Cupcakes

Cupcake Pricing

I had a friend as for me to make some cupcakes and I was thinking about doing it. I don’t own a store and have only sold a couple of cheesecakes to coworkers in the past, I merely bake as a hobby. I’m not looking to get into this as a profession either, just keep it as a hobby and sell to friends or coworkers from time to time. For this time I was thinking of selling the cupcakes at $1.25-$1.50 per cupcake since I don’t really care about making money off them but it would still leave a couple of dollars in my pocket afterwards. But even without a store or no competition is it bad/dumb to under sell my self and services? Thanks for any feedback everyone!

4 Replies

I don’t know where you live so pricing is tricky – but I still would never undersell…it’s a verrrrrrry slippery slope. I would at least charge $2.25/cupcake…many people charge $3-4!!!

Good luck to ya!

If they are plain cupcakes with a swirl of frosting on top, I personally think you should charge at least $3.00. If they are filled and/or decorated, at least $4.00 or more.

Sugar Sugar by SSmiley

I’m far from an expert on pricing, it drives me nuts after I quote a price, then look back and figure I am giving my time away for free! But, I did go through my common recipes & figured how much in ingredients cost for 1 recipe. Figured 1 recipe made, say 24 cupcakes so say $35, then buttercream say $5. This is just ingredients not my time. $40. Then if you are asked for any type of decoration i.e. sprinkles, etc, add that cost on to $40 + packaging, add. So now, figure your time & whatever you think is fair to you add that wage to the total. Divide that total by 24 (# of cupcakes) and look at that as your per cupcake pricing. Make sense? Please don’t give your time & talent away like I’ve done in the past.

You are right – you should not underprice yourself – HOWEVER, if you are selling to anyone you should be licenced and inspected by the health department in your area. You can sell your products at less cost than the rest of us who are paying for the licence and the health inspections because your expenses are less with not having to pay for these requirements. If you decide to continue with this “hobby” you will have to be careful that someone does not report you to the health department because they will certainly close you down. Selling your goods without paying for the legal requirements is unfair competition to those who are meeting the requirements and paying for it. I suggest you look into the requirements.

June Lynch, Dundas, Ontario, Canada