CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP:::Sam's is up the road - Page 2

This follows up to a BTB of mine contacting me regarding her groom's cake. She booked her wedding cake over a year ago, and insisted that her MIL and FIL come to the consultation, AND have their own samples to try for the groom's cake. Well, normally, I would NEVER offer additional samples above the three that I normally provide at consultations. I did...b/c she seemed SO sure of booking the groom's cake, as well, and the wedding cake IS a huge order. SO, she contacts me about a month ago regarding the groom's cake. Cake is for 100 people, and send a pic...could I do it? Of course, I could do the cake...no problem. When I give her the price of $3 per serving...MIL insisted fondant icing be used, AND I even quoted her a discount off of the groom's cake due to the amount of the wedding cake...MY choice to do that. She e-mails back that MIL was "FLOORED" (her words) at my pricing!!! She had a strict budget of $60 that she was adhering to for the groom's cake, since she was "already paying $1,500 for the rehearsal dinner." Ummm...if you're paying $1,500 for 100 people at the rehearsal dinner, I think that you could spring for something other than a Sam's Club sheet cake. Anyway, I'm still doing the wedding cake in the fall, but I was aghast at the MIL's response when I gave her my prices over a year ago. It's not like I just pulled a price out of the sky to quote her. People just blow my freaking mind sometimes!

Here are my individual replies to her. Still haven't heard back from her, either.

(1) My prices were absolutely outrageous.
It is your perogative to place an order for a cake anywhere that you choose to do so. My prices are clearly stated on the "flavors and pricing tab" on my web site, and you even said that you knew that pricing would be a "little" more due to it being a custom cake, and when I offered you a quote for the cake in question, you stated that it was unnecessary, because you had reviewed my pricing info on the site.

(2) How much can a cake cost to bake and slap icing on?
If you're purchasing it from Sam's or Walmart, not much. When you call a custom bakery, you're not only paying for the fresh, from scratch made cake. You're paying for the icing used to decorate the cake. You're paying for my time and attention to create a one-of-a-kind, unique design just for the person the cake is intended for. It's not just something that I am slapping together to fill up an empty space on my shelf with. You're also paying for the electricity used to mix up the batter, mix up the homemade icing, and bake the cake. You're paying for the water used to clean my utensils to decorate your cake with. You're paying for the box and board used to display/store your cake. There is much, much more that goes into a fresh, from scratch baked cake that what a big box store would need to charge you for.

(3) Why in the world would someone "splurge" on a sheet cake for $45 when they could go to Sam's and get one for half that?
That's totally up to the person. If someone wanted a previously frozen cake decorated with icing that tastes like lard, and no personal attention, then by all means, Sam's is the choice to make.

(4) I ought to be ashamed of my prices. They're sinful.
My prices are what they are. They are set to cover my overhead, my time, and everything else that goes into creating a personal, custom, unique cake. You'd said that you'd been on my web site prior to contacting me to do the cake. You can see that my cakes are far more than a run of the mill sheet cake. I'm meticulous with my creations and attention to detail. I am very proud of the cakes that I send out, and my customer feedback backs me up on the quality and pride that goes into each one. I will not apologize for my pricing. It is what it is.