Hey Everyone,

Im having trouble responding to posts, so appologies if I cant answer questions.

Ive been caking for a few years now and exhibited in a few bridal fairs. The response I get is very positive. Customers loving my work, love my cake samples and flavours, i have partnered with various affiliates now and become a preffered supplier to alot of businesses.

My issues I have found recently  (candid feedback from customers) is they initially see my work and even though they love it, assume I'm too expensive or out of their price range and just walk by and don't investigate further. The few who do take a look, realise quite quickly that my prices are very fair, or cheaper than most cake suppliers in my area.

How do I try to advertise/ show that I'm quite affordable and get more customers to contact me for a quote at expos.

I already give out free samples, offer free tasting/ consult, promos and include prices on my display cakes.

examples of my work: www.lyonsdencakes.com

Beautiful website! But, not a single mention of price...anywhere. I can see why some would hesitate. No one wants to be embarrassed by going after something beautiful that is WAY out of their budget. Your work is awesome, BTW. 

How about posting a "signature cake of the month"? Highlight a nicely decorated theme cake, say 20-30 servings, price it as you normally would, take off 10%, and post it with a price. It is a win-win. Maybe some will order it just as a special treat (and maybe become lifelong customers), and others will see a "ballpark" price range that you are in. 

BY only posting one price, on one cake, you are still doing "custom" orders and custom pricing, but it opens the door for SOME range. I understand you post on your display cakes, but not on the website. 

Your work really is beautiful.  What a shame, since you are very talented, people assume your product is out of their reach.  I agree you should show examples with pricing, just to give potential customers an idea of your price range.

I don't know if this fits your situation, but I like the line that my boss uses, I find it quite elegant: "We have wedding cake designs to fit every budget."

Maybe that's the kind of idea you can present to your potential customers without making it sound like your product is cheap. If you go around telling people that you have the cheapest wedding cakes in town, they're going to assume that you're the cheapest for a negative reason, even if it's undeserved. 

I 100% agree with those who said that you need to show examples of your work with the price associated to it.  No one likes to go in blind when it comes to pricing.

why are your prices on the low side -- it's apparently not creating an advantage -- not getting you where you want to be -- just a thought --

best to you and cheers to higher prices  > plink of clinking coffee cups <

Better to make one cake at $400 than four at $100 each!

$400 versus $100. Hmmmm....

I saw a post here once where an experienced baker talked about "whipping out"  sheet cakes that others "looked down on". She figured out she made MORE for her time, whipping out those $100 cakes ( and it covered her bills) than the more expensive ones. No fuss, no muss, no tastings, no -zilla attitudes, etc. Her point was she had "basic" stuff to pay the bills, and cool/ extravagant stuff to be expressive and artistic with and add to the bottom line.

As long as it is a good product, and priced well, and you are making a profit and being paid for your time, why not? A higher priced product DOES NOT always translate to higher compensation for your time or profit margin.

Your original questions was, how do I show that I am NOT the most expensive cake out there (just because your technical execution is great)?  The simple answer is, a customer can't know if a price isn't posted on anything on your website. Feature ONE. Like your quilted heart birthday cake with the ruffle roses. Cute, creative, fun. You post it on a feature page or home page, and say, "Chocolate mud, cake with mousse filling, 10", serves 38. Personalized fondant plaque with your message. $XXX. "

I don't know if your town prices are like New York, or Ohio...doens't matter. But even posting that ONE price helps me, as a customer, see if I am in your ballpark. I can imagine that some would price it from $600 to $100. As a customer, knowing where you are, in that scale helps me.

PS. I will SCREAM, if you say $100...but we all know a "cheap cake lady" that would probably quote that and make a cake wreck. NOT what your clean work looks like.

My numbers were arbitrary but based on both cakes being identical.   Every day there are posts about how to price a cake and almost every day there is someone who, when it's broken down, is charging a buck or two per serving for the same cake that could and should be getting three times that, at least, depending on location.  It's scary to present a cake and state that it's Giant Amount of Money.  I'm not talking about whipping out sheet cakes.

johnson6ofus -- there surely have been others but I definitely advise doing standard cakes along with the big and beautiful -- when you quoted "whipping out" I think that has to be moi -- because that is how to make some moolah -- plan your week for so many servings of oolala over the top cake and then toss in a handful of sheets and rounds going hither and yon -- easy peasy to toss a few more cakes in the oven -- make extra icing -- slap it together throw it in a box voila not to mention -- refreshingly mindless to work on in between the genius moments -- right?

but still, i'm slightly aghast at the thought of advertising yourself ldccakes as lower priced -- but Johnson6odus gives you a great way to give folks a heads up on that --

Wow! Such beautiful designs and your website is gorgeous! I saw on your FAQ page you talked a little about pricing-- why not include that verbiage (or some variation of it) in your Our Cakes section on your home page as well? You could also include cakemonster's quote about having cakes to fit any budget.

Your work is very impressive.  Everyone else has given you very sound advice so there's nothing I need to add.  I will say if people look at my work and don't want to purchase anything from me then those aren't the customers I need.  I have two very recent cake orders and they both had beads of sweat when they came to me.  That's because they saw my work on my site. Cake decorating takes time and a lot more energy than people expect.  I quoted them the prices based on what I'd spend on supplies and coming up with a suitable profit and left it alone.  You'll be fine. 

no -- I finally got it -- it's a wonderful thing to be thought of as expensive -- most people wish for that -- run with it!