'She wanted them in a week': Cupcake baker takes order for a friend, suddenly raises the price of the order

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
May 5, 2023 5:00 PM EDT

A disagreement over cupcakes is tearing these two friends apart. 

Baking cupcakes and cakes for a living is one of those dream jobs that sounds super fun, and is actually a very lot of work. Unless you see behind the scenes, as a customer, you just can't understand what goes into creating professional baked goods. 

Many bakers do post behind the scenes videos on their social media pages, and it's incredible the amount of skill and technique necessary for these desserts. Some bakers use premium ingredients and expert tools. Sometimes they have to rent out kitchen spaces to do that, adding even more costs to them. Then you get to the actual decorating and packaging of the product, which again, takes lots of time and specialized skills. 

All of which is to say, this baker wrote to r/AmItheA**hole, asking about an argument with their friend. This is one of those cases where the OP told a story, then the comments added some more really interesting details. We've saved the best OP comment for last! 

Next, this boss went through an employee's space without permission, and now the employee wants to know what they should do next. 

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  • 01
    Food - ACTIO t
    via Brooke Lark on Unsplash
  • 02
    Font - AITA for charging someone more than usual for cupcakes and saying I'm not running a charity? Throwaway I (26) have a small business baking cakes and cupcakes. It's not my primary job- my customers are mostly family and friends, but it's something I'm good at and enjoy doing.
    via u/Glass_Ad_1364
  • 03
    Font - It depends on the size, but since I can't do commercial quantities, my time frame to place orders is at least 2 weeks in advance.
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  • 04
    Font - So a couple weeks ago a mutual friend, Liv, (29) reached out asking if I could make some cupcakes for her daughter's 3rd birthday. She gave a outline of what she wanted and it's something I can do, so I said sure. Difference is she wanted them in a week. Liv said there's a lot going on for her right now and she decided to give her daughter a surprise and doesn't have time to make cupcakes too, so the late order. I had spare time that week, so I said I could make them- the cost I gave her
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  • 05
    Font - I said no, because this is a late order. She made some excuse about how she understands that and she's happy to pay more, but not "this much". Liv kept insisting, so I got kind of annoyed and told her I'm not running a charity, she can afford it. If she can't, she doesn't have to order from me. Liv gave a pretty snarky reply to that, got ped. didn't end up placing an order.
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  • 06
    Font - I then saw from a friend's insta she made some posts on her stories, which I'll admit irked me. I do have a couple people telling me I was way upcharging and was rude to her in my replies. I don't think I was, so AITA? Edit: my prices are in CAD, not USD
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  • 07
    Font - Mysterious_Megalodon 6 hr. ago Parta bant [3] YTA based on your comment clarifying that you doubled the price. That's much different than charging more because it's a late order. If you had time, why would the price be double? And "she can afford it" is a terrible and rude reason. Not to mention, reminding her you aren't running a charity would have made a lot more sense if she was asking for free or discounted cupcakes. But no one asked for that. If you didn't want to make the cupcakes j
    via u/Mysterious_Megalodon
  • 08
    Rectangle - Ok Mode9630 5 hr. a edited 4 hr. ago See, this is the thing - why the h does it matter if she doubled, tripled, quadripled her price? If she forced Liv to buy them or told her the price after ordering, then yes, OP would 100% be the AH. That is not the case.
    via u/Ok_Mode9630
  • 09
    Font - OP quoted a price, if Liv doesn't like it she can ask to for it to be lowered, which she did, that's fine. OP said no multiple times. Liv kept insisting so OP eventually snapped. Now, should she have said what she said? Maybe not, so at the most this would be an E/S/H situation. People often charge up rush orders because they don't want to do it and expect the person to say no, and on the chance they say yes, the money makes it worth it.
    via u/Ok_Mode9630
  • 10
    Font - Then Liv went on social media to blast OP. No one forced her to buy the cupcakes, she didn't even end up ordering them! OP knows how much her time is worth and how much she wants to charge, if you don't like it, don't order. Simple. These comments are real entitled thinking you can tell anyone how to price their goods. Don't like it, don't buy it. You can ask once if the price can be reduced - after that, why is it okay to keep insisting?
    via u/Ok_Mode9630
  • 11
    Font - Why do all of you think you can dictate OP's time and "suitable" amount of money? Why is OP expected to have certain pricing for Liv? You think it's an outrageous price, you don't buy it. Easy. And then blasting the person on IG?
    via u/Ok_Mode9630
  • 12
    Font - sewiv 3 hr. ago edited 3 hr. ago Raising the price is how you say "I don't want to make the cupcakes". I'm a corporate IT guy, have been for decades. You want me to fix your home network? My price is 5x my hourly income (which is already not low). Because I don't want to do it. I've had rich neighbors pay me anyway, and I did it. Welcome to how the world works.
    via u/sewiv
  • 13
    Font - walkslikeaduck08. 4 hr. ago Supply and demand. She had a price at which she's willing to make the cupcakes in that timeframe and wasn't like they could be plucked off the shelf. Buyer wasn't willing to meet that price. Total NTA.
    via u/walkslikeaduck08
  • 14
    Font - william-t-power. 3 hr. ago WTF? Where do you get off determining exactly what it should cost for OP? OP provides a product and the friend wanted a priority order. OP needed enough for what it would take to do so and it was double the normal price. Feel free to cite an economics paper where it concludes that a price doubling cannot ever be justified by the additional cost to produce the product in an expedited manner.
    via u/william-t-power
  • 15
    Font - 0% trick2011 3 hr. ago double the price is not really weird for a rush order. maybe they buy supplies online at a cheaper rate with a delivery period, which doesn't apply for the new timeframe, so alternatives need to be bought, which will be more expensive. Also, you charge what the market will bear, and as Adam Savage has said: sometimes that means charging double or even trip because of the situation. NTA
    via u/trick2011
  • 16
    Font - ImmoralGamer. 6 hr. ago Hang on you have commented you doubled your normal charge. YTA - a rush fee for something that costs $40-$45 I would expect to maybe (and this is pushing it) go to $60-$65
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  • 17
    Font - aeroeagleAC 6 hr. ago Certified Proctologist [... Size and quality is a factor, but 40 for 12 cupcakes is already really pricey, but to double is absurd.
    via u/aeroeagleAC
  • 18
    Font - PracticalPrimrose 5 hr. ago Parta pant [4] Well 85 CAD is 62.50 appx USD. So by the realm, the price was reasonable.
    via u/PracticalPrimrose
  • 19
    Font - BringMeInfo 4 hr. ago Partas ant [2] If it's too much, then the prospective customer says, "No, thank you." Customers don't get to set prices and someone setting a price higher than what someone else thinks it should be doesn't make them an AH.
    via u/BringMeInfo
  • 20
    Font - SamSpayed PI · 6 hr. ago Ctain [150] You're not the a for putting on a surcharge for a late order. But just as you are well within your rights as a business owner to set your prices, including surcharges on "late orders," she is perfectly within her rights as a customer to negotiate the price. She was not an when she asked as you, seemingly quite politely from what you've written, if you could bring down the price.
    via u/SamSpayedPI
  • 21
    Font - You could have negotiated for a compromised price, or just told her you need to stick to your set price list, including uncharges for late orders, and if she didn't want to pay it she could order elsewhere. YTA for telling her that you're "not running a charity" and that "she can afford it."
    via u/SamSpayedPI
  • 22
    Font - or MrBoo843 5 hr. ago A ΝΤΑ Aficionado [10] All the entitlement in the replies, d you all need to remember no one forced her to use OP as their baker. If the quoted price is too high they can just take their business elsewhere. They are cupcakes, not some essential life- supporting need. OP, you are the only one who can decide how much your time is worth. People are free to agree and pay or disagree and not use your service.
    via u/MrBoo843
  • 23
    Font - Glass_Ad_1364 OP. 3 hr. ago She made a birthday cake for her daughter herself and posted it on insta. It was very detailed and over the top, sort of a "haha I can make it so much better than OP didn't even need to ask her"
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  • 24
    Font - aaronok477. 2 hr. ago She made a 'very detailed over the top' cake in under a week but you struggle to make 12 cupcakes in a week and therefore decided to charge 85CAD? That's 62USD or 50GPB. Just how
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  • 25

    On their profile, the OP dropped in this startling revelation --- her friend is a professional pastry chef!

    Font - o Glass_Ad_1364 OP. 1 hr. ago Yeah, because she's actually a professional pastry chef - not sure if she's currently doing it, but I know she has the training and all. She said she was 'struggling (not in a financial way) and didn't feel up to making more cupcakes, but also wanted to do something nice for her daughter. I gave her a price. I didn't force her to pay it. If she
    via u/Glass_Ad_1364

    It's quite the odd twist to this story! Presumably this means that the OP's friend would have a good idea of what baked goods should actually cost. Interesting…

  • 26
    Font - was going to start insisting like this I don't know why she asked me to begin with?
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