I am not starting this to stir the pot...but sheesh, it was not that difficult for me to do the work to get licensed.....why do people want to sell cheaply decorated cakes? People are actually buying them too, at almost the same $ that I offer them for.....ugh! If they want cheaper, they can go to Walmart or the grocery store....the cakes I have seen there, in my area at least, look TONS better than what I am seeing on Facebook or in little stores with pics posted and a phone number.......vent over.....it's very frustrating to me...and I know I am not the only one......it's happening everywhere. :/

A

What do you mean by "cheaply decorated cakes"? Is your complaint that the quality of your competitors' products is lacking, but they are still successful selling their products at prices similar to your own? If that's the case you may have room to increase your prices and adjust your marketing strategy to target a different market.

jason, first, thank you for replying to my thread! :) In my area, there are people who want something for nothing, like everywhere else! The 'cheap' comes in on decorating, and prices also, most of them are within $5-10 LESS than me...as in a 9x13 single sheet for $25?! I charge $35 for a 9x13 single sheet with limited decorations, and people will pay that.......yes, I also know everyone has to start somewhere.....but sheesh, these cakes are pathetic and there is no other word. :( I have worked with the local country clubs in the past and just checked my email....I currently have 2 emails waiting for reply, one for a catering event for a 50th anniversary, they want me to provide a dessert/sweets menu, Yah! and also a email for a catering event that will be for 300 people, much the same things as email number 1. So....maybe I am not in a bad way as much as I though....and I do need to increase my prices some...have not done that in the past year....foods have gone up in price and I need to get cracking and make accomodations as to that also. It is easy to let the 'sneakys' get you down...

cupadeecakes, the thought has crossed my mind this morning. 

AIt sounds like your pricing and marketing strategy is the problem here. If you increase your prices, set a higher minimum order price, and target customers who are willing to pay for quality you won't have to worry about cheap bakers.

When you sell a sheet cake for $35, you will draw comparisons to cakes available at discount stores, grocery stores, and cheap illegal bakers. The quality of the cake is almost irrelevant since a customer looking in that price range is primarily concerned with cost. When you sell a sheet cake for $100 and provide a clear competitive advantage to justify the price you will attract a completely different customer base, and the comparisons will be to other upscale bakeries in the area.

Hopefully you can see why setting prices too low even if you are just starting out is a losing proposition, since you will be building a customer base that won't stick around when you are ready to increase prices and may even give you a reputation for being the "cheap" bakery.

:) THANK YOU AGAIN jason_kraft! I am taking notes of all this information.....off to get thoughts and ideas together! :)