Hello All, I currently do not deliver however I am getting more and more requests for delivery. I also know that on a couple occassions I have lost an order do to distance for the customer to come and pick-up. Up till now I havent been to concerned but my buissness seems to be picking up and I would like for it to continue too so Im thinking that maybe I need to give this whole delivery thing a try. My questions are:
Should I deliver?
How much to charge? I have read $1/min and also $1/mile - is that for everyone or do you only charge if its outside of a certain mile radius?
Do any of you have a minnimum order amount before you offer delivery?
If the customer wants is set-up too how much more do you charge?

Thanks to all of you.

I only deliver if it's a certain size and I feel it shouldn't be transported in one piece. So that's anything 3 tiers or more. I don't charge for setup since I personally don't believe the cake is finished until it's all put together. And the customer isn't likely to know how to do that.

My delivery fee is where I put discretionary items: PITA fee, stupid tax, aggravation allowance, etc. If you've been a bridezilla or the mother-in-law has earned her reputation or you've changed the size and design 5 times, you get a pretty stiff delivery fee.

It would probably be a good idea to offer delivery. $1/mile ROUNDTRIP is reasonable, and with gas prices jumping ~ that should be the price on ANY deliveries (no free delivery within a certain radius). If the delivery price is too much for some customers, offer to meet at a location halfway... A minimum order amount would probably be a good idea as well, otherwise the delivery charge could be more than the price of the cake! As far as set-up....I only set-up tiered or wedding cakes that I deliver, and I don't charge extra for it.

Be sure to change your vehicle to commercial insurance and add that in.

I don't think anyone but you can decide your delivery fees. I have a new SUV that gets 17mpg. I also have commercial insurance. I charge according to my time and expenses if it is out of my delivery range. In my delivery range I have a flat fee.

Locations are easy for me, but some places have heavy traffic or bad weather as the norm. All of this needs to be considered.

We charge $1/minute round trip with no minimum order for delivery. There have been a few cases where the delivery charge is about the same as the price of the cake...some customers are willing to pay for convenience so we offer that option.

For tiered cakes the $1/minute clock keeps running during setup time (including time we have to wait for the venue or the customer to be ready).

Wow- see I knew this delivery thing wasnt just cut and dry-lol, Thanks for the info guys.
Jason- I like the idea of $1/min because it seems like my time and milage are both compensated for then but I have a question- Do you tell the customer thats your rate or do you just give them the total for delivery? Charging by the min instead of miles is something that would definatly be new to my customer and they would prob think I was crazy! lol
Also do any of you give the customer the option to meet half-way? and If so do you charge your normal rate still just less time/miles? or do you give them a slight discount since they are also driving half-way?

Thanks again