thank you for giving me advice i was manly upset by the ones bad mouthing my cake i did this for free for my fathers second marriage and it was my first attempt at such a large cake and someone asked me yesterday how much i would charge for a cake similar with different flowers so i had no clue she never told me hoe many ppl it would need to feed yet so i was trying to get some help about how to go about pricing for when she tells me i know wedding cakes are usually charged by serving but being as i am new to this and don't know if my stuff is that great i wanted an opinion on pricing not ridicule on the look of my cake.

Stitches Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Stitches Posted 18 Dec 2013 , 2:54am
post #26 of 40

Sheeeeeewow........that was a hard read. I got a little lost with all the quotes, bold type and color...........but what I think I comprehended was more similarities than differences between howsweet & enga.

 

All the "old timers" here get the issues, we all face them. It's really, really hard to constantly have new people come into this conversation constantly asking the same basic things. If only we could direct new posters to the millions of thread where the same topic has been talked about in depth, than things would change. I was a former host of the Pastry & Baking Forum at eG and I spent a lot of my personal time doing just that, re-directing people to the threads that already had every answer possible. In some regards it's too much of a hands off policy here that allows this constant reposting of the same questions. But that's also the beauty of this site too, in that it doesn't over police people.

 

So my stupid point/idea is

 

a. couldn't we re-direct new posters to old threads ourselves

 

or

 

b. don't bother to respond to a topic that is a hot button personal topic to you

 

If we constantly fight among ourselves it lets the insanity win......

sixinarow Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
sixinarow Posted 18 Dec 2013 , 3:05am
post #27 of 40

It would be nice if there was a sticky at the top of each forum about how to price a cake. It would be the first thing most posters would see and eliminate all of the searching through old threads to find information.

 

Just a thought.

enga Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
enga Posted 18 Dec 2013 , 3:09am
post #28 of 40

Quote:

Originally Posted by ckpeaches 
 

Enga you did not offend me and i thank you for giving me advice i was manly upset by the ones bad mouthing my cake i did this for free for my fathers second marriage and it was my first attempt at such a large cake and someone asked me yesterday how much i would charge for a cake similar with different flowers so i had no clue she never told me hoe many ppl it would need to feed yet so i was trying to get some help about how to go about pricing for when she tells me i know wedding cakes are usually charged by serving but being as i am new to this and don't know if my stuff is that great i wanted an opinion on pricing not ridicule on the look of my cake.


ckpeaches I applaud you and I'm sorry you had to experience this on CC. If you ever need anything please don't hesitate to pm me. I will help you in anyway I can. There are some really good people on this site that will be happy to help you too. A lot of the answers were right you have a lot of things to take into consideration when pricing a cake. No one can really answer that question for you accept you. You have to add up your costs for ingredients and so much more. I wish there was a special place to help people new to this site and maybe not necessarily new to baking. It would be appreciated I'm sure.

 

Stiches, I think your ideas are great. Maybe management will take all of these things into consideration.

enga Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
enga Posted 18 Dec 2013 , 3:09am
post #29 of 40

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixinarow 
 

It would be nice if there was a sticky at the top of each forum about how to price a cake. It would be the first thing most posters would see and eliminate all of the searching through old threads to find information.

 

Just a thought.

;-D

shanter Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
shanter Posted 18 Dec 2013 , 3:48am
post #30 of 40

CC has already vetoed the "notice on pricing at the top of every page" or something like that. However, responders could just post this link:

http://cakecentral.com/newsearch?search=pricing

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%