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So frustrated with pricing I think I want to quit! - Page 3

post #31 of 58
10/8/11 at 9:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamieq

"i bet you could get $40 for that cake EASY!" Ummm...yeah, seriously?



WOW! This was a ridiculous and ignorant comment on his behalf. I only wish everyone knew and could understand how much time, effort and stress goes into making beautiful detailed cakes. These are not just cakes these are works of art.
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post #32 of 58
10/9/11 at 8:30am
Indydebi was wonderful in helping me get the "cake price vs my time/expense" through my thick skull. Check out her blog, she really explains "math dumb" and customer reactions.

I make a mess in my shop with every cake I do. So I had rather be in the house not making $40 than to be in the shop making the $40 cake and turning around spending a couple cleaning up my mess. And I not trying to be all that, it's not attitude thing, it's an "I'm so over giving s**t away and missing out on life thing"

Somebody on CC said they didn't turn their oven on for under $50 and I thought well damn why didn't I think of that. So I went from there with the minimums especially on birthday cakes. I started tacking on extra charges for those big bows, all the little fondant critters, and stuff. So when I get that call "how much for this" I find out what they want and get out the calculator.

You will have "dues" to pay and things to let go cheap in the beginning of a new business. But not everything and not all the time. But strive for your target market and you can make more and work less.
If you can't find time it do it right..how will you find time to do it over?
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If you can't find time it do it right..how will you find time to do it over?
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post #33 of 58
10/9/11 at 9:01am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mariacakestoo

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dayyi

And you know really I'm giving them a deal as it is?

So these are family members or friends? Because if it's the general public, then I don't understand this comment.



What I meant is if they'd go to other local custom cake stores since they have been in business around this area for a while and are well established. I know that I'm giving them a great deal. And yes alot of my business is word of mouth. Friends and family passing along the word.
Dayyi
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Dayyi
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post #34 of 58
10/9/11 at 9:06am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mariacakestoo

Quote:
Originally Posted by luvbug2552

I've been lucky to have only one customer in the year and a half that I've been doing cakes for people other than family to complain about the price. ..

I'd be raising my prices then. I'd be willing to bet you are giving your products away then, especially when you say "not a lot more than Walmart!" icon_smile.gif



I have a follower on Facebook who is getting married and I said to her. "do you have your wedding cake yet?" and she said to me I got a two tierd cake at walmart for 50.00 I don't think you can match that. I did not reply.
Dayyi
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Dayyi
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post #35 of 58
10/9/11 at 10:46am
@Dayyi, don't know whether to laugh or cry (2 tiered cake at walmart) There was a post here once about people going to Walmart since that's what they could afford, many got offended. But the reality is that many people don't care about their cake and just want a cake, others can't see the rationale behind expensive cakes. There are 2 things I care about , the wedding dress and the cake! Oh, let's not forget the groom, lol. nope, there's nothing you could have said to the FB follower/Bride.
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post #36 of 58
10/9/11 at 11:03am
@GarciaGM, I have a "cheat sheet" to figure out what I should be charging. Eventually you will get to the place where you will know your prices because of experience and the cost of materials and overhead. But because prices continue to raise I periodically use this method to make sure I am not losing my shirt on my products.

I do not have a "retail" bakery, I have a commercial bakery. Which means to me, that I do not turn on the oven(s) until I have an order. If I remember correctly Indydebi says she quotes her cakes by the slice regardless of type of cake. (tierred wedding cake or 1/2 sheet)
Virginia 323.253.8213
www.urbanainez.com
He is the man of my dreams, my prince; He gives me the desires of my heart, He completes me. His name is Jesus
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Virginia 323.253.8213
www.urbanainez.com
He is the man of my dreams, my prince; He gives me the desires of my heart, He completes me. His name is Jesus
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post #37 of 58
10/9/11 at 11:37am
Dayyi, if you love to decorate Cakes, as much as I do... don't quit!
We all struggle to quote our prices, just read everyone's comments. Unfortunately it's part of the business, we all (me included) have to learn to make others appreciate our product, our time, our talent and our expertise and yes, if you have been doing this periodically for over 1 year you DO have some expertise! Good Luck !!!
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post #38 of 58
10/9/11 at 12:15pm
Thanks AuntGinn. I've gotten really good about adding to my ongoing spreadsheet the cost for all of my most popular recipes, so I'm building up the cheat sheet like you advise.

What I think might help would be to make a distinction between "dessert cakes" and "custom cakes". For example, I have a friend who, for a while there, needed a cake every two to three weeks. They were always "dessert cakes" (e.g., carrot cake, red velvet cake, Italian cream cake, etc.), and she never asked for ANY decoration, just a simple border was good. To me, $40 for a cake like that (typically 8 or 9 inch rounds) would be perfectly reasonable. They are GREAT cakes, and for me, I don't have to worry about coming up with a neat design or coloring five shades of icing or rolling fondant, etc. So if I've got time, I wouldn't mind doing something simple like that. But it's really easy for cake decorators to overlook the fact that, in addition to the time we actually spend baking and decorating, we are *also* spending considerable time with the gears churning in our heads over what design to do (not to mention "continuing education" on new techniques).

Does anybody feel me??
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post #39 of 58
10/9/11 at 12:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cakelady2266

Indydebi was wonderful in helping me get the "cake price vs my time/expense" through my thick skull. Check out her blog, she really explains "math dumb" and customer reactions.

I make a mess in my shop with every cake I do. So I had rather be in the house not making $40 than to be in the shop making the $40 cake and turning around spending a couple cleaning up my mess. And I not trying to be all that, it's not attitude thing, it's an "I'm so over giving s**t away and missing out on life thing"

Somebody on CC said they didn't turn their oven on for under $50 and I thought well damn why didn't I think of that. So I went from there with the minimums especially on birthday cakes. I started tacking on extra charges for those big bows, all the little fondant critters, and stuff. So when I get that call "how much for this" I find out what they want and get out the calculator.

You will have "dues" to pay and things to let go cheap in the beginning of a new business. But not everything and not all the time. But strive for your target market and you can make more and work less.



COPY > PASTE > PRINT > HANG ON WALL

PERFECTLY STATED!
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post #40 of 58
10/9/11 at 1:22pm
Yes, GarciaGM, I do understand that idea,feeling. I have a number of bread & butter customers, who; order on a regular basis (such as church groups) and do not require labor intensive work. Keeps me busy but not biting my teeth to pay the rent or work on R&D and Mkting.
Virginia 323.253.8213
www.urbanainez.com
He is the man of my dreams, my prince; He gives me the desires of my heart, He completes me. His name is Jesus
Reply
Virginia 323.253.8213
www.urbanainez.com
He is the man of my dreams, my prince; He gives me the desires of my heart, He completes me. His name is Jesus
Reply
post #41 of 58
10/9/11 at 2:20pm
[quote="What I think might help would be to make a distinction between "dessert cakes" and "custom cakes". For example, I have a friend who, for a while there, needed a cake every two to three weeks. They were always "dessert cakes" (e.g., carrot cake, red velvet cake, Italian cream cake, etc.), and she never asked for ANY decoration, just a simple border was good. To me, $40 for a cake like that (typically 8 or 9 inch rounds) would be perfectly reasonable. They are GREAT cakes, and for me, I don't have to worry about coming up with a neat design or coloring five shades of icing or rolling fondant, etc. So if I've got time, I wouldn't mind doing something simple like that. But it's really easy for cake decorators to overlook the fact that, in addition to the time we actually spend baking and decorating, we are *also* spending considerable time with the gears churning in our heads over what design to do (not to mention "continuing education" on new techniques).

Does anybody feel me??[/quote]

That makes so much sense! I had never thought of it that way!
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post #42 of 58
2/19/12 at 4:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dayyi

Quote:
Originally Posted by mariacakestoo

Quote:
Originally Posted by luvbug2552

I've been lucky to have only one customer in the year and a half that I've been doing cakes for people other than family to complain about the price. ..

I'd be raising my prices then. I'd be willing to bet you are giving your products away then, especially when you say "not a lot more than Walmart!" icon_smile.gif



I have a follower on Facebook who is getting married and I said to her. "do you have your wedding cake yet?" and she said to me I got a two tierd cake at walmart for 50.00 I don't think you can match that. I did not reply.



The problem with WalMart (and what most people probably don't know) is that Walmart has HUGE economies of scale that basically no one else would be able to have. That and that they also can provide goods at a loss in order to bring customers in the door (illegal, IMO, but the govt doesn't seem to care/agree). WM has put many a vendor out of business with they terms they try to extract from them, much less competitors for the consumer.

So there is no way that a single baker could even remotely compete in pricing
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post #43 of 58
2/19/12 at 5:15pm
Not being able to settle on prices is one of the reason I don't have business cards. I've had several people ask me if I have a card and I just say no. Most of the cakes I do are for friends and coworker so free of charge.

The TinkerBell cake I did was for my friend's niece and I charged her $40. It was a 3 layer 9x13 cake with Buttercream icing and FBT. She gave me $50. She seems to understand the cost and time involved and knows I give her a discount. She is also the one who bought me the deluxe agbay for my 40th birthday .

I keep saying I'm going to sit down and make a price list so I can then get some business cards. I think I'll start with a spreadsheet of ingredients, etc. as some folks have suggested.
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post #44 of 58
2/20/12 at 8:30am
I just read a review on walmart wedding cakes, the majority raved about the look, price and taste! OMG, another poster on that site criticized home bakers for charging so much when she knew for a fact that they used box mixes. with this type of reaction, many people can not win. I am a scratch baker and yes after reading on CC how great box mixes were , I tried a few. not my cup of tea. But, box mixes save you on some time-you don't have to measure the cups of flour, baking powder and so forth-but as they are doctored, it takes a lot more time then just opening a box! If you are on a budget go to wal mart, there is nothing wrong with that but please don't say that good custum cakes are the same as cotsco, wal mart and so forth.
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post #45 of 58
2/20/12 at 8:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BizCoCos

I just read a review on walmart wedding cakes, the majority raved about the look, price and taste! OMG, another poster on that site criticized home bakers for charging so much when she knew for a fact that they used box mixes. with this type of reaction, many people can not win. I am a scratch baker and yes after reading on CC how great box mixes were , I tried a few. not my cup of tea. But, box mixes save you on some time-you don't have to measure the cups of flour, baking powder and so forth-but as they are doctored, it takes a lot more time then just opening a box! If you are on a budget go to wal mart, there is nothing wrong with that but please don't say that good custum cakes are the same as cotsco, wal mart and so forth.



I just spoke to a possible client who said she does not like grocery store cakes but loves Wal-Mart cakes. yeesh. I didn't really know what to say. I've tasted them - and honestly they are the grossest of the bunch.
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