I was just curious how you all charge for delivery?

I charge .50 per mile, counting the mileage to the venue, and the mileage back home.

$1.25 per round trip mile and here's why:

- Covers gas.
- Covers misc vehicle expense, like .....
..........buying new tires more often than normal due to excessive business mileage;
..........changing oil more often than normal due to excessive business mileage
..........paying for commercial insurance for a delivery vehicle which is MUCH higher than regular personal insurance
..........interest on the loan that enables me to even HAVE a delivery vehicle to provide the EXTRA SERVICE to deliver your cake.
- Covers lost opportunity time ... if I'm in a van delivering a cake, then I'm NOT in the kitchen baking money, uh, baking another cake and I'm not in consultation with a bride booking that next event.
- Covers payroll .... and dont' tell me you don't have payroll. If you expect to make a profit on your cake, then you have payroll. The fee has to cover the employee's (or your) time from the time the cake leaves the shop until the driver returns to the shop. A 40 mile trip "can" take between 2-3 hours, including drive time, the traffic situation (a trip to dowtown Indy during 5:00 rush hour will take MUCH longer than a 40 mile trip on the freeway in the country) and set up.

So a 40 mile delivery would be 40 miles x 2 (roundtrip) = 80 miles x $1.25 = $100.

How do they avoid paying this? By driving the 80 round trip miles themselves and picking up their cake and being responsible for getting it there in one piece, and then *I* can go home early and plop on the couch wiht my chips and diet coke and Lifetime movie!

I love your response and thank you for the explanation.