Not that I am the expert on phony posts, but phony CC posts usually have several things in common, the first and foremost being that they are started by members who have only just recently signed up to CC in order to stir up trouble. Sometimes they lurk for a few months, but posts and pics are still usually limited. lu has been an active member of CC for three years now and has two pages of cake pics (dating back that long ago) and over 500 posts (also dating back to that long ago).
Also troll posts usually involve wild stories that just get wilder and wilder as the thread goes on. In this one...there was a cake, it wasn't up to the standards that people anticipated from CCC...and that's about it. If this was phony IMO, by now all sorts of crazy, possibly illegal things would have gone down 
. Duff would have flown out to personally apologize, the nephew would have rejected his apology and gotten into a fistfight, they both would be hospitalized and the future of AOC would be in jeaopordy...the birthday woman btw would have cried about how "ugly" the cake was and sued CCC for damages...etc. Instead: she loved the cake and appreciated her DH's gesture for getting her a CCC cake. Not terribly salacious.
Definitely my humble opinion, and I am sure I've been "had" by normal, longstanding members of my own community...but I think sometimes you just have to trust things based on the info you have. I think it's understandable to be skeptical of things that seem hard to believe right now (i.e. that a CCC could seem so run of the mill), because of the recent way we've been completely jerked around...but it seems odd to me to suspect a prank by a longstanding member of the board.
Oh, oh, wait!!!: Unless her nephew has pulled one over on HER?! 
ROTFL!!
Wow I'm waiting to here about this also. I've heard once his min order is 500 then someone else said 1,000 so who knows for certain. I would be disappointed if I spent that much and it was dry, but if that were the case I don't think he would have all the business he has.
Ceshell your funny............I think your right she would have had to know if it was a joke,and I highly doubt she would do that....but that cake, phew....
Oh, oh, wait!!!: Unless her nephew has pulled one over on HER?!
ROTFL!!
Now, THAT was MY concern. My first instinct when I saw the cake was that CCC doesn't do that style. They do everything fondant... they'd never do a roof like that... from what we've seen on TV. I was afraid that the nephew called about a cake, got the price and just decided that he could get one for a lot cheaper and made a few calls. I wasn't doubting the OP, but worried that maybe she got fooled... ?
I did love the story that went with it, and you'd hate to think someone would pull a stunt like that on his wife, but it may have been well-intentioned. He may have WANTED to get a CCC cake, but decided it was just too expensive... who knows?
Haven't we all been there though? Thought or heard great things about something and then when you try it your like "I paid/waited/whatever for that??? 
" Like a great restaurant or movie? Little bit of a let down.
Sometimes the ego gets in front of the cake (sort to speak). I know I would never pay $2000 for something that I was going to expel into a toliet later on. That's just me.
Though I do love the story and the love that's there. Great story!!
Wow I'm waiting to here about this also. I've heard once his min order is 500 then someone else said 1,000 so who knows for certain. I would be disappointed if I spent that much and it was dry, but if that were the case I don't think he would have all the business he has.
It was $500 at one time, it was then raised to $1000 a while back. This is direct from the CCC website:
How much are your cakes?
Because all of our cakes are priced individually by the complexity of their design, we do not have a standard price list.
Due to the care we give to each cake and the one-of-a-kind nature of each order, we require a minimum of $1000 on all of our cakes.
http://www.charmcitycakes.com/noflash/index.cfm?rd=faq
Well, I finally got caught up with this thread, and I finally got the pictures to come up.............and personally, I just can't see this being an Ace of Cakes cake...................and for $2000?????????????
I would think that an AOC cake would have been on a much grander scale than this.............................
Hi,
I'm lu's daughter and I just need to say that I am completly appauled at some of the responses. She tried really hard to get these pics up for you, and wanted to share this with people who would appreciate it. You have called her a liar, and that is something that she is not. She has been upset by the things you are saying. She was just excited to share this with you guys and you have made it miserable for her. I think some of you owe her an apology. Thankyou
ku
Hi,
I'm lu's daughter and I just need to say that I am completly appauled at some of the responses. She tried really hard to get these pics up for you, and wanted to share this with people who would appreciate it. You have called her a liar, and that is something that she is not. She has been upset by the things you are saying. She was just excited to share this with you guys and you have made it miserable for her. I think some of you owe her an apology. Thankyou
ku
I agree.
I'm so sorry that some posters used this thread to do a little venting and made her feel bad. As my Gramma used to say 'Consider the source.'
Most of us trust that she wouldn't post anything here that was a hoax. Please give her a hug from me.
Lu,
I am so sorry this wonderful experience has turned into such a nightmare for you. I am so thrilled to have seen a CCC cake - what I consider to be a REAL one not 'made for tv'! And I'm SO glad that I didn't have to pay for it!! As long as your neice and her husband were pleased with the cake it doesn't matter what we think. Some of the comments have made me afraid to ever post any pictures of my cakes - not that I could ever figure out how to do that! Once again I'm sorry this has been so hard on you. I always believed that it was a true story.
Melissa
Lu,
I did not post any replies in this topic, but I kept up with the posts.
Please do not put everyone in that basket with a few bad apples. I am sorry that what you had anticipated as a fun and enlightening experience has left you feeling defeated.
Hang in there!
He has to do that to weed out some of the cakes that would just take up too much of his time and not really worth it. With the fan base they have, everyone and their little brother would want him to do their cake. And most of them wouldnt pay that much for a cake because they probably couldnt afford it. So he has to take customers that are seriously interested in paying them for their time and creativity. I understand stand that. A lot of FN chefs and cake decorators do get a minimum like that because they ARE famous. All the power to them! I would love to be in that kind of position. (either way, to be the decorator that could command that type of salary or the person that had that kind of money at their disposal). But Im not!
And people, there are dishonest people out there. People who make up stories just to get attention or just have no life of their own so they have to make everyone else miserable. But this woman went out of her way to tell us before her family even received the cake and was excited to tell us about it! Not everyone on here is out to get people and be dishonest. And if you accuse people without knowing the facts, thats just wrong. I agree with her daughter and the people that accused her should give her an apology. I just dont understand how people can go out of their way to be so mean to people. We join this site because we are all interested in hearing one anothers stories and sharing our knowledge and experiences. Not to condemn our peers.
He has to do that to weed out some of the cakes that would just take up too much of his time and not really worth it. With the fan base they have, everyone and their little brother would want him to do their cake. And most of them wouldnt pay that much for a cake because they probably couldnt afford it. So he has to take customers that are seriously interested in paying them for their time and creativity. I understand stand that. A lot of FN chefs and cake decorators do get a minimum like that because they ARE famous. All the power to them! I would love to be in that kind of position. (either way, to be the decorator that could command that type of salary or the person that had that kind of money at their disposal). But Im not!
And people, there are dishonest people out there. People who make up stories just to get attention or just have no life of their own so they have to make everyone else miserable. But this woman went out of her way to tell us before her family even received the cake and was excited to tell us about it! Not everyone on here is out to get people and be dishonest. And if you accuse people without knowing the facts, thats just wrong. I agree with her daughter and the people that accused her should give her an apology. I just dont understand how people can go out of their way to be so mean to people. We join this site because we are all interested in hearing one anothers stories and sharing our knowledge and experiences. Not to condemn our peers.
I am new to CakeCentral and your thread was one of the first I saw. You did a great job posting and I loved the excitement you created, especially not being able to post the pictures, it just made the suspense more intense. It was like watching a TV show that leaves you hanging before the commercial or being continued the next night or week. It was kinda like who shot J.R. all over again.
I agree with most about the cake and I know you would have done a much better job at a fraction of the cost. We've seen the cakes that Duff's done and just expected a lot more. But still, a cake from Charm City Cakes is like a lock of hair or sweat from Elvis Pressley. Your niece is a very lucky woman to have a such a great husband. They sound like a fun couple.
Thanks for a great thread!!!!!!
Steve
Angel City Cakes
It was kinda like who shot J.R. all over again.
Alright!!! A newbie who's also an "oldie" and remembers J.R.!!! 
I could care less where you were when Kennedy was shot ..... but I LUV stories on where you were when J.R. was shot! 
sorry, i'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that some think tht because you are paying for "the name" that some how means its ok for the product to be substandard. in my world it means the exact opposite. i think that there is a difference in the chosen design ("maybe that is what they wanted") and the quality of the execution of the design. and i agree that the cake is not what most would think of as a ccc standard quality cake. obviously, i am not anywhere near ccc level but i am a consumer and i would have been really upset if i had paid $2000 for a cake from them and that was what i got. i am a huge fan of the show and their work, i am just not sure that i will be saving my cake baking money to buy one of their creations. and that is just my opinion.
sorry, i'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that some think tht because you are paying for "the name" that some how means its ok for the product to be substandard. in my world it means the exact opposite.
Amen!!
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