To expect school to sell cakes at a reasonable price at the fair?

[Clary]

Bit of a rant so sorry...

Made some cakes for the school fair. Did choc Easter nests (Nigella) which looked pretty good. Worked out as I made about 18-19 that they had cost £2.50 or so (only a few ingredients but dear, choc mini eggs etc), so figured at 25p each, that's about £4.50 for school, a good return.

Was shocked on entering said fair to see them priced at 5p! Yes, 6 in a packet for 30p! Also (to show I am not precious about my own work ) some lovely iced buns with red noses on, choc crispie cakes also with mini eggs, etc, also all 5p.

Said to the staff member on the stall "Your cakes are a bit cheap aren't they?" Oh yes, she says, that way they well quicker. well duh! The stall was cleared within 3/4 hr. But at that price it's hardly a surprise.

The thing that gets me is, I might as well have just lobbed the school £2.50 as give that money to Mr Sainsbury so the school could raise 95p. Not to mention my time. I don't mind giving up my time, or the ingredients, but if this is what they do then what's the point? Grrrrr. was so angry that I refused to buy any cakes. I love the school, it's fab, but isn't this a bit ridiculous? Or am I all out of proportion and nobody would pay more than 5p for a cake at a school fair anyway????

I think 5p a cake is daylight robbery, you wouldn't get that anywhere, may as well give them away. I would pay way more than that.

that price is ridiculously low

( seasoned PTA member here)

yes its a constant bug-bear

at fairs we now sell small cakes and biscuits for 30p .. big ones for 50p

big cakes for £5 (as in a whole large cake)

they still sell out and reflect slightly better the effort made

but a cake stall IN SCHOOL for the kids everything is 10p

I completely understand your frustation. This is my husband's favourite rant . Why do we slave away for school fairs when they sell things at ridiculous prices. One option is not to make the cakes next time, but just donate the money. The school are better off that way. It all depends on whether you view the fair as a community building exercise to which your cakes have contributed, or whether it's just a money-making venture.

Ah yes, my friend is married to vicar.
She spends most weekends cooking her arse off for a bunch of old ladies to sell her cakes and buns for less than they cost to make.

At Dd's school they have an after school cake stall once a term -the individual cakes are priced at 20p each which I think is fair.

I'm not sure what prices the big cakes go for as you can't get close enough to the stall to find out -bit of a rugby scrum where you risk life and limb so i just send DD with the money

we did cakes at our church this week

and everything was 20p which wasn't that bad..

I would be cheesed off to having gone to that effort for 95p

well quite.

The trouble is if no-one donates cakes, just money, then there won't be a cake stall at all (which may well be one thing that draws the crowds...)

Impressed by yr prices Twig, but you are dahn sarth aren't you. My sister's school in London sells chocolate brownies for some astonishing price. (Like £1 a go or something).

But yes, I would very happily pay 20-25p for a cake, at least. Cakes in bakeries here are 40-50p.

Insane - surely school fairs are supposed to be money making activities? (As well community stuff etc).

People just won't be bothered to cook will they.

We charge 25p each or 5 for a £1 and bigger nice cakes up to £5.

Not unreasonable at all.

our brownies charge decent prices

but if everyone's mother has made a cake they end up with loads left and end up just packing it into bags and saying 'oh just give us tenpence' to get rid of it all at the end

oh yeah no worries if it's a few bits at the end. I think they were maybe worried about getting left with loads but that didn't seem likely.

agree entirely Clary. As chair of the PTA (I managed to look up at the wrong moment in the AGM honest!!) I insist on selling the cakes for a sensible price, 20p a small bun or biscuit, and at least £2.50 for a whole cake - we can always drop the prices if they don't sell!

That said, I usually make a huge amount of small biscuits that sell for 10p each, so if there are any children there without much money they can afford something.

We've got school disco tomorrow night., and instead of asking for buns being sent in, I have sourced choc biscuits and will be selling those at a modest profit.

Our school goes to the opposite extreme and charges 50p for a bought fairy cake decorated by some snotty nosed, grubby fingered kid.

I completely agree my DDs school is exactly the same. It doesn't stop me making cakes but I do only make iced fairy cakes now because they all sell for the same price.

DS's school charge 20p for a fairy cake. Maybe more at the summer fair when there is more opportunity for wider pricing to reflect the complexity of the bun.

I make sure I am never organising the pricing - I would let market competition sort the difference between the plump chintzy butterfy cake and the shrunken, sunken singed bun with the thin drizzle of icing....get there first or pay the same for the less fought-over items!

...sounds as if they need a short sharp course in "maximising your profit from fairy cakes" and market forces..FGS they could have made much more than they did..hardly seems worth it...why don't you write an anonymous note of complaint ??

20-30p usually and occaisionally small biscuits for 10p.£2-3 for a big cake.

5p omg ..
..nigella cake at 5p...that's a slap in the face..

..actually, i feel fleeced at fairs coffee mornings etc around here..at least a £1 for anything..even looking at a cake!!

..they are defeating the purpose imo..if cake stall attracts people sell it at decent profit otherwise whats the point...
thank the lord of pre school i cannot but cannot make a cake....

suzy I may not bother next time either!

Thanks for your views ladies, good to see it's not just me. DH says I should complain but I don't want to tarnish the lovely relationship - school and staff are so lovely as a rule.

Maybe next time just take my money and spend it there lol.

Clary's sister checking in here to confirm that we sell 4 smallish (6/7cm square) brownies for £2.50 for 4 and they are usually sold out before I get them as far as the stall. I did make them for the primary when DD started there and was shocked to find them selling them for 25p - resolved that if you can't beat them etc and volunteered to run the cake stall at the next fair.

We have a weekly after sch tea and cakes session, and we now sell shop bought for 20p, homemade for 30p and anything with choc in it for 50p. This is in school so I think it is fair. We take around £60 a week so it is a fab fundraiser.

This is in London but don't think M&S has regional pricing does it?

I did Xmas cakes - little ones, around 15x10, with marzipan and icing just on top for the Xmas do. I costed them out as was worried about the cost/effort equation, they worked out at around £2 each so I priced them at a fiver. Yes I thought it was extortionate too but figured it was Xmas and people are flinging their money around, and if they didn't sell I would buy them back and take to neighbours etc. They all sold out to staff and helpers before the fair opened.

Perhaps deliver them with a pricing suggestion Clary?

As this was 15 fucking years ago she probably has already....