I am trying to make sure i am charging enough on party cakes and i was asked for a price on a 3 tier double layer cake to feed 60 people and then they wanted a small smash cake in the shape of a lady bug. I charged $80.00 for the tiered cake and $20.00 for the smash cake and i am being told by co workers that i am not charging enough so what should i be charging for this?
No one here can tell you what the market will bear in your area. You have to figure labor, costs and overhead and measure that against market value.
If you search for pricing in these forums you will find dozens of pricing threads as well as pricing matrices that you can use.
ACheck out the pricing formula link in my signature below. You will probably need to at least triple your prices to get into the right ballpark.
at Godot no way as much as i have to do on the three tier cake there is no way i can charge $20-$30 thats going to be what my supplies cost its to feed 60 people
AYou have to charge what it takes to cover your costs, your time and whatever profit you want to make, assuming this is in line with your local market.
Costs include all your ingredients, any supplies needed like boxes, boards etc and things like licensing, insurance and utilities.
Raising prices will cost you orders in the beginning but even if you only get 1 order out of 3, you will be making the same amount at the end of the day for way less work. Don't make the mistake of thinking busting your hump for pennies equals success.
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at Godot no way as much as i have to do on the three tier cake there is no way i can charge $20-$30 thats going to be what my supplies cost its to feed 60 people
She's being sarcastic 
CC gets more than it's share of people asking how much they should charge without doing some basic research of their own.
I don't know your costs, but you did not charge enough. That I know for sure. On the CHEAPEST end, people on CC charge $2/slice.
If you are just starting, it's a lesson learned. Many of us have undercharged for a cake or two here and there. It comes with the territory of baking in the beginning, just about everyday a newbie has a pricing question on this forum. Keep reading as much as you can and you will get into the proper pricing mode. It's also tough to have high prices because sometimes it's not what people want to pay.
CC also gets a lot of trolls trying to start a big fight.
If you'd like pricing information then you have to include more information about the design than "3 tier double layer cake to feed 60 people and then they wanted a small smash cake in the shape of a lady bug". No one can even begin to quote out a cake with so little information. There is a base price per serving and then a cost for extras. Extras may include things like flowers, banners, extra stripes, cutouts, 3d figures etc. Price is also affected by how well the design was executed. (Like are some things a like sloppy or is it very clean, neat work).
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No one here can tell you what the market will bear in your area. You have to figure labor, costs and overhead and measure that against market value.
If you search for pricing in these forums you will find dozens of pricing threads as well as pricing matrices that you can use.
I disagree somewhat in the sense that we can definitely share what the cake will go for where we live, but the truth is many people responding only think they know the answer.
So in some ways it's not helpful to ask this question on CC because so many people don't have a clue what they should be charging for their cakes and because people tend to believe what sounds comfortable to them. And if you can't wrap your brain around spending $250 for a 32 serving birthday cake, the person who says $100 sounds like the sane person.
In terms of costs, how much can the price of sugar really vary that much between Ohio and and California to be such a big factor in cake pricing? So what if the price is off by $10, or even $20, because the of the price of flour and eggs?
The other thing usually brought up is cost of living. Since the main cost of making cake is time and labor, then the cost of living in various areas is a factor. However, the cost of living doesn't vary so much that a $300 cake in one place should go for $120 or less elsewhere, but I see it all the time. In other words, the cost of living factor doesn't mean the price of a cake on Rodeo Drive drops by two thirds as soon as it gets out to poorer neighborhoods or drives out to a small town in Ohio. You may not be able to find a customer for it in those places, but that is evidence those people can't afford it, not of over pricing..
Then there's profit:
1) if your business model is a bakery: You should be making a profit on your product in addition to what you pay [yourself] as an hourly wage. Your profit is the amount over total wages you'd have to pay someone to do the work.
2) If you're bushiness model is a plumber and you are a cake making service, then you should consider working well above minimum wage, shouldn't you? You're a business owner with all the extra work, risks and headaches that go a long with it. What do plumbers make per hour? Anyone know? $50?
(In case any of that looks familiar, I copied it from another post)
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It's also tough to have high prices because sometimes it's not what people want to pay.
It's not what most people want to pay. Trying to sell high end custom cakes without a vehicle to reach your customer is like going door to door in a middle class neighborhood trying to sell Lamborghini's.
Post a picture - some cakes are only worth 20-30 bucks even if you spend twice that on ingredients
Similarly - people give away cakes that COULD be sold for $600
Coming on here and asking for a bunch of total strangers to give you a price is like letting ME determine how much your house is worth.... from the other side of the world
thanks Jason for your helpful info I appreciate you trying to help me out.
some people are total jerks on here. if you dont know how to try to help somebody then dont answer
i am so done with this site.
A
Original message sent by Love N Cakes
some people are total jerks on here. if you dont know how to try to help somebody then dont answer i am so done with this site.
Don't let the door hit you on the @$$ on your way out!
Godot - Professional Meany Pants, Shameless Git and Total Jerk
AFeels like I'm always saying this these days, but don't confuse 'not what you wanted to hear' with being mean. You are the one making the money, you have to do the work.
This thread has run its course - thank you for your participation.
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