Ok, here is the story....

A lady that my sister works with (an old friend of mine) called me up and asked how much I would charge to do a birthday cake for her sister, I asked how many and all that, and she told me and she wanted the Fantasy flowers (its on a cake in my pix) I told her I'd give her a call back after I got the pricing - I wasn't @ home. So I called her back and told her and said well for the flowers I will just charge you for the cost of the product not for doing them, btw they are made out of gum paste. She's says oh, ok. I didn't want her to feel obligated and said just let me know, it's no big deal. She said oh, I will, I'll give you a call either way. I said ok. Oh, she wanted this by the 6th of July, and she called me last Thursday. I never heard from her, I thought about of calling her back, but then thought no, she probably decided not to go with me and didn't want to tell me, fine, whatever, I thought a little rude for her not to call me back and tell me, but I wasn't surprised.
Well, here is the kicker, my sister tells me yesterday that she "found out that Sam's sheet cakes are $35 with an edible image. How much do you charge?" I told her and she said yeah, she (the lady she works with) is going to go with Sam's. I said that's fine, she she wants a frozen, cheep, and poorly decorated cake and not get what she really wants, because they are not going to make the flowers she wants that's fine with me. Then my boyfriend pipes in (mistake on his part) calm down its ok, their cakes are good too. I like them. then my sister puts in her 2 cents, me too. I know I am not a professional, but dang!!!!
That really ticked me off, because their cakes IMHO are nasty and not deco that nice, and I don't say this because I have started, because before I started I only bought my cakes from a real bakery.
I wasn't so upset about the lady my sis works with, I was more upset with the way they tried to "calm" me down, when I wasn't upset to begin with I was just stating a fact! Plus they know how much work goes into cakes.
What do you think? Sorry so long

I swear, ONLY decorators understand what actually goes into a cake !

People have no idea... how we feel about our babies...and I dont think anything they said would have been okay, because even though you weren't 'upset" we all know it does bother us a little bit when we find out someone would rather go with one of those big chains than with us. They compromise taste and beauty for a measly few bucks...Im sure deep down you were a little upset I know I would have been I much rather hear that someone is going to a better bakery than someplace than that.

Yeah...I understand what you are trying to say...
I had similar experiences too.. when people compare my cakes with that of sams or walmart...specially price wise..

I hate it when they do that and worst some people try to bargain which upsets me a lot..

Sorry that you had to go through all that..

Where in Iowa are you? I am in davenport

Yeah I would be upset too. I went through a similar situation. The price I quoted at the beginning I know I under bidded. So she changed the whole order and I went up on the price and she said that was alot and it was not in her budget so she decided to go with someone else. So I feel for you. I don't think they really know all the effort we put into these cakes. We are literally on our feet for hours at a time and our arms, hands and feet hurt at the end of the day. Good luck on your next order.

Don't take it personally. There are loads of people who know how great a Mercedes is, yet they drive a Hyundai. ( I know a millionaire who drives a hyundai) To them, it's "just a car" and one car goes back and forth to work, just like another.

People value different things. Not everyone is a luxury cake customer. You'll be rich if 10% of your local community become customers, just walk away from the rest.

AND DON"T DISCOUNT......EVER!

This stinks. I think we've all felt this irritation. I work in a large law firm and am the resident cake-baker. Everyone here goes with my cakes and it is a great client base. Also, because it is a fancy firm in a big town, a lot of people are willing to pay my prices, too, so it's great.

But, anyway, I have a friend here at work who was getting married, and another friend (and customer of four or five cakes in the last year) was hosting the shower for her that they were having here. Because the bride and I are friends, I emailed the hostess and offered to do her cake as a gift to the bride (and because the hostess was a past customer). She said that they already ordered their cake from Giant Eagle. I was SO INSULTED!

Anyway, to add insult to injury, when the shower was over, the hostess came to me and said, I wish we had your cake. Yours are always so good. Then she gave me these ridiculous little plastic balloons, and said that they were from the cake and if I wanted them, I could have them to use for a future cake of mine. Whatever!

I just hate the way people have begun to look at Sam's and Wal-Mart as the norm... the average...

You know what average is?? Cream of the Crap.

I won't shop at Wal-Mart unless I can't find what I'm looking for anywhere else.

....on a related (quality) note. Ever notice now many more bicycles and lawn mowers are out for the trash man since Wal-Mart has taken over? They sell crap at crap prices.

Don't try to compete. Don't get angry. Just say, "Oh, I'm sorry... I mistook you for someone with taste..."

People (not even our own family) do not have an idea how much work it takes to decorate a cake. For us it's a piece of art not just a blob of sugar on top of the cake. Let it slide, I hope no one likes the Sam's cake. Sometimes we find our family not to be supportive of what we do, but anywyas, that's what this forum it's for WE ALL SUPPORT YOU AND FEEL FOR YOU.

I recently made a cake for a friend of my daughter for her 13th birthday. It was a 2 tiered cake, different colors that the girl loved, fondant decos. When I was talking to the mom about how much the cake would have costs if she got it at a bakery, I told her that it would have easily been $50-$75 she laughed at me at thinking I could charge that price and said, "good thing then I have you to do them free for me". Well, no more freebies for her

Omaida-Amen, couldnt of said it better.

I had my kids with me a a grocery store a couple weeks ago and they honed in on these cupcakes--.50 a piece. They were so pretty...swirley tops with pretty colors.

Tasted like crisco and chemicals...I could not get over the aftertaste! It was nasty. I was scared to feed my kids whatever could be making it taste like that.

Mine is easy...BC roses and great string work...

My MIL refuses to let me decorate a cake for her at all. She says the ones at Walmart are nicer. Well IMHO I don't think so. I use good icing and she does not like BC. That is why she won't let me do a cake for her. She tried to order a cake for my daughters first birthday until my DH piped up that I was doing the cake. My DD birthday is next week. My MIL said she was not going to eat the cake and that she will order one anyway. But my MIL never supports anything I try to do and she is always trying her best to outdo me. I just let her comments slide off as everyone else loves my cakes and thinks that they are nicely decorated. Some people just don't understand.

They really have no clue. They have no clue how much work goes into it and that its not a cake, its an art piece. Im sure if we told them that something they created was so,so they would know the feeling.
Even my own husband doesnt respect my feelings that way. I made a babyshower cake last weekend and he was suppose to watch our two young daughters while I worked on it. Well ofcourse he had his nose burried in a video game and I had to decorate the thing inbetween holding the 2 yr old. Then when all was said and done I asked him what he thought and he said "Well its alright. I think its kinda messy!" I really wanted to kill him. But the people at the shower went nuts over it and couldnt believe I made it which made it all worth while.
Even though they hurt our feelings I dont think they mean to. But I know what you mean about it hurting your feelings!

Ever since I started baking and decorating cakes for family and friends, I get nothing but compliments. The friends refuse to eat anything bought at the grocery store bakery now and insist on ordering from me for every event lol.

My mother on the other hand just doesn't care because she doesn't eat much cake... but she likes my cakes better then the stores but the stores are still alright in her eyes.

I'm sorry I can't even think about eating something that was made 2-3-4-5 weeks ago and frozen and shipped in on a truck and sat in some freezer for another week or so just because it's more convenient for them to not have to bake in store... well hello yall make bread and cookies fresh why don't you make your cakes fresh????

Ya know that's what is wrong with society today. Everything HAS to be disposable. Lighters, diapers, even cars. So it's just logical that food would fall into that unfortunate catagory also.
In this day and age of 3 bucks or more for a gallon of gas, people are gonna want cut where ever thay can. If that means eating macaroni n cheese instead of lobster, that's what they are gonna do.
Personally, I think we need to get it out of our heads that we are competing with the wallymart's. We aren't. We have this whole niche to ourselves but if we keep comparing ourselves to the disposable giant we will lose that particular niche of the market.
Play up your strengths ladies (and gents) we have something going that walmart can never do (even if they do occasionally have some good decorators) they are constricted by what they can and cannot do.
I saw a topic on here last night about a "different perspective one pricing" It compared cakes to paintings. People don't buy the paintings for the canvas but for the masterpiece ON the canvas. Same way with cakes. If someone is looking for JUST a cake then yeah they'll get minimal. But if they are looking for that "masterpiece" then that's where we come in.
Hold yer heads up high guys. We ARE the Picassos and Monet's of the cake world. NOW LETS ACT LIKE IT!!!!!

What is wrong with people? I can't beleive the stories that you guys have shared. People are so rude and have no manners. I mean I am one for honesty but holly cow, some people are just down right curl!!!

I have said many-a-times how I HATE "supermarket cakes"!!!!!!!!!! They are frozen, have ugly white icing with some half-assed roses or some sloppy design piped on. I can't believe people go to them.

I just had a lady ask me if I do sheet cakes, I told her I would do it but I also told my boyfriend "I hope she is not surprised at how much it's going to be... she can get one at Sam's for like, $30." He replied, "But yourswon't look like a Sam's Club cake and that is what they are paying for.

Some people just want a cake (that's why they get those grocery store ones)... When it's time to "cut the cake" people hack into the ugly thing and eat it. No one "ooos" and "ahhs" over it. NEVER. But, when I bring a nice decorated one, people won't stop "oooing" and "ahhing" about it. (What I call the wow-factor) Some people don't even want to cut into it.

(I could never work in one of those crap bakeries. I like making unique cakes and theirs are not.)

may I say ----

that we are going on to what is now the second (at least) generation raised on:

twinkies
ding-dongs
ring-dings
snowballs
hostess cakes
lil' debbies cakes
etc.

so -- and you wonder why they think Sam's/WalMart/Costoc/etc. cakes taste great?

their pallets are SO poorly educated.

just like w/ all foods -- hard to appreciate the really well prepared meal if all you've grown up on is fast/frozen/microwaved/pre-packaged foods.

(just try good homemade mac n' cheese once, and you'll not want to go back to the box!)

You are so right Doug! It is hard to re educated them too. They just like not knowing what's good for them....

This is funny because I made homemade bread a few weeks ago because I was sick of the stuff I was getting at the store and at first my son wouldn't try it - because it wasn't in the right package, but he finally did and said it was so much better than the old stuff. Now, there is only homemade bread.

I have to add my 2 cents...when I am in the grocery, I can't help but stroll by the bakery to see what's in their case...shakes head in a negative way. Customers are having their personalized greetings put on cakes and I am wondering how can these people stand to eat those cakes! Let me tell you, I have been to parties where you get the standard sheet cake from the store, I would eat maybe a little bit of the cake, but the icing...NEVER!! That crap is so sweet it would make your false teeth hurt . I have been desparate for something sweet at times, and have popped a little debbie honey bun..omg felt like the inside of my mouth had been in for a grease job. One last thing..nechee...your MIL is a sick woman and I feel for you kiddo.
Helen