Anyone Else Get Brides Who Want Cheapest Price Possible?
Decorating By onceuponacake Updated 29 Jan 2007 , 8:39pm by Chef_Stef
For some reason I always get these type of brides.
They will contact me telling me how pretty my cakes are, etc. Some have tasted my cakes and say they are moist and delicious. 
Then they ask how much would a fondant cake be or a particular design. When I quote them a price they then proceed to say they'll keep looking around for a better price. 
DUH!! Cake is NOT A NECESSITY. It is a LUXURY!!!!! 
I've asked other decorators in my are and surrounding areas how much they charge and my prices are in the same range. 
Drives me nuts!
What have you said in this situation? A friend of mine tells them to go to Walmart if they want a really inexpensive cake because she is not lowering her prices. 
This happens to me constantly...I'm a home-baker so people assume that means 'inexpensive'. So as soon as potential customers start their sentencecs with " I don't want to spend a lot of money, but...." I always tell them "Well, my cakes aren't cheap. They are specialty cakes , not Safeway cakes, and my ingredients costs are quiet high, so if you want to save money, I suggest you go to the Safeway." I try not to care that some people will go elsewhere, because most don't. But that's part of running a business, right? My prices seem to be appropriate for my area too, so try not to worry about it. But it is SO annoying to deal with! I spend hours on my cakes and I won't let them out of my house until I think they're damn-close-to-perfect, does Safeway do that?...I don't think so. 
These are the same brides who will go on and on about the expensive ice sculpture they're going to have, how the invitations are imported from some foreign country, and how they had to take out a loan for their $5,000 dress. Then they ask if they can get you to make a cake for 500 people for $100. You're better off having them go elsewhere!
This wedding cake I'm doing now she gave me lots of grief over and I flat out told her she would have to pay whereever she went and I gave her my prices and told her to shop them all over town if she liked. She did and guess what -- she's baaaaack!!
I had a bride/groom once ask me to quote on a 3 tier heart shape, fondant, with gumpaste leaves around the bottom, on the garden stand from Wilton. I was also going to do a 10 inch chocolate square groom's cake--with a FBCT on top to match his "business card." (I quote because it was the local chapter of a BIKER'S CLUB.) Including stand rental, I quoted them $250. I was literally GIVING them their cake.
They seemed genuinely thrilled with the design, meeting, and price. I sent them a full contract package, complete with cutting instructions, etc.
Waited two weeks and called them. They said they found someone else to do their cake for $185. SKEEZERS... 
Anyway--more power to 'em. Let 'em go on down the grocery store aisle and get a frozen slab cake. Fine.
IF HOWEVER--they ever want a made-from-scratch, gourmet quality hand-decorated confection---they'll pay me my prices. Until then---let 'em "shop" elsewhere!
People like that kill me. Boils my blood every time.
--Knox--
Grrrrrrr...
I had one bride wanting three tiers fondant roses on bottom of each tier and embrodiery on the sides with roses on top tier for 100 people. She did not want one color..she wanted the roses ivory with the edges of the petals pink..the embroidered vines in pale green. i made her sample cake. she ooohed and aaahed. I quoted her a price..she went with walmart $100 for 100 servings..meanwhile she spent $2,000 on renting him a space at the local car race for him and buddies to camp out and watch races the next day. 
She had so much cake left over she brought it in to work the next day (she worked with DH).
All I have to say is never let a bride leave with your sketch for their cake until a contract is signed and a deposit down.
GeminiRJ, you're so right. Brides will be $100s for flowers and whine about an expensive cake that takes days to complete. Erks me too.
i agree with that! i never give them the design. i keep it in their file.
The woman I am dealing with now is giving me my own sort of grief. She advertised on craigslist for someone to do her cake. I was not exactly interested in making the cake for her because Las Vegas has so many rules and regulations about home cake decorators so I sent her an email just giving her things to look out for. The next thing I know she is begging me to give her a quote knowing that I didn't want to do it.
She gave me a picture of the cake she wanted - a 3 tiered square cake with simple buttercream icing. No decorations - no nothing. She was going to put her own real roses on it. At first it was a regular white cake with regular filling.
I quoted her $300 for the cake and a few days later received an email that she wants to cut it back from 80 to 50 people and change the entire style to a more intricate buttercream cake with flowers and everything PLUS she changed the cakes from all white to white, chocolate and strawberry with 3 seperate fillings AND wants it for less money!!!! She saw the new cake at a local bakery that I know will charge her at least double what I am.
I am about ready to tell her right where she can stick her cake.
Stick to your guns girls, that's the only defense we have!!! 
Onceuponacake: I'm with your friend. I have done only 1 wedding cake that I actually charged for. I had a meeting with an acquaintance regarding her son's wedding. Did I say ONE meeting? It actually ended up being 3 and the bride and groom NEVER showed!! So, I knew the couple didn't have a lot of money and was doing the cake for practically cost ($1.00/serving) and MOG STILL wanted it for less! Wondered could I do it for $.50/serving!! I told her No, I couldn't. When she asked what she could do I told her to go to WalMart, that would be my best advise. She DID and I guess they were happy. I KNOW I WAS!! LOLL
Beth in KY
i don't do wedding cakes, nor do I ever want too, but coming from someone who only got married 5 years ago...I can certainly understand wanting to get a good deal. You should not have to lower your prices to accomodate, but I don't think its an insult to you either. Trust me, the cake isn't the only thing they are trying to find cheaply. That is what wedding planning is all about, set your priorities (and cake often isn't one of them) and then fill in with the other details with whatever is left of budget. I was able to find a home baker do my wedding cake (which was stunning) for $350 and I consider myself very blessed to have done so. My husband and I paid for the wedding and were really on a tight budget.
I haven't made that many wedding cakes, just one for a paying customer actually. It was for a relative of dh's, she didn't complain about the price but I practically gave it away too, I only charged 1.50 per serving, I probably should have charged closer to 3$... oh well, live and learn.
I have had that happen with other cakes though. Dh's friend's mom called me wanting a cake for her son's 30th b-day and I quoted her 35$ which was 10$ cheaper than my normal price for that size cake and she said she'd call me back but never did. Well we went to the party the next weekend and she had bought a cheap looking/tasting commercial bakery cake that hardly anyone touched. The thing is, I'm sure she must have paid AT LEAST 20-25$ for the cake, 'cause I have called that bakery before to compare my prices, so she didn't even save that much money. The week after that I had a birthday BBQ for dh and of course I made his cake and it was FABULOUS, lol. Dh's friend was like 'i wanted this cake, i can't believe my mom was so cheap!' We thought it was kinda funny 
Fix a "minimum" figure for a wedding cake and tell them straight out.
I won't do a wedding cake for less than $250.00 starting price. To do so would be a waste of my time. I tell them they start at $2.50 per slice for buttercream. Decorations are extra. So I won't do a cake for less than 100 people/100 servings OR they pay me at least $250.00 for less servings. Their choice. Either way I know I will make at least $250.00.
That should get rid of your bargain shoppers.
I HATEFONDANT: good idea on setting minimum!!
i certainly can understand wanting to find the best price..but like i said above cake is not a necessity to getting married.
I always shop around to get a good price. When someone quotes me a price I cannot afford, I thank them for their time. I would never try and talk their price down. I use coupons, wait for sales, etc.
For ex: I met a couple who does stain glass. I really wanted that for my picture frame window in the bathroom. He told me it would be $1,000 depending on design. I said, "Thanks for the info." Too much for me. But in no way was i going to try and talk him down. That's a luxury for me and it's his livelihood (sp?).
I always tell the brides: "Your best best for the least expensive cake is Walmart or your local supermarket."
We are not in competition with them. We can offer things that they cannot. So, for the most part I will stick to my pricing unless I choose to cut someone a deal.
It's frustrating when you quote them a price and they want to talk you down. What if their employer did that? "I can't pay you your full salary this week...but I'll give you 50% and you put in more time."
GeminiRJ said.."they ask if they can get you to make a cake for 500 people for $100"
Thats when I would say..."yeah I can make 50 cupcakes and you can cut them in 10 pieces"....
ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've read this entire thread and I'm STILL laughing! LUV IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sundine2, I too am laughing over your comeback statement about cupcakes of serving 500. Loved it.
I HATEFONDANT: good idea on setting minimum!!
I agree. I think it was Cakes by Sam where I read that she will only do a wedding cake for a minimum of $250 and any other type of cake for a minimum of $50. I thought at the time that she had the right idea!
Everyone wants a deal on anything, but from our end, we have to stick by our pricing or we're artisans working for free.
Here's my example of how this works:
You can buy serviceable, pretty-enough, cheap-enough, mass-produced rugs at Walmart to decorate your home OR you can go to the village in New Mexico where an original artisan works, hike to their cabin and watch them raise the sheep that have been in their family for generations, sheer them, card, clean, and dye the wool, spin it into yarn, and then lovingly blend the colors to weave a beautiful handcrafted one-of-a-kind-masterpiece rug that takes hours of their time...
...you could then plunk your purse down on their counter and say, "Yeah, I want that. But I need it for $19.99."
NOT
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
people are cheap except when they are the ones selling. my dh would buy that stuff from his coworkers that their kids would sell for the school..basically junk.
our girls our homeschool and one day we made decorated cookies to sell for $1.00 a piece to help raise money for the homeschool club we were a part of that met once a week. the classes were taught by the parents, for example: art, music, chess, foreign language.
no one bought one cookie saying they were too expensive. meanwhile what about the $15.00 tin of tastless cookies or popcorn my dh bought from them and they couldn't spare $1.00? 
needless to say that was the last year dh bought anything from them and they know better than to ask him
I've lost a couple of brides because I refuse to do a wedding cake for less than $2 a serving! One bride wanted a dummy topsy turvy cake for looks and cupcakes for the tables to match - total $550! Too much!
GeminiRJ said.."they ask if they can get you to make a cake for 500 people for $100"
Thats when I would say..."yeah I can make 50 cupcakes and you can cut them in 10 pieces"....
That cracks me up! Cutting a cupcake in 10 pieces!
GeminiRJ said.."they ask if they can get you to make a cake for 500 people for $100"
Thats when I would say..."yeah I can make 50 cupcakes and you can cut them in 10 pieces"....
ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've read this entire thread and I'm STILL laughing! LUV IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey I just saw your post great minds think alike
Just an update on my bride-from-hades - she has changed her cake yet AGAIN. This time she sent me a link to a bakery in England that actually showed the price of the cake. http://www.maisiefantaisie.co.uk/ivory-shimmer-wedding-cake.html The cake is approx. $1,500 American and she wants me to do it for $200. Grrrr this makes me so mad I just want to give up all together.
That Maisie Fantasie cake is such a simple design, and again she is pricey because she is a bit of a celebrity in England. That being said, I wouldn't do a cake like that for anything less than $450, which is my minimum for a 3 tier cake.
I understand that cakes in the States are usually less expensive than our Aussie ones, except if you're buying from Ron Ben-Israel, but that aside, it's your time that should be taken into account, not just the cost of ingredients.
If you worked in a specialised field, like plumbing, for example, you would charge an hourly rate plus materials for the service you provide, you should be allowed to do the same with cakes.
I am so dissapointed by people saying we can't charge an hourly rate for what we do........of course we can! I mean if people in England want a cake from May Clee-Cadman(Maisie Fantaisie) do you think she's going to lower the price because they can't afford it? No way! If they can't pay they don't get.
Stick to your price and tell this bride to rack off! You are an excellent decorator, your work is worthy of a fair price, and that price is what you determine, not what someone else tells you!
I am so dissapointed by people saying we can't charge an hourly rate for what we do........of course we can! I mean if people in England want a cake from May Clee-Cadman(Maisie Fantaisie) do you think she's going to lower the price because they can't afford it? No way! If they can't pay they don't get.
Stick to your price and tell this bride to rack off! You are an excellent decorator, your work is worthy of a fair price, and that price is what you determine, not what someone else tells you!
WELL SAID, FRANJMC!! And that cake is very pretty--looks like it has those cake jewels on it, too.
--Knox--
In defense of the brides out there. . . I am a very new cake decorator. Before I took my classes at MIchael's last April and found out how much work goes into the cakes, I also balked at high priced cakes. I was horrified when I bought my son's first birthday cake at the grocery store for $30. I thought that was a ridiculous price for a cake. I had only baked the box mixes and the canned icing with no decoration, so it only cost me about $5 or less to make a cake. I was shocked our wedding cake was $800. It does seem like a ridiculous amount of money for a dessert. That opinion was of course before I began cake decorating. Now, I see how much money and work goes into these cakes, so I see nothing wrong with a cake that costs that much. So, long story short, in defense of most people out there, for someone that has no clue how much time and ingredients go into these cakes, it's hard to fathom how a cake could cost that much!
Have you seen this...?
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-82531.html
I think is a good idea to have a "basic model cake" (aka. the chep one)
is a desing you know you do very easy and fast, that you can ofer so you don't loose the costumer. Simple, no sugar flowers, or maybe a few calas that are so fast to do, no extra for rentals, keep it SIMPLE. you can make money by selling volume on those.
Sometimes a bride will come to my shop telling me how much she loves my job, has been her dream forever to have my cake YADA YADA...but she can't afore it I now say sure you can, here lets do the "basic model cake"
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