15 Replies

its too cheap what you quoted her ..never sell your cakes short its a lot of work its a fair price ..also cost of material goes up every years so thats a cost factor…and i am sure that the person who did them for that 60e realized that they shouldn’t of have done it for that price and she is being tricky…who knows but all in all stand by your price and work hugs

im in Canada, so I don’t know if that’s cheap or not- BUT! there will always be someone who will do it cheaper! Always . If you feel that’s what it is worth for your time, that’s what it is worth. Have a look around for prices of home bakers near you- even commercial bakeries, to compare their prices too!

I think that’s too cheap x When you add the cost of all the fresh ingredients ,boards , cake boxes , ribbons etc you are almost giving your valuable time and talent away for free ! Don’t be disheartened by this and charge what you know you are worth 😘

I agree with others saying it’s too little… I didn’t understand what cakes really cost because it was always hidden in with normal shopping, cleaning etc. I really recommend writing a spreadsheet (or getting a friend to help you) where you can add up the cost of ingredients and time for making a cake. Until I did that I always underestimated because I didn’t consider the cost of using 1tsp of real vanilla or other such things I had already in the house. In effect I was making cakes and paying people to take them, which isn’t the way to do it! X

Thanks I did think my prices were probably on the cheap side so I was surprised by someone saying they were expensive and that made me doubt myself. I will need to sit down and look at my prices again, I set them up ages ago before I really understood all my costs, I don’t think I accounted for ribbon or the paste to cover the board.

If the other person was so wonderful and cheap then why did she contact you ? :) she should be so happy and stay with them.. sometimes people are not very honest :( don’t sell yourself short :) <3.. you need to think how much money you should clear when the cake is done :) don’t drop your prices :) <3

I’m in Ireland and it’s not easy here to get a decent price for work, but I agree it is too cheap. Paul Bradford always speaks so well on this topic, basically you have to value yourself, when you include for ingredients, utilities, sundries, labour and profit you then have the correct price you should be charging. After that you may need to include extra for the quality of your skill compared to others. If your work is better charge for it. He always maintains not everybody is a customer of yours, if they don’t value your work then they are not the clients for you. Stand by your prices, increase them if you are not cover all of the above, there is always people who will get the value of your work and they are the clients you are aiming for. She says all this as if she practices what she preaches, think we all under value ourselves in this profession.

Embellishcandc
I was told by a wise Pro baker, she would say to a customer like this….“Do you barter with tradesmen….plumbers, electricians, mechanics, etc.??”…. I think not, they’d politely laugh in your face, and say…that’s my price per hour/for the job etc., take it or leave it. Those tradesmen are skilled in there particular trade as I am in mine. if you want cheaper, your more than welcome to go to someone else, or in your case, back to your customers 1st quote.
Hold your head up high, and stick to your guns. Hope this helps.

June… That’s great advice! I’m going to use this!

I often say something similar June, although only in conversation, I’ve not yet had to say it to a customer: if you go to Armani you wouldn’t start haggling with the store clerk over the prices and tell them it’s too much, you know that’s what they cost for that level of design and quality. And bespoke wedding cakes are like the Armani of cakes, if you want a Primark price you’d have to go to a supermarket and have one of their cakes instead x

Thanks everyone, as soon as she messaged me saying it was too expensive I just replied saying “no bother let me know if I can help you in the future,” I wasn’t going to change my prices for her but I just wanted some reassurance that my prices weren’t unreasonable and from what you have said, if anything, they are cheap. Like some people have said I’m not sure why she came to me in the first place if her last deal was so good! Thanks everyone. Fiona x

Stick to your guns,,, good for you, and do not sell yourself short… If she got it cheaper, then why doesn’t she just go back there? Probably because it wasn’t as great as she’d hoped and looking elsewhere. If a client wants a standard of work, they must be prepared to pay for it… Like anything in life, you pay for quality… Glad you stuck to your price. :)

Good for you! I only do cakes as a hobby for family and friends so they are usually my gift. Occasionally I make one for a friend as a favour (only if I like the sound of it!) and they pay me for what it has cost me to make. I cost every single thing I use and am always amazed at what they actually cost (realised I was forgetting to add in post and packing costs for stuff I had ordered recently!) – so your prices seem very cheap to me in terms of you realistically charging for your time…..and then there is your skill and experience!

Yes Judy I am really a hoby baker too, most of the cakes I do are for friends and family but because I kept getting asked to do cakes by friends of friends who I didn’t know I decided to keep myself right – to get my kitchen inspected, get insurance and register as a business, even though it is a very small one as I work full time as a teacher.

Agree with everything said so far, never sell yourself short. As good as it is to fill the diary up with the orders, you also have to consider is it also worth your time, would you work for less than minimum wage? It has a massive knock on effect on those that are trying to make a living in the industry when people try to compete with what I like to call supermarket prices. I have seen people trying to advertise on Facebook with 3-tier wedding cakes for as little as £60! And matching cupcakes from 40p each! It not only devalues the cake maker themselves, but the industry as a whole. I know many who will work into the small hours getting a cake finished and put an incredible amount of time and effort into perfecting their design, for someone to make a mockery of their dedication by charging £60? Believe in yourself, if you have the skills to be a cake artist, you have a gift and a skill that a lot of people don’t. Why would they be asking for your service? Because they like what you can create. I’ve always been a believer of the price of how much you charge reflects the amount that you believe in yourself…