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How much do you charge for NON-wedding cakes?

post #1 of 21
7/25/12 at 3:02pm
Thread Starter 
I feel fine about how much I charge for wedding cakes, but am struggling with my non-wedding cakes. I do a lot of shower and birthday cakes and am trying to come up with a pricing structure I am comfortable with. I have an order for a 10-inch round birthday cake,3-layer, with raspberry jam filling, to serve about 40. I quoted her at $1.50 without the filling and $1.75/serving with filling, which comes out to either $60 or $70 (no fondant). I feel like this is a good figure but am not sure . . . I know I personally would not want to pay more than $60-75 for a birthday cake to feed 35-40 but I also know the kind of profit I'd like to make . .
I live in a semi-rural area so this has to factor in.
Learning as I go . . . and lovin' every minute!
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Learning as I go . . . and lovin' every minute!
Cake Designs by Erin
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post #2 of 21
7/25/12 at 3:09pm
I decided to make it easy on myself and price per serving regardless what the occasion. Cake is cake is cake. And for those that say more planning is involved and more hand holding for weddings, it's only a matter of time management and how organized you are. icon_wink.gif
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post #3 of 21
7/25/12 at 3:29pm
I charge the same . I put the same work into a three tier birthday cake (sometimes more ) that I do into a three tier birthday cake.
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post #4 of 21
7/25/12 at 3:30pm
Incidently I charge more per serve for cupcakes than I so for large cakes.
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post #5 of 21
7/25/12 at 4:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CupcakeQT82

I know I personally would not want to pay more than $60-75 for a birthday cake to feed 35-40 but I also know the kind of profit I'd like to make . .
I live in a semi-rural area so this has to factor in.



I would suggest that you NEVER, EVER use your feelings about how much YOU would pay for a cake to establish pricing. If this is difficult, simply substitute some other "skill" such as painting a mural on the side of a building instead of making/decorating custom cakes.

If someone wanted a mural painted on their building, would you determine your pricing based on how much YOU would pay for a mural? Nope. You would base it on the time involved, cost of supplies, and your skill level. After all, how many people can paint a really great mural?

Here is a fabulous, recent, thread about How Much to Charge. If you haven't read the thread and all the links provided by vgcea, it is well worth the time to read all the information.

How much to charge:
http://cakecentral.com/cake-de.....ml#7308992
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post #6 of 21
7/25/12 at 4:43pm
Agreed - any custom cake is same per serving with additional for design. I do have a menu of pre-designed cakes that I charge a flat fee for, but they get no customization except adding "happy birthday". But even those aren't much cheaper per serving.

Charging people X for a "birthday cake", but charging XX for a "wedding cake" makes the customer think you are trying to rip them off.
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post #7 of 21
7/25/12 at 4:47pm
Juuuust Google "Man Stroke Woman wedding cake" and find the video. icon_wink.gif
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post #8 of 21
7/25/12 at 4:48pm
Apti I can not get the link to work. It keeps giving me error 404. Can you point me in the right direction on where to look for this thread. These type of topics always interest me.
Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim, swim.
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Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim, swim.
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post #9 of 21
7/25/12 at 4:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AZCouture

Juuuust Google "Man Stroke Woman wedding cake" and find the video. icon_wink.gif



thumbs_up.gifthumbs_up.gifthumbs_up.gif

That video equally makes cracks me up and pisses me off. icon_rolleyes.gif
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post #10 of 21
7/25/12 at 4:57pm
We distinguish between tiered cakes and non-tiered cakes instead of wedding vs. party cakes. All tiered cakes are priced per serving, while all non-tiered cakes are a flat price (with an extra fee for premium decorations depending on the complexity of the design).
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post #11 of 21
7/25/12 at 5:01pm
AZ that is so funny. At first a little scared to Google it given the name. My husband was laughing so hard we watched it twice so I could hear it.
Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim, swim.
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Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim, swim.
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post #12 of 21
7/25/12 at 5:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FromScratchSF

Quote:
Originally Posted by AZCouture

Juuuust Google "Man Stroke Woman wedding cake" and find the video. icon_wink.gif



thumbs_up.gifthumbs_up.gifthumbs_up.gif

That video equally makes cracks me up and pisses me off. icon_rolleyes.gif

Agree!
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post #13 of 21
7/25/12 at 5:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cakecraving

Apti I can not get the link to work. It keeps giving me error 404. Can you point me in the right direction on where to look for this thread. These type of topics always interest me.



Sure. Let's try it again. It is well worth reading.
Exact title of thread: How much to charge
Author of thread: MallorieH
Date of thread: Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:23 am
Link:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-7308992.html#7308992


(I LOVE the video, ""Man Stroke Woman wedding cake" No matter how many times I watch it, it is always hysterical!)

"It's a wedding ribbon." icon_lol.gificon_lol.gificon_lol.gificon_lol.gificon_lol.gif
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post #14 of 21
7/25/12 at 6:03pm
Thanks it works this time
Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim, swim.
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Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim, swim.
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post #15 of 21
7/25/12 at 10:51pm
"Yes but this is a wedding cake." LOL!

I price per serving irrespective of if it's a birthday cake, wedding cake or funeral cake. The same cake is going to cost the same irrespective of where it's going.
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