Help! Pricing 17 Doz. Sugar Cookies For Wedding.
Baking By DiLynn Updated 19 Apr 2011 , 6:50pm by pattycakesnj
Needing help to price 17 doz sugar cookies for a wedding. They will be sunflowers approx 3-31/2" diam. Hand frosted then a piped outline all in yellow. The center is to be black frosted first then sprinkled with jimmies, sugar, or something black. Then bagged and tied. They supply the ribbon. Don't want to overprice and lose the job but need to make money. We are in southern Iowa.
Thanks for helping! diane
The going rate around Little Rock, AR is $18 per dozen, so $306. I think it's WELL worth it. That's a lot of work; much more work than a cake. That's $1.50 per cookie.
here in spruce i charge $2 a cookie. So $24 a dozen so thats $408 lol
What would you charge for a smaller order of the same cookie? You might want to start there. I offer a 10% discount on orders of 90+ on the same design. I think there is some economy at that level in terms of only having to think about one design, only mixing a limited amount of colors, etc.
I charge $4.50 for that type of cookie, wrapped and tied. I'm in VA.
If you don't think you can go that high, I would suggest the $1/in rule of thumb...thus your cookies would be between $3.00 and $3.50 each. I do not think people include packaging in that figure.
I don't know if that quantity of cookie means you have to hire help, but that's something to consider as well.
Low end, I'd say $3.00 per cookie, including packaging and already considering a small discount for quantity. $612 total for 17 dozen.
Good luck 
Well I'm gonna out price you all here..HA!HA! Just kidding...I simply would not do an almost 4 inch cookie,decorated,bagged and tied for less than $5.00 each...Tons of work and the packaging alone will take a few hours...Just because you want the order doesn't mean you have to work your buns off for nothing either...If your market can't sustain a $5.00 cookie then maybe $3.00 each but honestly..that is alot of work.
Hey guys! I'm in Iowa too, eastern side. I think AT LEAST $3.00/cookie. Those are a PITA and take forever!! Cookies by Design charges $3.50 for their cookies and they are between 3.5-4.5inches.
i should have added my price is for a tray, packaged is more
Instead of hand frosting them all...how about covering them with yellow fondant that you cut with the cookie cutter and place on while the cookies are still hot ?Then pipe on the black center, jimmies, etc. I find that to be sooo much less time consuming.
Good luck!
I unfortunately learned the hard way by undercharging for a cookie order once before. Spent DAYS working on them and made NOTHING!
Then next time around, I had a similar cookie request as you - sugar cookies, two color with monogram, bagged & tied with a ribbon & notecard. Knowing what I'd been through before, I didn't want the make the same mistake. I struggled for days with what to charge worried that the customer would baulk at it. I finally sucked it up and quoted them $40 per dozen, plus an added charge for the bags & ribbon. Customer didn't even blink. (BTW -- geographically, I'm in the boonies!)
Think about the labor that's involved with these cookies. You have to make the dough, roll it, cut out the cookies, bake them, let them cool, make the icing, iced them all, let them set up, then detail them (twice!), then let them set up again, then bag & tie them. Take it from someone who's been there -- this takes FOREVER!
I guarantee you'll end up kicking yourself if don't charge at least $3.00 per cookie.
Cookies are very time consuming...I would charge $3.00/cookie here in NW Iowa.
Sue
I'm in East Central Iowa and my price would be $3 plus $1 per package (if they're indivedually packaged or if they're two or more to a package, still $1/package for materials and time) If they want special ribbon i tell them how many feet/yards i need and they have to provide it all. It prevents ANY problems with colors/type etc...
Are you guys selling these $3+ cookies from your bakery or are you making them at home on the side?
If you are concerned about pricing too high, make the cookies smaller. It probably won't save that much time in terms of decoration but definitely quicker with the baking, make dough, icing, etc. If this is for a wedding, I'm sure the bride and groom are more concerned about getting great tasting cookies than the size of the cookie.
I am a newbie to the decorating business...and I am reading all these posts trying to decide what I should charge for cookies. I am still very indecisive about it......I am thinking 2 dollars a cookie.....and maybe 2.25 for bag and ribbon. But I have a few potential orders for 100+ cookies and I am wondering if I should stick to my 2 dollar price range or give a quantity discount. This is such a tough decision.
I'd say no less than $4.00 per cookie even if they are supplying the ribbon. It's not always the materials that cost you it's the labor of tediously tying all of the ribbon. Your fingers will be sore at the end of it and you want to be paid well for your time. Don't undersell yourself.
I am a newbie to the decorating business...and I am reading all these posts trying to decide what I should charge for cookies. I am still very indecisive about it......I am thinking 2 dollars a cookie.....and maybe 2.25 for bag and ribbon. But I have a few potential orders for 100+ cookies and I am wondering if I should stick to my 2 dollar price range or give a quantity discount. This is such a tough decision.
Personally, I would not do discounts. Decorated cookies are a high-end product that takes a tremendous amount of time! Simply because they're ordering a lot of something doesn't mean it pays for you to give a discount. If anything, the larger orders would make me want to charge a premium!
I am a newbie to the decorating business...and I am reading all these posts trying to decide what I should charge for cookies. I am still very indecisive about it......I am thinking 2 dollars a cookie.....and maybe 2.25 for bag and ribbon. But I have a few potential orders for 100+ cookies and I am wondering if I should stick to my 2 dollar price range or give a quantity discount. This is such a tough decision.
Personally, I would not do discounts. Decorated cookies are a high-end product that takes a tremendous amount of time! Simply because they're ordering a lot of something doesn't mean it pays for you to give a discount. If anything, the larger orders would make me want to charge a premium!
Gemini,
me neither!! 
It's not a personal choice (emotions can cause you to make unwise decisions), actually it's a business savvy choice!! In the past 6 months that I have been in business I have learned that discounting ie selling yourself short doesn't do anything for me. I am not sure for the original poster if this is your sole source of income (not including your spouse) but if you really count up the cost of doing business you will see that it's not cheap. I was told by someone very dear to me that me selling myself cheap is like taking food out of my children's mouth. I can't afford to take food away nor much needed clothing, shoes or other necessities. I don't mean to sound pessimistic but it is the reality of doing business!!!
My cookies are $4 each to start and go up from there depending on design etc. Whether you are a store front or a legal home business, you need to not undercharge to get the business. Once you start low, there is no going back. No discount either unless they are a repeat customer.
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