Heehee Purple, good point, which means I should likely raise my prices as they are Canadian!
Pastry Diva is in Florida so when she is quoting her prices, that is U.S. dollars.
So far nobody has quoted Pounds Sterling.
What I have discovered is that the prices whether in U.S. dollars or Canadian, are pretty much the same, so this is why I haven't specified.
I have checked out a lot of U.S. sites and other than in some areas in Iowa and the other small towns where there are no commercial bakeries and someone has decided that cakes are all priced at $1.00 a serving no matter what is on them, to get more business, I would say U.S. or Canadian, those are the going rates. every time i see that $1 a serving thing applied to all cakes, I want to scream. Everytime I see someone charging $15 and $20 for a cake, I want to scream!
Three and four years ago when the economies of both countries were not great, the going rate for wedding cakes was $1.50 to $3.50 as serving unless complicated or covered with fondant and gumpaste and such. The going rate now, in nearly every area of both the U.S. and Canada that I have checked out, is minimum $3.50 - $7.50 a serving, for very basic. I have only seen one exception and it still was $2.50-$3.50. Again pound cake or anything else is extra.
You really need to check our real, better quality bakeries in your state and local area or your province and local area or your country and local area. The biggest problem is that folks keep comparing prices to Walmart, Costco, all of the big box stores with instore bakeries. There are not the same thing.
I can tell you all that hubbies come in handy, when you consider your prices. Just let them get ahold of your cost sheets and let them time you and check the hydro bills and the gas you put in the car to get all of the supplies and see the bills for all of the cake tools! They will hit the roof when they see that you are not working for anywhere close to minimum wage and they will start to resent it.
I am darn sure that if you take the hourly wages of a cake decorator and take the costs of your cakes and add this together, never mind using any other formulas, many people are working for less than $1 an hour and perhaps up to $4. an hour at the most.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
I wish there was a magic button we could push wants we decided to start making cakes that would give us confidence in ourselves, our work AND our prices!! Guess that will come with time! He still says everynow and then "Who are you giving a cake to today?" I just kick him in the shin and move on. (Just kidding!!!)
