and don't be daunted -- the board can be a little cranky -- you can message me your question and i can post it for you if you want -- if this doesn't work for you
We are full of of them and always ready to share them....................
So fire away.........
I'm trying to get opinions on what should charge foe my cakes. I've been told that I'm "wrong". I can't get the pix to load though. I'll try again.
[postimage id="4636" thumb="900"]
Here is the second one.
[postimage id="4637" thumb="900"]
Julie, your cakes are very well done, but no one else can tell you what you should charge.
What are your ingredient costs, supplies and overhead? How long do they take you and how much do you pay yourself per hour? What is the going rate in your area?
One thing I can tell you though is don't let anyone talk you down once your prices are set. If you have taken everything into consideration and feel the price is fair, stick to it.
Your cakes are beautiful, your work is neat and clean and worth whatever you decide to sell them for. If people think you are too expensive they need to find the cheap cake lady.......
You do top tier work so you should get top tier pay! Why are people telling you you're wrong? Too high or too low?
My SIL is telling me I should charge more. The wedding cake was $200 and the nurse cake was $75. Is this really too low?
Since this is an anonymous, international, forum, it's nearly impossible for any member to accurately answer your pricing question. However, big thanks for the photos [even if they are sideways], because usually this question is asked with absolutely no pictures.
I agree with the above that your work appears to be solid, professional quality and is good enough to charge professional pricing. But as to the other aspects of pricing, "Ay, there's the rub". [Hamlet]
There are a ton of considerations that go into pricing but the biggest is usually:
Location, location, location (tiny town with one factory that just closed, or a large metropolitan center with affluent people accustomed to paying higher prices for quality goods)
If you do a key word search: pricing, how to price cakes, etc. you'll find thousands of threads with some great information like that mentioned above by jgifford.
Here's a basic start:
http://www.cakeboss.com/Cake-Stuff/Articles/How-Much-Should-I-Charge
I do not own a business, this is my hobby, but I think your prices are too low. Are you even making a profit?
My SIL is telling me I should charge more. The wedding cake was $200 and the nurse cake was $75. Is this really too low?
$75 for a two tiered super clean cake with all that detail? Way too low! $200 for a 4 tiered wedding cake. You could double your prices and still be on the low side.
You're very talented, your cakes are beautiful. I don't know how long you've been on CC or if you've read about "undercutters." If you sell those gorgeous cakes at a low price you will become the cheap cake lady, have more business than you can handle, and eventually fall-out-of-love with cake decorating.
your cakes are absolutely beautiful!!! i did some reading around and it said that when it comes to charging for a cake it should be at least $4 per person for a two tier cake, if it is more than 2 tiers it you should increase the price per person by .25 cents. These suggestions would have to be adjusted for specials requests such as fondant, 3d cakes, or accents in gold, etc. ... hope this helps :)
I think you should listen to your sister-in-law. Not sure what ingredients you use in your cakes but I know what I spend on the cakes I do for my family. Most of them are 2 tiered cakes and if I were to sell them they could cost a lot more than $75. Just would not be worth it.
That wedding cake would sell around here for $600+ easily
Wow someone is getting some bargains! I am in Australia and by time I make Ganache, SMBC, the cake, buy cake boards, ribbons, fondant for the board/decorations, ribbon and factor in things like colouring, dusting etc an 8 inch cake ends up costing almost $50.00.
Assuming that you are using quality ingredients and that your costs surely aren't that much less then it looks like you are ripping yourself off big time and with the quality of your work you deserve to be getting paid for your time.
Ark. Looks to me, that the wedding cake ingredients and supplies alone would rack up to close to $200. Who is telling you the price is too high? The clients? Don't make a cake for clients, without shaking and signing on the price! Get a sufficiently large deposit to cover your ingredients/supplies and overhead (I ask for 50% of agreed price)...
Your wedding cake would be at least around $600 in my area. It looks large to feed a crowd of 150+. if you charge per serving, it may be "easier to see" where the money is. If it can be served to close to 150 or even 200 people, your serving price is only $4 or $3 a pop. Which is "normal" for wedding cakes of professional quality.
Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the input. I started doing this a couple years ago after paying a large amount of money for a beautiful cake that was so dry and tasteless that no one could eat it. I live in a pretty rural area and was afraid to charge too much. I really don't do this as a job and only take as many orders as I can handle. When it gets to be a "job" I will stop. I love seeing people's faces when they see their cake. LOL will, however adjust my prices. I guess they are a bit low. Damn, I hate when my SIL is right!
Your prices are definetly too low, your cakes are beautiful and all fondant, I agree with another post, research other bakeries and do your homework, try to get an idea of the ingredients cost . Even if you do it for fun you do not want to loose money :)
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