My son is turning 21 so I decided to bake and ship him a cake. It arrived DESTROYED!!!

To avoid problems I purchased a metal rectangle cake pan with a lid that sealed on top - baked a choclate cake in the pan and then just iced the top with Chocolate Fudge icing then I decorated with a fondant replica of his favorite piece of personal art work. The fondant picture was flat two-d.

I took it to UPS the manager assuered me he could pack it and get it to my son next day early moring delivery it was an instate delivery - my drive time would be 3hours - theirs ?

My son called this morning and said he got the package the cake was totally destroyed. I was devastated - I texed him a pic of the original cake I sent and he texted me a pic of the cake he received.

It was apparent the cake had been dropped and tipped upside down. I went to UPS and the manager told me he would refund packing fee but not shipping - I paid 3x the shipping rate to get it there next day morning delivery.

He said he did not mark it fragile or this end up or perishable. He said it made no difference that on the UPS website it states that packing must be secure to avoid boxes been thrown and turned upside down. He did ask about the box condition but I didn't know that. I haven't checked the UPS site yet.

It is just that it is a big birthday and his first away from home for a mom this is such a hard time and then this - it really stinks.

Thanks for letting me vent and understanding as cake decorators and moms.

Mazz

I don't think I've ever heard a good shipping story with cakes. Sorry this happened.

Can you post pictures? If I were you I would make a bigger fuss about this with someone higher than the manager you talked to.

The only cakes I've shipped have been King's Cakes for mardi gras and a couple of bundt cakes. They've arrived fine, but I packed them myself and totally secured them inside and out. They couldn't move if they wanted to.

You would think if you paid 3x's as much as normal that would rate as somewhat special handling...

Is there a way to pack a cake safely and it arrive okay? My best friend is in OK due to her hubby being in the Navy and I really wanted to send her a cake for her birthday which is October 2nd as a surprise.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. Never ship a cake, even if the occasional person is successful doing it. My sad story: http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopic-626570-0-days0-orderasc-.html

Thanks for listening. I haven't been able to upload the pics yet but I am so mad that the guy didn't even mark the box let alone tell me up front the risks he said it was a learning experience for both of us - yeah right it wasn't his kids birthday or his money.

Cakeboss i read your link dud you ever get a refund?

But on a better note my son really appreciated the thought and he said the cake tasted really good.

I have shipped cake a few times using Priority Mail in USPS. I shipped it to New Jersery, Washington and Oregon. They all came in really good condition. But then again they are just 6 inches round cake that is covered in fondant. I put the cake in a small plastic box and then I put some wax paper on the sides, so it won't move around then I close the lid and wrapped it with plastic wrap and I put them in their box. I tell them though that it is perishable and fragile.

my hubby worked for UPS during his college days in a distributing warehouse.. you should hear the stories he has told me. Those boxes are tossed on conveyor belts then shoved off one belt to another, they fall frequently off the belt and the box is just tossed on again.

He said that fragile was a joke. He asked a manager what to do with the fragile boxes, the guy laughed and tossed it on the conveyor with all the others. Fragile and perishable means NOTHING in the huge distributor warehouses.

This was a number of years ago, but considering the package I just recived a few days ago from UPS I think the same practices are still practiced. The box was crushed.

kelly--just read your post. so sorry about the cake. It looked beautiful.

Amen to that Tesso!

I have lost count on the number of times that I have receivd packages where the boxes are smashed, cut, torn, taped shut or just left and half of my merchandise is showing. It doesn't matter if it is UPS or the postal service - they don't give a dam but sure know how to keep increasing their prices. My magazines and regular mail arrive at times looking like they have been chewed on by a dog.

I guess I would never ever consider senidng a cake any where and I admire those who take the risk.

I once shipped a cake that looked like a bible to my minister son while he was serving in the Army. It arrived fine, but I made sure the package completely supported the single layer rectangle cake on all sides (cut cake to fit the box) and then decorated it. I covered the cake with fondant and wrapped it in saran wrap.

www.cakesafe.com

I don't have one, but just thought for information sake

I do have a cake safe and if I were traveling WITH the cake I'd have no issues. But shpping cakes just doesn't work. I just sent cupcakes inside a cupcake holder, braced to fit the box exactly, this side up and perishable all over the box and they arrived looking like they'd gone thru a shredder. SIGH. These were for my nephew at USAF tech school so I was greatly disappointed, especially since I'd spent 15 bucks to send them. Next time I send uncut brownies and cookies! UGH

If you have a foodsaver, you can put the cupcakes on cardboard in rows and get out just enough air to secure them, not smash them. Send icing in a zip lock bag with a mark on the bag for where to cut to pipe themselves. Write instructions for piping with a sharpie right on the bag. You can play football with the box and the cupcakes will be ok. Cookies and quick bread and small cakes work perfectly. When the bag is opened, the cakes bounce back that tiny bit. This works for uniced cakes. The foodsaver is about $100.00, but you will save that in no time with all of the things you can do with it. I have never done it, but fondant may not stick to the bag. You are limited by the size of the bag for cakes.

I get so many request to ship cakes and I turn every request down, I am terrified of the thought. I wish there was a successful way because that would be so much more business. Sorry ths happened to you!!

I had a client ship an anniversary tier once and it went okay. She froze it, then shipped it overnight Fedex on dry ice, and it was fine when it got there. I personally wouldn't try it, but I guess it can work.

So, how do the cupcake store ship cupcakes? Georgetown Cupcakes ships, how do they do it?

I think most places use FedEx, overnight and packed on dry ice. ive ordered cupcakes from cupcake stop to see how they did it. and it was like triple boxed and each cupcake had a sucker stick in the middle to keep it from getting smashed.