"Vox Humana" > wrote in message
...
>
> "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.
>
Oh that's too funny. Sometimes you just can't win. My father is the same
way.

In October I asked for my family to meet at a Mexican restaurant that
parents rave about for my birthday. My dad says he loves the place, because
they serve black beans and they are his all time favorite bean. That he's
loved them all his life. I have never had a black bean one while I was
growing up. I have no clue where this love of black beans came from, but
who cares I took note. During the New Years weekend I was staying at my
folks house and made a delicious black bean soup for lunch. My dad asks
what else is for lunch. Huh.. what... why do you ask? He tells me he
doesn't like black beans, because they give him really bad gas. 7 family
members all look at me while spooning soup into their mouths... like they
are waiting for the top of my head to blow off. I just shook my head and
pointed him towards some leftover ham. I just can't win sometimes.

Lynne