Help me respond to this message!

[Froznheart]

I've name changed for this as it will out me.

I'm a cake maker by trade, I'm fairly successful but recently did a cake that was extremely popular in my area and was shared lots of times which meant mynpage has become really popular.

I've just had a message from someone asking for a quote on that particular cake. I went on to their profile to check what area they were from and it clearly says on the profile that she is a professional cake maker with her own cake business - so basically a rival of mine.

I responded to the message and said what date did she need the cake for as I'm virtually fully booked over the next couple of months and she replied saying "I'm not fussed about the date, I will fit around you can you just provide me with a price please" I replied with "I will check the diary when I get home and let you know when I'm free" and she replied saying "ok but can you give me a price now?"

How do I respond to this? Part of me wants to say fuck off you just want to pinch my ideas and pricing but I know that it's not professional 😂

So mumsnetters - what would you say? And AIBU to tell her to bugger off

I have seen posts where people ask how much to make a cake like the one in their picture as they have seen a photo of something they like but don't know who made it to begin with.

Sounds like she was being cheeky though. If genuine sheshould have just told you outright that she had been asked but was full, and would you be able to do the job before she suggested you.

I haven't read all the thread properly but people have correctly pointed out that copyright and design registrations are different. Copyright does not have to be applied for, but is suitable fot certain types of work eg a painting.
A registered design would need to be applied for. Company logos would be protected as trademarks. For more info look at www.ipo.gov.uk.

I want to eat cake now. 🍰

make sure you have a watermark over your pics
Putting a watermark on the pictures won't stop a competitor making replicas of her cake designs.

Thing is, you're not going to start taking legal action against people who copy your cakes, are you? So stop getting so get up about it!
Nobody is saying that the OP should take legal action against people who copy her cakes.

What I am saying us that if the OP stated on her website that her cake designs were registered and that she would take legal action against people who copied them then that would deter a lot of people from copying them in the first place.

I'm not a cake maker but worked for a small business where it was fairly common for competitors to try and find out our prices.

I would just not reply. Or make her fill in a long complicated order form.

Totally off the point but then Chester zoo thread wasn't real??!!

Nope, Onynx - outed as a troll, the same one who did the "should I pay for this ghastly aberration of a Frozen cake", apparently.

Don't reply. She's not genuine as:
-she's a cake maker herself
-she's not fussed about dates & will work around you
-it's for her partner's mum (?)
-then it's for her friend's mum

Just ignore her. She's wasting your time.

Could someone tell me what the chester zoo thread was about please?

We are living in the age of open source and the gift economy. Be confident. I would call out her sneakiness by being open: ask her what 'she' would charge for this cake? But the bigger picture is that every innovation gets copied and made cheaper by someone else. You however, are the creative one and you will keep making cakes that other people want to copy.

The watermarks wouldn't stop someone from copying the cake, but it would stop them using the OP's photo to advertise their work.

I'd just give a noncommittal from- to price, depending on size, actual sponge etc. Then disengage.

what was the chester zoo thread?

I would have ignored the message, i get it quite a bit, competitors wanting info about my suppliers and stuff I used to spend the time answering them and dancing around it but now I just think why should I at all?

A thread about a cake maker and an entitled person on Facebook ? With a play on Frozen in OP's username?

Very good inspector. I doff my cap to you.

I used to work for a software company. At one trade show, some of our people, wanting to know about a competitor's product, went to their stall and tried to book on their training course. They simply replied that they didn't think it would be a good idea to give information about their products to a competitor. The conversation was very good-natured, and we understood their point of view.

Chester zoo was a troll about someones Childminder who claimed to have taken mindees to the zoo for a day. Ops dc said they hadnt been to zoo and as Op had been charged for tickets so asked for proof . The cm produced clearly faked tickets.
The frozen thread was same troll wbo claimed that she had paid for a frozen cake which turned out to be really awful, nothing like their pictures on facebook. There was long thread on whether she should pay and how much along with pictures of cakes etc texts.Lots of detective work Turned out the photos she claimed were on cakemakers fb were actually a MNetters.

Point her to the cake baker calculator and tell her to input her costs, because with different suppliers etc you wouldn't want her to undercharge or over charge if she's been buying differently priced ingredients.

At the end of the day the cheeky mare has been bubbled. She's been too blatant asking for a cake price and too pushy. Either she had the time to do it, in which case she would have passed your contact info on as the original designer, or she has but either wants to undercut you or doesn't want to undercharge herself.

if you've also done a haulage firm cake I think I've found your nuggets one too.

I think I might say ask fir a contact number and ring her. When you do explain you understand that she is a cake maker herself and ask her if she wants the cake for herself or if she is intending to sell it on as there are different rates? Hopefully you can suss from the conversation what her intentions are? Personally I wouldn't put anything in writing which might damage you reputation/business.

I would out her on your page...say you had a lady asking about the pricing for a cake despite being a cake maker. While you have no problem with healthy competition, as you are proud of the quality of your cakes, you won't be under cut by other businesses looking to copy your designs.

bruffin wasn't there also a cupcake one that ran simultaneously with the frozen one. Asking how much you would pay for cupcakes the op made and that's where they were caught out?

That's some appalling punctuation, sorry!

I didnt know about the cupcake thread middleclassproblem

Who would want a cake of chicken nuggets??

Who would want a cake of chicken nuggets??
Maybe someone who would reply to a thread that ended two months ago??