Wow...Im surprised at some of the prices....both ways! Some way high....some way low. Im just starting out, but a friend of a friend saw a couple of my cakes that were 2 tier...9" & 6" fondant with fondant/gumpaste decorations. She ordered one for her daughters birthday party....then I saw of FB how many people she was inviting to the party, so I sent her a message, told her how many the cake would serve and asked if she thought the cake would be enough. She thought it would serve 70 people!!!! I had only asked her for $40....bet she really thought she was getting a deal! Needless to say I have to make a bigger cake.
Ok, my turn! This is a 12" choc and 8" madeira with handmade fondant roses and handmade personalized topped. I delivered it 12 miles away and charged £125 for the lot. I got done didn't I?! :'o(
Hi everyone!
Great topic! So, I work full time and make cake on the side. Because it is so labor intensive, I have decide to charge more for my time, and most people don't seem to have a problem with my prices (I live in southern Michigan). Here are a few:
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2150501/
This is a 16, 13, 10, 7, plus the grooms cake. All are diffrerent flavors with ganache/fondant.
I charged about $850 for this.
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2119273/
This one was also 16, 13, 10 and 7. All are ganache/fondant.
Because of the flowers, I charged about $925 for this one.
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2100355/
My friend and I traded services for this cake - I got my daughters senior pictures for this one.
It was ganache/fondant also, chocolate and vanilla. I would have charged around $800.
The charges cover SPS, boards and delivery. Each of these cost me aroun $150 to make.
Thanks!
Karen
Wow safe to say I REALLY underprice. That is definitely about to change....especially for 3D cakes. This was a 3D cake I did and I offered to do it half price ($120) I think it's safe to say I really underpriced this one. Fortunately the client realized this and refuses to tell anyone how much she actually paid and instead just says it was worth every penny. It served 40-50 and was about 3 feet tall. I spent one day building and reinforcing the supports (about 3 hours). The next day baking and rice krispie-ing shoes and arms. Then it was an overnight job of stacking, carving, buttercream, fondant, and details. Probably a full 20-24hours (I have a 4 year old and refuse to work when she is home or awake for the sake of both the cake and my sanity). Krabby Patty smash cake too.
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2226846/
The pic isnt the best. It was taken at the park that afternoon in windy West Texas.
i think I will start listing my price in my descriptions and see what others say. I also call my local bakery and describe te cake asking what she would charge. Of course I pretend to be a customer
I LOVE this thread! Such a good idea : ) Here are a few of mine....
$300 - 50 servings
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/300218_267097043325820_199991496703042_689337_667682740_n.jpg[/url]
$195 - 65 servings
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/318297_267095169992674_199991496703042_689295_2135487545_n.jpg[url]
$135 - 150 mini cupcakes
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/374227_288680657834125_199991496703042_743350_1438044717_n.jpg[/url]
Thanks, I am from Long Island, NY. Originally from Yonkers, NY (Had to give a shout-out ).
I also feel nervous when giving prices, because they may sound high for cake to some people, but if they knew how much work was involved, they would understand. After a few stressful cakes I got almost nothing for, I have learned to charge more. And the worst that can happen is they say no. I'd rather have someone say no to me than work my butt off for pennies.
I agree, cupcakefrost, the thing is learning to be comfortable with the idea the worst a client can say is no. With most entrepreneurs I know, the most challenging issue they're always frustrated and quiet kept with is money! I tell people tho' I do understand not wanting to spend a lot of money on a cake but with the stresses my body goes through and my truck, making deliveries, when I need to pay a doctor's visit because I threw my back out or need repairs for the ware and tare on my delivery vehicle it's not worth me "working my butt off for pennies"
$250?? Even at $150 for a friend, I have really been short changing myself. I have done some a lot bigger and charged less because I never know what to charge. Thanks for this thread.
I made this cake for a friend for $100.00. I'm just starting out and wanted to do it for the experience. I'm curious how much everyone thinks I could have charged. It's three two-layer tiers with butter cream icing covered in MMF. I know there are a lot of things to consider when determining what to charge so I'm just looking for a general idea. Thanks!
A[quote name="cupcakefrost" url="/t/710216/cake-pics-with-prices#post_7061280"]OK, here is my first pic. This is a two-tiered chocolate cake with ganache filling and crushed oreos. The teapot and cup are rice krispies treats and the little sweets are fondant. I charged 150 for a friend, but would normally charge 225.
I'm adding a link to the pic (hopefully doing it correctly) [URL=http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1915996]http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1915996[/URL][/quote]
What recipe did you use for the cake?
Stick to your guns. You are an amazing cake artist, stop being taken advantage of. Just say No. Sorry, can't do it for that price and ask for a deposit up front and full payment on delivery. And charge her a delivery charge. After all she is welcome to shop elsewhere.
This is a great thread. Most of you are way undercharging, your work is so great! Here are some of mine, I have never charged for a cake before, they have all been for family or friends. I donated a cake to our 4-H auction raffle and it sold for 400.00 so I guess I will be making a cake for profit. I gave 12 months to use the certificate for a 4 tiered cake, wedding or event. Hope I did not bite off more than I can chew. hahahahah.
this one was for Canada Day. I made the leaves from gumpaste. I made the mold from a maple leaf then created the leaves. It was "death by chocolate" cake. This would have been 200$
This was my first wedding cake. Gumpaste flowers, delivery, set up . If I had charged it would have been 600.$
This was the last cake I made. Lost the stand in the process, clean up crew threw it out! arg. She ( the bride) felt so bad she sent me money for it. I did would have charged 600-800$ due to the gumpaste roses. They were my first though so I was glad to get a chance to make them.
I am making a graduation cake this weekend for a friend, again no charge. I always figure that making cakes for me is a hobby, I have a full time job as an RN. If I add the stress of money into the mix, it would not be fun anymore.
A
Original message sent by peetz
This is a great thread. Most of you are way undercharging, your work is so great! Here are some of mine, I have never charged for a cake before, they have all been for family or friends. I donated a cake to our 4-H auction raffle and it sold for 400.00 so I guess I will be making a cake for profit. I gave 12 months to use the certificate for a 4 tiered cake, wedding or event. Hope I did not bite off more than I can chew. hahahahah.
[ATTACHMENT=759]65a0d4dc86490e9d092ee76d029f4ffe.jpg (20k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT]
this one was for Canada Day. I made the leaves from gumpaste. I made the mold from a maple leaf then created the leaves. It was "death by chocolate" cake. This would have been 200$
[ATTACHMENT=760]1f7ebc866bd8e892afeb3586117abdf5.jpg (29k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT] This was my first wedding cake. Gumpaste flowers, delivery, set up . If I had charged it would have been 600.$
[ATTACHMENT=761]IMG_0108 (2).JPG (2,908k. JPG file)[/ATTACHMENT] This was the last cake I made. Lost the stand in the process, clean up crew threw it out! arg. She ( the bride) felt so bad she sent me money for it. I did would have charged 600-800$ due to the gumpaste roses. They were my first though so I was glad to get a chance to make them.
I am making a graduation cake this weekend for a friend, again no charge. I always figure that making cakes for me is a hobby, I have a full time job as an RN. If I add the stress of money into the mix, it would not be fun anymore.
What's your death by chocolate cake recipe
Death by chocolate:
2 dark choc cake mixes
2 c cake flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
8 egg whites or 6 whole eggs ( I use whole eggs)
2 cups of sour cream
1 cups of strong coffee ( brings out choc flavor)
1.5 cups of chocolate coffee syrup flavoring
1 cup of chocolate milk or chocolate coffee creamer
1/3 cup of oil
I or 2 depending on your taste, bags of mini chocolate chips.
This makes a lot of cake, you can half it for smaller cakes.
A[quote name="cupcakefrost" url="/t/710216/cake-pics-with-prices#post_7061280"]OK, here is my first pic. This is a two-tiered chocolate cake with ganache filling and crushed oreos. The teapot and cup are rice krispies treats and the little sweets are fondant. I charged 150 for a friend, but would normally charge 225.
I'm adding a link to the pic (hopefully doing it correctly) [URL=http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1915996]http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1915996[/URL][/quote]
What recipe did you use?
AI'm still fairly new to selling and making cakes but based from others pricing I'm seriously undercharging. How do you all decide your final price? The most I have ever charged has been $85 I know I'm ashamed! Please take a look at my cakes in my albums....not sure how to post individual pics. I'm looking forward to advice and tips!
APhew...finally I'm done reading thru this thread! I've gotta give props to Jackie80 for reviving this thread and to Peetz for sharing the death by chocolate recipe.
I already knew I was undercharging for my cakes, but even I charge more than some of these people and their cakes are awesome! I enjoyed looking thru all the cakes and comparing prices. I need to start charging for fondant accents and incorporate the costs of boards, boxes, etc.
@mooresweets920 it seems if we were all charging correctly we should use the Wilton's serving chart and multiply that by between 1.50 - 5.00 depending on the detail of the cake. But for carved cakes most people charge by the hours it takes to make the cake. I definitely need to step it up in my pricing!
Now to pop over to my laptop so I can start uploading pics to my profile and look at y'alls galleries.
i like the cake you made for dad's 75th birthday, 250 is fair enough considering the cake is so stunning and yummy(at least looks that way), and you may want to make you price similar to other cake bakery.
A[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3021071/width/200/height/400[/IMG] I charged £95 for this cake under charged would prob charge £150 next time
A[quote name="Niki11784" url="/t/710216/cake-pics-with-prices#post_7061349"]Located in northern NJ...3 hours to make this. I am almost embarrassed to post this with a price- I charged $65. But if I would charge anything more, I would not get a single order.... [URL=http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1948007]http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1948007[/URL][/quote]
Ok the feeling..from london, England and nobody in the Jewish community is gonna pay more than that!
AI can't speak to London clients, but I have many Jewish clients who value specialty cakes.
[quote name="gurvy01" url="/t/710216/cake-pics-with-prices/330#post_7398809"] Ok the feeling..from london, England and nobody in the [B]Jewish[/B] community is gonna pay more than that![/
AI'm so glad I found this thread. I just booked my first wedding and I know I under quoted but starting out I will learn. All of your cakes are gorgeous and I hope to one day be that talented.
Oh I love this thread!!! I wish they would add an price option when you post pictures so everyone could see. Also so you could send clients to the website to see prices!
I wish I knew what to charge. A lot of friends see my cakes and go "Oh, I didn't know you made cakes. How much for one like that?" When I tell them that the ingredients alone are at least $50. That doesn't include my time and extras like gold coloring, etc. Then they say, "I spent so much on the party stuff, I don't have much of a budget left." Of course being friends, that tugs at my heart and I give it to them for less than the ingredients. That's it! I guess I need to toughen up a little and give them the alternative,,,,, go to the grocery store bakery and pay $30 for a sheet cake. I am now doing a 6" x 6" round carrot wedding cake and 2 dozen pistachio cup cakes for the wedding. I agreed to do this as the gift to the bride and groom but what would I have charged normally?
AI got a reality check two weeks ago when I visited a couple Bakery's. I do like the level per serving price (ex: fondant: $4 basic w/ ribbon & message, $5 with bows or flowers, $6 for scuplted, three tier, character, 3D) and having extra charges for rosette style, or ombré etc..., I believe the more cakes you do you will find the right price as I will find out also.but going to near by bakery's helped a lot if you can do that. Never compare your cakes with grocery store cakes is what I was told because we use real ingredients like real butter, vanilla, cocoa etc... And the majority of the time they don't and you can taste the difference. From now on I'm charging my price because I would love to open my own bakery. I'd rather not do the cake if I'm getting Pennies and just keep practicing on dummy cakes. :grin:
For this slot machine cake, I charged 250, but I definitely undercharged, as it took me waaaay too long. It was one of my first cakes .
http://cakecentral.com//gallery/1612935
Wow! Very nice. You definitely undercharged. That looks like a really big cake.
Love this thread, I just read the entire thing! I know I've certianly gotten a lot better at pricing. But, here are a few!
My most recent cake was this Mario one, it was a 9" and 6" chocolate raspberry swirl with raspberry filling, most of the figures are plastic but the caterpillar on top is gumpaste. Charged $160 (http://cakecentral.com/g/i/3053822/a/3376239/chocolate-and-raspberry-swirl-cake-with-raspberry-filling-all-characters-except-wiggler-the-caterpillar-are-plastic-wiggler-is-made-of-gumpaste/)
Sock monkey cake for a first birthday, it was a 9" and 6" french vanilla cake with raspberry filling. Gumpaste monkey, "1", knitting needles, and socks. Charged $150 would probably up it to $180 (http://cakecentral.com/g/i/3056062/a/3377527/6-9-gumpaste-sock-monkey-wooden-pattern-on-base-with-socks-and-knitting-needles/)
This is a wedding cake I've made twice, the first time (http://cakecentral.com/g/i/2255463/a/2256463/this-was-my-first-all-buttercream-cake-i-was-sooooooo-nervous-i-hope-it-turned-out-well-tfl/) and second time (http://cakecentral.com/g/i/2353265/a/2354265/second-time-doing-this-all-buttercream-traditional-cake-tfl/). I believe I charged $375 the first time and $550 the second time. I still feel I should have charged more. Any suggestions?
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