I am in NC making the 11x15 sheet with a 6 inch smash and fondant bow and accents.

My husband said $50 is too much.

I need to know because now I am not feeling as confident as I was before.

It will be similar to the one in my photos as the chocolate heart cake.

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Anyone?

I definitely don't think it's too much...I think you should stick to your price.

I do not think that it too much AT ALL!! I think you are right on target!

I'm not in NC, but I charge $35 for an 11x15 - but I know I am cheap. Oh, and that DOES NOT include any type of fondant work. The $35 is just for a regular ol' 11x15. Check out the clown cake in my photos.).

Hi I'm in Ohio rural cheap country, 11x15 is a half sheet here so 30.00 and smash cake is 5.00 and the fondant bows and stuff I would think make up the other 20.00 so 50 doesn't seem bad to me, but then again I'm making them not buying them. I know people here on CC get lots more but I can't here where I live. It's Sams Club and Wal-Mart sheet cake country.

I charge$1.50 per person for sheet cakes and $2.75 for stacked cakes so I think you are undercharging.

That doesn't sound too expensive to me but a lot depends on what is standard in your area.

I am in a suburban area (surrounded by rural) - pretty much middle class and I charge $50 for a 2 layer/filled 12 x 18 half sheet and haven't had any problems. But you also have the smash cake and fondant accents (the bow takes some additional time/labor, etc.) so in my opinion, $50 sounds fine. Is your customer Ok with the price? If they have agreed, then it really doens't matter what your husband thinks.

Girl... how much did you spend on ingredients? And how many does this serve? and how long to make it?

I would charge over $100 for it in my area. Since I do organic milk and dairy and scratch cakes, cost for making such a cake (including driving it and a cake box/plates) is about $25 - JUST the supplies. With gathering supplies, planning the cake, baking, decorating and clean up it's a MINIMUM of 3 hours work too.

Sounds like your DH is trying to compare you to Costco - which you are not. DO NOT GO LOWER!!

Melissa

No, I don't think that's too much for the two cakes.

That cake would be $90 (all buttercream) in my shop. Don't under sell yourself! How much is your time actually worth to you???

NO, you are not overcharging........is it a single layer or are you torting and filling, therefore giving you a 2 layer cake? If so, I would up the price for the 2 layer....you have to make money too! HTH.

I start out my 9x13 at $30....that is with a basic design and top/bottom borders.

Thanks, I feel better now. She has already agreed to the price. I just want to make sure I shouldn't feel guilty about taking the money.

You guys are great!

I charge $1/serv for non-stacked cakes. So A single layer 11x15 cake (2x2 serv.) is 41 serv. $41.00. Double layer (1x2 serv.) is 77 serv. $71.00 I would charge $5.00 for the extra decorations and give the smash cake free if it is for a first b-day. So if it is a single layer $50.00 is close to what I would charge. But I am in a lower class community.

Val

I'm in Raleigh, and I charge $40 for a buttercream decorated 1/4 sheet cake. Now, my prices may be a tad higher because of using only kosher ingredients, but cetainly not too much higher. I think you are undercharging as well.

Make a chart for your husband showing your cost of supplies, factor in boxes, boards, electricity, etc. And then list your hourly wage (if there's actually any money left). He'll quickly realize that you are NOT OVERcharging!.

Good luck,
Kathi

Not too much for sure! Stick to your guns, especially since client already agreed!!!

Hi Debster. I too am in rural Ohio and I charge 30.00 for a 1/2 sheet. I am trying to get business built cause my boss is retiring in two years and I want my own business. It's hard to charge what the cakes are worth

Oh pul-lease! non-cake-making-men are not entitled to opinions!

When we got married 19 years ago, I was going to just buy the cake (come one...I was a little busy being the bride). Hubby was FLOORED when he discovered cake for 100 was $125-$150. He HONESTLY thought you could pick one up for thirty bucks.

Had he ever bought one before? No.
Had he ever priced one before? No.
Had he even talked to anyone who had bought one? No.

He "just decided" that it was "just cake" and thirty bucks "sounded right".

He bought me my first KA for Christmas. He went to a local shop on his lunch hour and came back and told his boss, "They were $125!" When she said, "Oh wow! They must be on sale!" he almost fell off of his chair! He had no idea.

So unless the guy is actively involved in your business ... odds are good that he has no idea what he's talking about.

You go girl!! You crack me up Indy. I need to come and take some lessons in common sense from you...

I would charge $2.50 per serving minimum. So 40 x 2.5 = $100 PLUS $10-$20 for the bow depending on the size. If your husband thinks you charge too much, direct him to my website for a reality check lol!

No way is that too much!! You shouldn't feel bad about that. Sounds quite reasonable to me

Who is buying this cake, his mother? He should not care how much you charge. He should actually want you to charge more for your cakes as it is time you have to spend away from HIM . I charge $50 for a simple 11 x 15. Your price is not too high. Accept the money and dont feel guilty for getting paid for your skills!

"Please do this: Add up cost of ingredients, toss in a couple of dollars for power usage. Subtract from $50. (don't forget your cake board/box/paper) Divide by the hours you spent, from the time you opened your pantry for ingredients until the last spatula is washed... into what is left from the $50.

Ask DH if HE works for that much per hour.

This kind of thing infuriates me. How dare he devalue you!

Case closed"

I agree 100%, but I'm also guilty of grossly undercharging for the few cakes that I have sold ($75 for a three layer wedding cake, anyone?). I think $50 is a steal for what you are providing!

I think one of the hardest things to break away from is the thinking "People won't pay $xx.xx for cake around HERE!"

You have no idea if they will or not. If all they have is walmart and costco, then that's what they THINK cake is worth..... it's not the standard of what cake is worth.

I've learned SO much about pricing, and what is FAIR pricing, right here on CC. When I first popped on here, I was astonished at what people were selling cakes for.

But I didn't take the lack-of-self-confidence stand of "no one would pay that much for MY cakes." Heck no!!! I adapted the "If they can get, so can I!" attitude.

My prices went up .... and so did my sales.

And thus my line of "Yes, I"m higher than Walmart. And your point is......?

I also live in Raleigh, NC and I charge $50 for character cakes, no fondant, no bows or extras, just custom cake board and ribbon. Your price is wat too fair!

I live in SC and I recently charged $50 for a 1/2 sheet cake and 2 smash cakes. The sheet cake had a FBCT on it and the smash cakes just had dots on them. My husband wants me to charge more. I think that as long as the client is fine with the price, just go with it.

I just have to chime into this thread again! Since when did the CUSTOMER set the price of anything???? If the customer is fine with the price or not is irrelivant. This is my price...take it or leave it.

I agree with previous posters that you (or anyone looking for a price) should add up all ingredient costs including the box and board and a few bucks for electricity and so forth. Then write down how long it will take you to actually make the cake including shopping trip time. When I develooped my pricing I also added in the time it took to bake the cake because I make my icing during that time and start on embellishments. You might be suprised how much it actually costs to make "just a cake" and how much time you have to spend to get the final product. BTW, when I showed my hubby my time/$$$ "estimates" he nearly fainted....now he understands how a birthday cake can cost over $100 and a wedding cake can be $500+.

We're in ruralish Arkansas. My daughter is a waitress at one of the nicer restaurants in town. They charge five bucks for one SMALL slice of cheese cake. Now, admittedly, it is really GOOD cheesecake. But it's not custom decorated. I don't think it's a bad idea to "arm" yourself with some price comparisons in your area. That's the way I've been figuring what I should charge. If I go to all the trouble to get set up and operate by the same health department regulations that the restaurants in town have, I expect to charge comparable prices. If I could sell cakes out of my own kitchen, didn't have to have a three compartment sink, water heater, separate entry, blah blah blah, then I could charge less because my costs would be less. I think cake folks (if they have a "store") should think of themselves almost as restaurantuers. How many restaurants could you go in and get dessert for everyone at two fifty a pop? In my town, they could go to Piggly Wiggly and buy a half sheet cake for 18 bucks. It will have been frozen and the decorations will be, well, I don't want to say it looks like slop because their workers are expected to slap that stuff out in a few minutes. So, think of it like this, if those folks went in one of your nicer restaurants in town, what do you think they would have to pay per serving for a nice slice of cake?