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It finally happened to me . . .

post #1 of 22
10/11/12 at 7:24am
Thread Starter 
I've read so many posts on here about clients who order a mega-cake, then are shocked at the price and cancel the order. Well, it finally happened to me.

A woman wanted a tall waterfall that bottomed out into a 2-foot long river, complete with the riverbank with candy rocks, etc. When I quoted her a price of $160, which I thought was more than reasonable (!!!), she said that she couldn't possibly pay that much.

I have no idea what she was expecting to pay -- I was kind of shocked at her response, especially since my clients write their check to our local food pantry.

Oh, well, I hope she can find a bakery to do it for her!!
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post #2 of 22
10/11/12 at 7:41am
You got lucky, that price seems pretty low for what you described. How many hours did you estimate it would take?
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Recent Articles: The Magic Pricing Formula • Copyright Law
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post #3 of 22
10/11/12 at 8:03am
Wow!! That is reasonable!! My supplies would probably run half of that! It is a little disheartening when they don't book, but I always say (to myself anyway) "good luck finding it cheaper! icon_lol.gif
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post #4 of 22
10/20/12 at 2:12pm
Thread Starter 
Well, after many weeks of e-mailing back and forth, we finally have a meeting of the minds! I'm going to do a 40-serving river, no waterfall, for $90. So, I think both the customer and I are happy with the outcome.

It's very weird -- I think I've only done 3 carved cakes in my life, and now I have orders for 3 within the next couple of weeks -- a hockey stick this afternoon, this river one, then a dolphin cake. I hope I'm up to the task, as it's not really my forte!
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post #5 of 22
10/20/12 at 2:28pm
$90 is very low for a 40-serving carved cake...that would even be low for a 40-serving sheet cake.
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post #6 of 22
10/20/12 at 2:48pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah, Jason, I know it sounds low. But, I charge $2 per serving, then I tack on a little extra for the carving. I don't think people here would pay more than $2 for a piece of buttercream cake. Plus, not being a real "business", I feel like I can't really charge as much as a true professional would. I just recently had the nerve to raise my decorated cookie prices from $2 to $2.50 apiece. . .
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post #7 of 22
10/20/12 at 2:56pm
I'm still stuck on the fact that a person getting their groceries from a food pantry would find it reasonable to order these fancy cakes.
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post #8 of 22
10/20/12 at 3:23pm
Thread Starter 
Oh, no, no, no!! Please erase that from your mind. I must not have explained myself well.

These are my friends, church members, people who've heard thru the grapevine, etc. who order and I have them write their check payable to my favorite charity -- our local food pantry where I volunteer. It's not the pantry clients themselves who are ordering cakes.

I'm on track this year to make about $5500 dollars toward the charity, which will buy a LOT of food for those in need.
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post #9 of 22
10/20/12 at 3:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JGMB

Oh, no, no, no!! Please erase that from your mind. I must not have explained myself well.

These are my friends, church members, people who've heard thru the grapevine, etc. who order and I have them write their check payable to my favorite charity -- our local food pantry where I volunteer. It's not the pantry clients themselves who are ordering cakes.

I'm on track this year to make about $5500 dollars toward the charity, which will buy a LOT of food for those in need.



That is the BEST thing I have ever read on this site! What a wonderful thing to do!
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post #10 of 22
10/20/12 at 4:24pm
Thanks for clearing that up, very impressive thing you are doing
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post #11 of 22
10/20/12 at 4:36pm
What an awesome way to give charitable contributions!

http://www.facebook.com/OutOfTheBubbleBakery

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http://www.facebook.com/OutOfTheBubbleBakery

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post #12 of 22
10/20/12 at 4:42pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the kind words, everyone. icon_smile.gif I took a cake decorating class, then wanted to make them all the time but had no reason to. One day, I offered to make a 3-tiered cake for the sweet 16 of a girl at church. I was just doing it for fun, but the mom surprised me by giving $200 to the food pantry. That's when a light bulb went on and Cakes for a Cause was born!

So, it's a win-win-win situation in that I get to have so much fun baking (4 orders a week on average), people get the treats they want, and the pantry reaps the benefits. Oh, and my husband and I aren't gaining nearly as much weight as we were when I was doing cakes for fun and we were eating them all ourselves. icon_redface.gificon_wink.gif
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post #13 of 22
10/21/12 at 8:16am
OP, that is wonderful. Whst a win-win!

icon_smile.gif

One question, though: How do you recoup the cost of your ingredients? I'm genuinely curious.
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post #14 of 22
10/21/12 at 10:35am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by embersmom

OP, that is wonderful. Whst a win-win!

icon_smile.gif

One question, though: How do you recoup the cost of your ingredients? I'm genuinely curious.



Well, I don't. . . but, luckily, my husband and I are both okay with that. I'm not one to buy expensive clothes, purses, shoes, etc. I'm not big on jewelry, I don't go in for massages or manicures, and I don't have any other expensive hobbies or collections. So, we figure that, if buying sugar and flour makes me happy and provides money for the food pantry, that's what we'll do.

The entire check is written to the charity, and the customer can write it off as a charitable donation at tax time.
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post #15 of 22
10/21/12 at 10:55am
That is very cool thing to do and encouraging to others on the forum.
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