Cupcake Pricing

Baking By Baking Me Crazy Updated 6 Jun 2013 , 4:45pm by mickensbnbby

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Baking Me Crazy Posted 9 May 2013 , 9:26pm
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Hello fellow CC'ers

 

I was wondering what you guys charge for cupcakes. I have an order for a total of 62 cupcakes. 14 pumpkin with cream cheese frosting, 6 vanilla with vanilla buttercream, 33 vanilla with chocolate buttercream and 9 chocolate with chocolate buttercream.

 

I told the lady $2.50 per cupcake and she said that was crazy. She said that she can get big cupcakes at Costco for about $1.00 each at Costco, therefore my pricing should be about the same icon_eek.gif

 

Am I over charging?

41 replies
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ApplegumPam Posted 9 May 2013 , 9:47pm
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Yes, probably!   we all know that cupcakes only cost 10cents to make, so 30cents each is three times the cost of ingredients - so you should be raking in the profits on that - actually you probably SHOULD offer a discount for bulk purchase being 62 cupcakes!   :P


 

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denetteb Posted 9 May 2013 , 9:47pm
post #3 of 42

No.  If she doesn't care for your price she is free to make her purchase at Costco.  Period.  You may want to consider not selling in such odd amounts.  It doesn't seem efficient to make 6, 9, 14 and 33 cupcakes in 4 different flavors.  Generally people sell cupcakes in increments of 12 so that they can use a full or half batch of batter.  Same with the icing. 

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tamra81 Posted 9 May 2013 , 9:52pm
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AI don't believe $2.50 is too much. Not only do you need to charge for cost of ingredients but also you are charging for your time and supplies (liners, boxes to carry them in etc..). If she wants to buy $1.00 cupcakes from Costco then so be it. She'll get what she pays for.

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liz at sugar Posted 9 May 2013 , 9:52pm
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Does she think Costco will make her all those flavor combos for $1 a cupcake?  Let her walk.

 

Liz
 

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IAmPamCakes Posted 9 May 2013 , 9:52pm
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AAbsolutely not. I don't know where you are located, but I charge $2 each in my small town. It coats me about .75 in ingredients and supplies per cupcake. Then add in time and overhead.

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Annabakescakes Posted 9 May 2013 , 9:57pm
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A[quote name="ApplegumPam" url="/t/758198/cupcake-pricing#post_7392356"]Yes, probably!   we all know that cupcakes only cost 10cents to make, so 30cents each is three times the cost of ingredients - so you should be raking in the profits on that - actually you probably SHOULD offer a discount for bulk purchase being 62 cupcakes!   :P

That's funny, haha! I did the math on mine recently and they are about 54¢ each, plus packaging. Individual packaging is 17¢ each, or a box to fit 12 is 44¢. That is just the cost of ingredients, no labor or overhead, So I charge $2.50 each, or $24 a dozen. But I want to raise prices

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ApplegumPam Posted 9 May 2013 , 10:00pm
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I once posted that I got $15 each for cupcakes - and got howled down by THOUSANDS!!!!

Yes, they are fondant AND decorated - but they are MY prices ...... AND I get them   - NO, not every customer is prepared to pay that - but they will go to Sally Cheapskate down the road.... who is ALWAYS busy!
 

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Annabakescakes Posted 9 May 2013 , 10:07pm
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A

Original message sent by ApplegumPam

I once posted that I got $15 each for cupcakes - and got howled down by THOUSANDS!!!!

Yes, they are fondant AND decorated - but they are MY prices ...... AND I get them   - NO, not every customer is prepared to pay that - but they will go to Sally Cheapskate down the road.... who is ALWAYS busy!

 

My $2 is just for a swirl of buttercream. If they want a fondant disc, they are $3. If they want a fondant bow, also, they are $4. If they want lace or fondant roses or whatnot, it gets even higher. And I have had one single order for 12 of them, lol. I would like to charge $15 each, it would be worth it, and maybe I wouldn't resent them so much!!

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denetteb Posted 9 May 2013 , 10:13pm
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Pam, I had to go to your FB page to see what $15 cupcakes look like, they are really lovely.  Glad you can be properly compensated for all the labor in those miniature pieces.

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ApplegumPam Posted 9 May 2013 , 10:38pm
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I slaved for years on bloody cakes - as Roland says....... pre-machinery!    Yep, no cutters, stencils, moulds, commercial fondant, coloured fondant, air brushes, Agbays or any other of the numerous 'aids' we all have stocked our cupboards with.   Cake decorating WAS an art then, only done by those that truly had the passion. Because you needed it to SURVIVE!   We were NEVER truly compensated for the amount of hours that went into a cake - we HAD to be creative - we didn't have the internet for 'inspiration'  - you HAD to buy books - and there were not that many of those either!

Fast forward 30 years and I am faced with every man and his dog,   oh and probably the dog's bloody fleas being able to knock out cakes.  Its as easy as buying ready made cakes, buying ready made & even coloured fondant, rolling it out - sticking it on and adorning it with some punched out decos - heck if you want to go upmarket you just buy some commercially made flowers or some pre-made decos from Ebay/Etsy - cheap enough!   Slap on a few bucks to make your husband think he is re-couping some of the money you have spent on stuff to 'make' the cake and hey ....... you are in BUSINESS!!

The only thing I have over these decoraters that are prepared to work for chicken-feed is that I can do BETTER -  I can create something without a 'tutorial', because I have figured out how to look at something and deconstruct it in my head - I don't need a tutorial for EVERY flower, if I can get a real one, I can figure out how to make it .... by trial and error   -   if somebody bring me a picture of their childs favourite toy, I can make it .... without a mould

I'm not writing all this to try and boost my own ego ...... its to try and tell you that it ISN"T  about the price!!   it is about offering something that not everybody else can do or wants to do!......   THAT is what makes you able to charge that little bit extra.


 

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sajesa12 Posted 10 May 2013 , 2:47am
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AApplegum Pam

Hi I totally understand what you are saying. People want you to sell cupcake, cakes etc at the price at the store but they are willing to go Crumb's Bakery and pay $3.50 for a cupcake. I need some help with an order for high heel cupcake 16-20. How much should charge for them. I would love to see your Facebook page. Thank you so much for your help.

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Baking Me Crazy Posted 10 May 2013 , 5:16pm
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So I went to Costco yesterday to see the cupcakes she was talking about and they turned out to be muffins. no frosting, no sprinkles just muffins.

 

I told her I couldn't lower my pricing. Waiting on her reply now.

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liz at sugar Posted 10 May 2013 , 8:42pm
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Good for you!  And, really?? Muffins??  She thought those were cupcakes?   Some people are a piece of work.

 

Liz
 

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SecretAgentCakeBaker Posted 10 May 2013 , 8:49pm
post #15 of 42

AI just paid $3 for a gourmet cupcake at our local grocery store. Your prices are fine.

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Baking Me Crazy Posted 10 May 2013 , 9:00pm
post #16 of 42

She finally got back to me, said she's just going to have to get them somewhere else because she doesn't have that kind of money.

 

The lady is someone whom I know but not in a friendship kind of way, just someone from my son's school. The funny thing is since the beginning when we discussed me making the cupcakes, she told me clearly that she did not want a special discounted price. Guess what she was doing was hinting that she actually did want a special price.

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Norasmom Posted 11 May 2013 , 12:46am
post #17 of 42

Applegum, your cupcakes are well worth $15.00 each.  I would buy them if I could afford to do so, so I can see why people would spend $15 for your talent!

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PTDixieGal Posted 11 May 2013 , 2:42am
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The things people do...in my mind if you go to a grocery store bakery then you get a grocery store bakery product. If you hire someone to do a special cake for a special occasion, you get a special cake for a special occasion and should pay the price for it. My advice to potential customers-look around and see what someone can do this cake for and what other people can do the same cake for (it's a good idea if THEY bring something to show what they want on the cake-ie, a sketch that THEY made...NOT another caker)...just do their homework and expect to pay more for it whoever they go with. Okay that probably sounds confusing so you are welcome to shoot me a private message...

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BakerBee7468 Posted 11 May 2013 , 10:23pm
post #19 of 42

$2.50 is not to much for a cupcake. cupcakes cost anywhere from $2 to $3.25 for a cupcake. That's regular ingredient cupcakes, i haven't even researched to figure out what other kinds of cupcakes cost like gluten free or vegan ( not going to be making those kinds). those prices are also for regular sized cupcakes. jumbo's cost more than that. one bakery is charging $6 for one jumbo cupcake. if people want grocery store prices tell them to go to the grocery store.
 

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kellylinn73 Posted 13 May 2013 , 12:57am
post #20 of 42

ASahesa12---I just made 36 High heel cupcakes and bought, liners, some cake ingredients, sugar, butter, sanding sugar, liners, graham crackers, melting chocolate and praulines(sp) for the heels, and it cost me about $30. I only charged $50 because it was a friend but should have charged more for sure.

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klovescupcakes Posted 16 May 2013 , 5:03pm
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I personally sell my cupcakes for only $1, but I sell at my high school and if I tried to charge more no one would buy them. It's outrageous, some people tell me that even $1 is too much for my nice, professional looking cupcakes and that I should charge $0.50 instead. I combat this by buying majorly in bulk and usually sticking to doctored cake mixes. I make a profit, but it's very very small. I do it more for the fun of baking :) 

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Annabakescakes Posted 16 May 2013 , 5:07pm
post #22 of 42
Quote:
Originally Posted by klovescupcakes 

I personally sell my cupcakes for only $1, but I sell at my high school and if I tried to charge more no one would buy them. It's outrageous, some people tell me that even $1 is too much for my nice, professional looking cupcakes and that I should charge $0.50 instead. I combat this by buying majorly in bulk and usually sticking to doctored cake mixes. I make a profit, but it's very very small. I do it more for the fun of baking :) 

I hope you hand them to them with no packaging but a napkin, and no filling! And minimal icing.... My icing costs about 3 times more than my cake, so I see why Gigi's sells their cupcakes for $3.75, since they have 5" of icing on their cakes. GROSS!

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DebJ812 Posted 18 May 2013 , 12:59am
post #23 of 42

AI'm so glad to see this thread as I just adjusted my prices to account for packaging and to include tax so it's easier to collect payment from people and not have to bring change, etc. I went with $1.50/$2/$2.50 for just frosting/frosting and filling/toppings and add-ins. I use $1/$1.50/$2 pricing for friends and family. I know when I do the farmer's market, I'm going to hear that my prices are too high, that's why I'm going to give samples. Hopefully they will convince people otherwise.

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NicciZ Posted 18 May 2013 , 1:49am
post #24 of 42

AThey actually do have cupcakes ( or frosted muffins). They're tasty and a perfect surprise for the office on a Friday afternoon BUT they come in chocolate or vanilla and maybe red velvet. They are at most decorated with sprinkles and they absolutely don't do custom flavors or decorating. If she thinks your cupcakes are not better than Costco then she is crazy! You're prices sound very reasonable to me. If she wants to wow the recipient it costs more. If she only cares enough for cookie cutter cupcakes then she should go to Costco.

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BakerBee7468 Posted 19 May 2013 , 12:17am
post #25 of 42

AI had a guy just the other day ask me for a cake and when I told him a price he was shocked and said why is it so much, when he can get one for $5 at the grocery store. I told him If he wants grocery store prices he'll have to go to the grocery store. He said my cakes shouldn't cost much because its just ingredients. I preceded to tell him that its alot more to it than that. He really wanted me to give him a free cake but I was not having that. This person wasn't a friend or family just someone I met at my full time job. People are ridiculous. They want quality but don't want to pay the price.

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smile22 Posted 20 May 2013 , 1:00pm
post #26 of 42

i charge 20 bucks for a dozen i should be charging 25 but my business is extreamly slow like no phone calls in a few months i do make post on my facebook business page. i did have my business cards posted at a few grocery stores but some of them changed the community board to non profit bords so i cannot stick my card there anymore. 

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AndreasCakes Posted 20 May 2013 , 1:14pm
post #27 of 42

Costco also sells sheet cakes for $12.99. That doesn't mean we should sell them for that price too.

 

I think your cupcake prices are fine.

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TheLoveOfSugar Posted 20 May 2013 , 1:38pm
post #28 of 42

A

Original message sent by ApplegumPam

I once posted that I got $15 each for cupcakes - and got howled down by THOUSANDS!!!!

Yes, they are fondant AND decorated - but they are MY prices ...... AND I get them   - NO, not every customer is prepared to pay that - but they will go to Sally Cheapskate down the road.... who is ALWAYS busy!

 

Wow Applegum Pam. Just wow. I too had to go stalk your FB page for a minute and your cupcakes are the cutest things Ever!! Your cakes are amazing and the sculpted charachters are awesome. I'm so in love with the girl swimming and the flippers are coming out the top...very creative. I aspire to be as good as you one day down the road.

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SuperCuteCookie Posted 20 May 2013 , 3:13pm
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Glad to hear that you didn't waste your time making cupcakes at a lower price. Your cupcakes are perfectly prices besides the ingredients that you use are way better than the ingredients that Costco uses!

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Baking Me Crazy Posted 20 May 2013 , 3:17pm
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I love your avatar SuperCuteCookie!

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