https://www.thisisinsider.com/sams-club-affordable-mermaid-cake-2018-7

First time posting on this site, but I'm a long time lurker. People ask me all the time why I never opened a business. This article would be one reason why not. By the way, Kudos to all you extremely talented cakers out there! I love cruising this site and seeing all the beautiful cakes!

Hi and welcome!  I wonder if the "scales" on the bottom are an edible image or something like contact paper?  Not crazy about the color choice for the sprinkles.  Piping details are basic but well done and lend themselves to the cake.  Overall it's a cute cake but you can tell it's not custom.  I think there's still a market for custom cakes.

Not really surprised that a big box store like Sam's can sell a tiered cake for $1/serving.  Like whatthedogate said, it isn't a bad looking cake but it certainly isn't custom by any means.

And the bottom tier on the 3 tier version bothers the heck out of me!  It looks sloppy.  If you are going to use an edible image for the scales that is cool, but don't piece it together!  It looks horrible and like you didn't have a big enough piece of paper to make one image (which is probably the case).

there is nothing protected in baking -- no secrets -- no boundaries -- that's why i think it's perfectly crazy for anyone to open a baking business unless in their particular area it just happens to work with all the right climate -- kentucky just ruled in favor of the masses when it was possible there already if you jump through some hoops -- the ones that think they have the victory will soon learn it was a hollow one --

Personally, I think being a professional custom cake decorator must be one of the hardest, most thankless and minimally profitable job choices.  You must spend years learning to be good at it, spend a ton of money on equipment and permits. work ungodly hours, put up with ungrateful jerks and compete with big box stores and everybody's third cousin who makes cake for practically nothing.  On the other hand, it is fun and very rewarding when you make someone smile or contribute to their special day.  It makes me sad to see how hard my friends work, just to make ends meet.  That is the case with most art forms, whether it be painting or designing cakes.

I agree, Sam's is not a custom cake.

We are all competing with Walmart and grocery stores anyway. If a person wants a cheap cake, they will find one. I do have a cake business in a state whose cottage food laws are pretty open, so at least I don't have to deal with permits and such. I just have to disclose the fact that my cakes are baked in a kitchen that hasn't been inspected. Still, much of the time I have people who prefer going to Walmart because the cakes are cheap. Thankfully the Sam's Club here doesn't have a bakery. Either way I find that there are people who do prefer a custom cake that has flavor that cannot be beat by the grocery store bakeries. It's a lot of work to make any sort of profit, but so worth it. I have very little business and I've been going for about a year. Thankfully I have little overhead beyond the equipment, most of which I'd have anyway.

We'll always find people who insist on haveing the cheapest thing they can find..........be it fast-food (I'm guilty - Taco Bell's $ menu is my 2nd home), a 2nd hand car or cakes.   That has so much plastic on it it turns me off but then there some people who cannot afford anything more expensive for their family. 

It is not the people who can only afford a store cake for their family that get on my last nerve.  It is the ones who think they are entitled to a fancy, expensive, bespoke creation - that you somehow owe it to them - just because they want it.  I am really good at saying NO!

I had a potential client get upset with me because I quoted $150 for a very detailed 2 tier cake because she "only needed 20 servings." I am constantly having to explain that my pricing is based on the time it will take me to make rather than servings. 

FlRugbyChick , that is when I am really tempted to tell them (and have a time or two), if they do not like my prices, to do it themselves.  When they exclaim that they cannot, I reiterate that is my point exactly.  They are paying for my time and expertise, not just the ingredients that go into the cake.