"King's Crown" > wrote in message
ink.net...
>
> "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

Not quite the same, but when I invited my in-laws over for dinner, they
asked what was being served. They're picky eaters, although they'd never
admit it. I said we were having Italian food, and the reply was that they
don't like Italian. I said that I had been planning on lasagna, but I could
come up with something else instead. MIL said, "Oh, we like lasagna, we just
don't like Italian food." I'm still trying to figure that out.

Donna