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wedding cake price and i'm so confused!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

post #1 of 15
6/25/12 at 4:37pm
Thread Starter 
hi everyone can someone give me some advice please i am semi new and a girl at church wants a 4 tier cake 12, 10,8,6 with red cornelli lace and matching red ribbon. all buttercream. i'm at the point now that i'm tired of not making any profit but i feel bad for charging too much..... do yall think that 300 is a reasonable price?Should i lower to 280 ? i'm so confused! thanks in advance!
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post #2 of 15
6/25/12 at 4:59pm
How much profit will you make if you sell the cake for $300?

I am not my customer. My customer will pay much more for our cake than I would...just saying.

Minette
My Blog: www.minetterushing.com
www.savannahcustomcakes.com
www.youtube.com/savannahcustomcakes
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My Blog: www.minetterushing.com
www.savannahcustomcakes.com
www.youtube.com/savannahcustomcakes
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post #3 of 15
6/25/12 at 5:11pm
I think you could go higher. I actually created a post about a week ago because I got an order for a 3 tier fondant covered grad cake. I orginally wanted to charge her $175. Put some were saying they it was way too low, and some said they would start at $300. I ended up charging her $225. I was happy with what I charged her and so was she. I made enough to cover costs of supplies, utilities, clean up and profit.

Those 4 tiers would give you 130 servings using the Wilton chart, so my price would start at around $450. But it all depends on your area and your price of goods and what you think your labor is worth icon_smile.gif

Good luck!
~*~Michelle J~*~

http://www.facebook.com/A.T.CustomCreations
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~*~Michelle J~*~

http://www.facebook.com/A.T.CustomCreations
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post #4 of 15
6/25/12 at 6:00pm
Thread Starter 
thank yall so much it costs me 75 to make and i think i feel good about charging 250...so what 175 profit...
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post #5 of 15
6/25/12 at 7:29pm
It's not necessarily 175 straight profit, because your time and labor is worth something as well.
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post #6 of 15
6/25/12 at 7:29pm
Make sure to take into account the cost of your time and overhead costs (licensing fees, commercial liability insurance, utilities, etc.)
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The Bakery Business Perspective
An experimental blog with new content every Tuesday!

Recent Articles: The Magic Pricing Formula • Copyright Law
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post #7 of 15
6/25/12 at 7:56pm
Are you even ready to do a cake of that size and magnitude? I looked at your gallery and I only saw a couple of small 2-tier cakes among a few other layer cakes!

A 4-tier cake with those sizes is a BIG heavy cake. Have you considered the structure involved? Do you know how long it will take you to do this cake? Because believe me, it will take twice as long as you think it will...and a lot more costs to account for than you realize.
A closed mouth gathers no feet.
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A closed mouth gathers no feet.
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post #8 of 15
6/25/12 at 8:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by carmijok

Are you even ready to do a cake of that size and magnitude? I looked at your gallery and I only saw a couple of small 2-tier cakes among a few other layer cakes.

A 4-tier cake with those sizes is a BIG heavy cake. Have you considered the structure involved? Do you know how long it will take you to do this cake? Because believe me, it will take twice as long as you think it will...and a lot more costs to account for than you realize.



I agree 100%. I am a hobby baker, but have done about six 3-4 tier cakes and one large cake project with 4 cakes (12/10/8/6) on separate stands. I keep thinking I'll get "faster" since I make mistakes (er....have opportunities to learn....) on each project.

I just did this cake (as a gift) for a stranger. (Long story.....my unlicensed hobby version of an Icing Smiles cake.). This sucker took me about 20-30 hours, cost about $50, and I STILL screwed up on the middle tier. [The middle tier was white cake and by the time I torted and filled with raspberry and lemon, it got fat and squishy and unstable and barely held together under the fondant. That is why it is "rounded" and the cake is leaning.]

This was a very important cake for this young person, so I soldiered on and did the best I could. Even with all my classes and practice and tools and ingredients, it STILL was messed up (albeit acceptable).

I strongly suggest you do a practice 4 tier before making a promise and/or commitment. (I jokingly told my family that if I was charging for this cake, I would charge $10,000 because it was so aggravating!)
LL
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post #9 of 15
6/25/12 at 8:16pm
Wow that is really "a great price"! 4 tier cakes in my country are sold for the equivalent of $620 - $775US. Make sure you make something back or you will regret it as midnight and 2 am approach.
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post #10 of 15
6/25/12 at 9:22pm
Invest in Cake Boss software to help with pricing.
"who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?"
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"who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?"
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post #11 of 15
6/26/12 at 4:31am
Thread Starter 
thanks so much to everyone..i definitely am ready to do this cake, my photos were the ones i did a year ago i have not posted since,, i have done a 3 tier several times including a 50th anniversary. i am very confident that i can do it, just don't wanna over charge...thanks so so much to everyone
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post #12 of 15
6/26/12 at 11:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mudderteresa

thanks so much to everyone..i definitely am ready to do this cake, my photos were the ones i did a year ago i have not posted since,, i have done a 3 tier several times including a 50th anniversary. i am very confident that i can do it, just don't wanna over charge...thanks so so much to everyone



Cool! Charge the moon! For a well-done 12/10/8/6 the minimum should be $300. (And this time, we want to see CURRENT photos! ok?)

Good luck.
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post #13 of 15
6/27/12 at 7:32am
$300 seems cheap! I am doing a 3-tier wedding soon and it's going to be around $300 total. And I know my price is lower.
Learning as I go . . . and lovin' every minute!
Cake Designs by Erin
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Learning as I go . . . and lovin' every minute!
Cake Designs by Erin
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post #14 of 15
6/27/12 at 9:23am
Yes it does seem cheap. 3 tier cakes in my country go for $500 US on average.
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post #15 of 15
6/27/12 at 4:50pm
Have you tried calling your local bakeries and checking to see how much they charge per slice? How much they charge for buttercream icing orders and how much they charge for fondant orders?

Where I live, depending on which part of the city you live, a cake can cost 2.50 a slice and on another part of town the bakeries there are 5.00 or 7.00 a slice.

If you do that , then it would be easier in the future to calculate your cake prices.

Then any add ons / accessories like ribbon, dowel rods, support systems, figurines, flowers, etc., you can charge at face value.
..."If I can help somebody, as I travel along..then my living will not be in vain..."
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..."If I can help somebody, as I travel along..then my living will not be in vain..."
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