"D.Currie" > wrote in message
...
original customer you are out nothing.
> >
> >
>
> Every time I wander past this topic, I go back to the idea of what I'd be
> willing to buy (food-wise) online, how much I'd be willing to pay, and
what
> condition I'd want it in.
>
> While the cakes may be perfectly edible after 3-5 days in the US mail,
would
> I buy a perishable food item that made that trip? No, I wouldn't. No
matter
> if it's just fine in the shippers' opinion, I'd be thinking that I'm
buying
> a 3-5 day old bakery product that's been in who knows what conditions for
> those 3-5 days. It's just not appealing, and I'd bake a cake or buy one
> locally before I paid a premium to buy a cake like that online. Even if
> someone sent it to me as a gift, I'd be skeptical if it came in any
> condition besides frozen solid and looking like it had been that way from
> the beginning.
>
> Note that I'm not disagreeing that the cake would be edible, but
perception
> is everything, and if the cake looks dented or damaged, or the customer
> thinks too much about what the post office did to the cake in the interim,
> that customer isn't going to be pleased. And then they're going to want a
> refund on the cake and shipping.
>
> On the other hand, if there was something that I couldn't get locally that
I
> really craved, I'd be willing to pay the cost for packaging and next-day
> shipping to get the product to me in the best condition possible. So the
> question is whether the OP can make the product so appealing that
strangers
> online are going to want to buy the cakes and pay the premium.
>
> If the OP really wants to get into online selling, there are probably
easier
> things to start with, like unfrosted products that could be shipped in a
> tin, and particularly ones that are thought to be best after a little
aging,
> like fruit cakes or rum cakes or similar products.
>
> I agree that some discounted special local sale is a much better idea,
> overall.

I see food being sold periodically on QVC and HSN. It is generally
cheesecake, cookies, candy, caramel apples, or a sturdy pie. I can't recall
ever seeing a frosted cake being sold. I do know that people ship cakes
covered with rolled fondant. Still, when I look at the price of the cakes
and the shipping, I just shake my head. For instance, QVC sells Junior's
cheesecake for about $40 each, including shipping. I have the Junior's
cookbook and can make the same cheesecake for about $6. Cheesecake isn't
hard to make, so its not like I am paying for some extraordinary level of
skill if I buy one of their cakes. As a side note, I used to make
cheesecakes and send them home with my partner when he would visit his
family. I have always received compliment on my cheesecakes and thought
that they made nice gifts. One time when his mother was visiting we were at
a restaurant. My partner pointed out the cheesecake on the dessert menu.
His mother blurted out with hesitation that she "wouldn't go out of her way"
for a piece of cheesecake. You could have heard a pin drop. Needless to
say, that was the end of that. I had baked a carrot cake and some cinnamon
rolls while she was visiting. One day during dinner I had some squash that
was seasoned with cinnamon. She exclaimed that cinnamon gave her heart
burn! It was another uncomfortable moment. Ironically, the next time he
returned from a visit with his mother, I asked what they had for dessert.
He told me that his mother had ordered a Junior's cheesecake from QVC!!! I
give up.