A[quote name="jason_kraft" url="/t/755352/this-client-smh-rant/15#post_7369109"]Before you make another cake, get thee to Restaurant Depot in St. Paul and compare prices.
http://www.restaurantdepot.com/locations?Id=178[/quote]
Thank you Jason.
Must be typos... no way you'd use 67 cake mixes and 30 dozen eggs. And if you used 6-7 mixes, they wouldn't cost $70. Why would you use any sugar and flour at all along with mixes, much less 35 lbs. of each? (I see you list powdered sugar separately for icing, so 35 lbs. of sugar wouldn't be an icing ingredient.) Are you providing 2 gallons of milk to be consumed by the guests to wash down their slice? Dowels are much cheaper, and sour cream at Sam's is nearly half that. You should figure your cost by what is actually used... if you charge one customer for all sugar and flour that you choose to buy in 35 lb. bags, does it mean the next customer gets it at no charge because you've already been reimbursed for it?
Yeah, those ingredients and costs didn't make much sense to me either. But . . . getting back to the original post.
Run.
That cake, with delivery is $1200 easy. Seriously.
Nothing you will make for $500 will look remotely like that picture. And then he will be disappointed. And trash you.
Say this over and over. "His budget is not my problem."
If he wants that cake, he will find the money for it.
Must be typos... no way you'd use 67 cake mixes and 30 dozen eggs. And if you used 6-7 mixes, they wouldn't cost $70. Why would you use any sugar and flour at all along with mixes, much less 35 lbs. of each? (I see you list powdered sugar separately for icing, so 35 lbs. of sugar wouldn't be an icing ingredient.) Are you providing 2 gallons of milk to be consumed by the guests to wash down their slice? Dowels are much cheaper, and sour cream at Sam's is nearly half that. You should figure your cost by what is actually used... if you charge one customer for all sugar and flour that you choose to buy in 35 lb. bags, does it mean the next customer gets it at no charge because you've already been reimbursed for it?
It sounds like she uses the White Almond Sour Cream Cake recipe, which calls for extra sugar, flour, sour cream along with mixes...But I agree, even then the list sounds off, even though the list she posted was servings for 300.
Yeah, those ingredients and costs didn't make much sense to me either. But . . . getting back to the original post.
Run.
That cake, with delivery is $1200 easy. Seriously.
Nothing you will make for $500 will look remotely like that picture. And then he will be disappointed. And trash you.
Say this over and over. "His budget is not my problem."
If he wants that cake, he will find the money for it.
^^^YES! This cake would have started at $1000 for me. Add on the details and it would easily top $1200-1500.
$475 is way too high for ingredients and supplies for a 250 serving cake.
Can you post a breakout of how you got to this number? It might help determine where you are overpaying.
i was also thinking this...i guess i don;t see how the ingredients/boards/dowels for a cake this size could cost $475.... i'm curious to hear the breakdown here
If the whole cake is to be one flavor, the most mixes you will need is 22, figuring 14 serving for mix, and if you are adding sugar and flour, you'll need even less.
I'd love to know how 67 boxes of cake mix makes 67 cups of batter. Especially when made with 360 eggs.
Must be typos... no way you'd use 67 cake mixes and 30 dozen eggs. And if you used 6-7 mixes, they wouldn't cost $70. Why would you use any sugar and flour at all along with mixes, much less 35 lbs. of each? (I see you list powdered sugar separately for icing, so 35 lbs. of sugar wouldn't be an icing ingredient.) Are you providing 2 gallons of milk to be consumed by the guests to wash down their slice? Dowels are much cheaper, and sour cream at Sam's is nearly half that. You should figure your cost by what is actually used... if you charge one customer for all sugar and flour that you choose to buy in 35 lb. bags, does it mean the next customer gets it at no charge because you've already been reimbursed for it?
No, i wrote it down in a jiffy! 
and i use two different frosting's, one needing sugar one powder sugar.. I doctor my mixes i would never just use a mix itself yuck
it depends on where you go for tools and state where i go dowels are he price listed.. Is a personal list meaning i ALWAYS add a extra few dollars and such just so i know that i have enough $ for that order..
When i jot down more, then when the total comes up i'm not shocked.. There's NOWAY i'm looking at all ingredients with in 6 minutes that i posted that and getting everything correct!
And i don't have any time to sit here and and add up everything with all the other work i have going on. Its not that serious lol!
Yeah, those ingredients and costs didn't make much sense to me either. But . . . getting back to the original post.
Run.
That cake, with delivery is $1200 easy. Seriously.
Nothing you will make for $500 will look remotely like that picture. And then he will be disappointed. And trash you.
Say this over and over. "His budget is not my problem."
If he wants that cake, he will find the money for it.
Thanks for keeping this on topic lol.. Yes he got upset when i said he should try Costco! Who'da thunk 
It sounds like she uses the White Almond Sour Cream Cake recipe, which calls for extra sugar, flour, sour cream along with mixes...But I agree, even then the list sounds off, even though the list she posted was servings for 300.
It was a typo and the cake was for 4 layers of cake 3 filling for each tier.
Must be typos... no way you'd use 67 cake mixes and 30 dozen eggs. And if you used 6-7 mixes, they wouldn't cost $70. Why would you use any sugar and flour at all along with mixes, much less 35 lbs. of each? (I see you list powdered sugar separately for icing, so 35 lbs. of sugar wouldn't be an icing ingredient.) Are you providing 2 gallons of milk to be consumed by the guests to wash down their slice? Dowels are much cheaper, and sour cream at Sam's is nearly half that. You should figure your cost by what is actually used... if you charge one customer for all sugar and flour that you choose to buy in 35 lb. bags, does it mean the next customer gets it at no charge because you've already been reimbursed for it?
No way am i not buying 35lbs! And i do pay out of MY pocket for the extra. Say i need a 35lb of sugar and only needed 10 cups for one customer, i would pay out of MY pocket the balance.
Of course we shouldn't have tried to use the information you gave us to try and help you. How stupid of us.
I agree with delivery of any cake that is more than two tiers. I build delivery into my prices. The pictures that I sent back to this guy would be so simple and not fondant! He is asking for the moon on a Moonpie budget! Nope, no way. With this budget, I could never help him and he needs more help than I could give!
A
Original message sent by LovelyCakes4Us
And i don't have any time to sit here and and add up everything with all the other work i have going on. Its not that serious lol!
I agree with delivery of any cake that is more than two tiers. I build delivery into my prices. The pictures that I sent back to this guy would be so simple and not fondant! He is asking for the moon on a Moonpie budget! Nope, no way. With this budget, I could never help him and he needs more help than I could give!
That is the cutest way I have ever seen that analogy made! I LOVE it! I MUST find a way to steal it ;-)
The language that guy used in his emails makes me suspicious that he isn't another decorator. I don't why, just some of what he says. Call me crazy...but have you spoken to this man or seen his phone number on your caller id?
yeah he really has a lot of insight doesn't he--seemed to know a lot of our jargon
good point, azc
A
Original message sent by AZCouture
The language that guy used in his emails makes me suspicious that he isn't another decorator. I don't why, just some of what he says. Call me crazy...but have you spoken to this man or seen his phone number on your caller id?
Okay so i have a client wants a cake for 250 guest and his MAX is 500.00. As of right now i do not have any other wedding cakes that month and decided to possibly do it but cut some cost. He will have to pick the cake up saves 50.00 for his location. HE will have to buy his own cake stand saves 50.00-100.00 i will post his emails..
To me he sounds like he wants alot for nothing wanting things the way he wants it like as if he is doing me a favor which he is not
! I am doing him a huge favor to be honest, I have tons of other cakes that month so its not going to profit me anything to make his cake nore do i NEED his order.. Here is the cake he officially wanted and his emails.. Should i just throw the order out the door? I'm like 98% sure that i do no want to deal with him. Just venting! im getting soo many customers this week waning basically a free cake!
Start from the bottom, maybe im just grumpy today lol!
__________________________________________________________________________________
Shawn,
Thanks for considering us, we are booked out for the entire weekend and next week Tuesday for a event. I am able to meet any other day after 5:00pm.
As for cost, I will not be able to negotiate any further. Also if you would like a tasting it will be 20.00 for three-four samples which will go towards your payment if you book with us.
Shawn,
It will cost 475.00 for all ingredients,delivery,boards and so much more that goes into making a cake to serves 250, any baker would basically be giving the cake away for free, sorry to say :/.
In order to make your cake you would have to cut some cost if you can have someone pick the cake up? Also if you can buy the cake base yourself will cut cost, I love the design you have picked for your wedding I will search something similar.
Also the flavor choice will have to remain the same through out the cake, meaning one tier cannot be a different flavor then another.
I normally would not make a cake for 250 for as low as 500.00 but I am willing to help.
From: Ss G ;
Subject: Re: Wedding Cake?
Sent: Thu, Mar 7, 2013 8:44:32 PMHi,
Our budget is $500 max. We realize that the cake pictures that we sent may have too many intricacies for our budget so we can definitely work around that. What we would really like is a 4 tiered cake (the top cake can be pretty small like 4-6 inches diameter) with fondant that would be enough to feed about 250 people. Is this possible? If so, can you maybe send us a few photos of some elegant cakes that would be $500 and under and would meet our needs?
Thanks,
ShawnOn Mon, Mar 4, 2013 at 9:21 AM, :
Please send your budget I have different options for everyone, may have to switch a few things accordingly to fit the serving size in your budget.
From: Ss G ;
To: ;Subject: Wedding Cake?
Sent: Mon, Mar 4, 2013 3:28:20 AM
Hi,
We are getting married on the weekend of July 6th and we are in the process of finding our cake vendor. We will need about 250 servings and really need to keep the price minimal because we are on a tight budget. I have attached some photos of cakes that we like and we are requesting your best price for something similar. In terms of buttercream vs. fondant, we are not sure which one would be better and more cost effective, so please give your input on that. Please include a breakdown of the costs (cost/serving, cake stand rental, delivery, setup, etc. etc.) The reception will be held in St. Paul. Let me know if you need any additional information.
Thank you,
Shawn
well maybe not a lot of jargon in quantity but quality
i mean a groom sizing up the top tier like that to add up servings is what i meant--that is odd
he's way off but it's still unusual--it'd be like 18x 14 x10x 6 to hit about 250 give or take
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