Has anyone ever bought any bakery products from a company that sells
online or through catalog sales? I was just curious because HSN was
featuring "David's Cookies" a while back and I couldn't believe the
prices they were charging. I thought you have got to be kidding. I
went to the David's cookies website and checked out some of their
prices. A 1 pound tin of cookies costs $22.99. A 2 pound tin costs
$29.99. I don't care if they are gourmet cookies. I can make a heck
of a lot more than 2 pounds of cookies with $29.99 dollars worth of
ingredients.
They're not the only ones who charge ridiculous prices. I make
homemade danish pastries from scratch. The dough itself takes several
hours if not a day to make. I also make my fruit fillings from
scratch. I figured the total cost for each danish to be about 45
cents. I went to a couple online bakeries and the minimum price I saw
for a single danish was $1.75. I think at that price I'd say you can
keep the danish.

On Tue 16 May 2006 09:37:51p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it djs0302
@aol.com?

> Has anyone ever bought any bakery products from a company that sells
> online or through catalog sales? I was just curious because HSN was
> featuring "David's Cookies" a while back and I couldn't believe the
> prices they were charging. I thought you have got to be kidding. I
> went to the David's cookies website and checked out some of their
> prices. A 1 pound tin of cookies costs $22.99. A 2 pound tin costs
> $29.99. I don't care if they are gourmet cookies. I can make a heck
> of a lot more than 2 pounds of cookies with $29.99 dollars worth of
> ingredients.

I have to agree that the cookies are rediculously priced.

> They're not the only ones who charge ridiculous prices. I make
> homemade danish pastries from scratch. The dough itself takes several
> hours if not a day to make. I also make my fruit fillings from
> scratch. I figured the total cost for each danish to be about 45
> cents. I went to a couple online bakeries and the minimum price I saw
> for a single danish was $1.75. I think at that price I'd say you can
> keep the danish.

You're only considering the cost of ingredients. Consider the cost of
labor. Would you sell them for $.45 each?

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>
> You're only considering the cost of ingredients. Consider the cost of
> labor. Would you sell them for $.45 each?
>
> --
> Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
> _____________________

Of course I wouldn't sell them for $.45 each but I can't imagine
almost a 300% markup.

> wrote in message
oups.com...

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>
> You're only considering the cost of ingredients. Consider the cost of
> labor. Would you sell them for $.45 each?
>
> --
> Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
> _____________________

Of course I wouldn't sell them for $.45 each but I can't imagine
almost a 300% markup.

If you were making them commercially, not only would you have to consider
ingredients and labor, you'd need to cover the cost of working in a
commercial kitchen, which is generally a health code requirement. Here, if I
wanted to, I could rent one for $25 per hour. I don't know how many hours
your "all day" dough would really take, but if it's 8 hours, that's $200
added to the cost. How many Danish could you make and sell in a day, and how
many would you end up throwing away after they got stale?

If it's being shipped, you're also paying for the packaging materials and
the shipping costs. A commercial baker is probably going to have some nicely
printed custom boxes or labels, so there's another cost.

Then add on all the extra costs that no one ever sees -- stupid stuff like
yellow pages ads, phone service, labor (if you're not doing all the work
yourself) all the taxes and insurance and things like that. And the person
running the business is going to want to make a living from the business.

By the time you're done, there's more cost in everything besides
ingredients. So, ingredients-wise, the Danish aren't worth what you pay. If
it's a great secret recipe, or the baker has skills you don't have, then it
might be worth paying for.

Donna

D.Currie wrote:
> If you were making them commercially, not only would you have to consider
> ingredients and labor, you'd need to cover the cost of working in a
> commercial kitchen, which is generally a health code requirement. Here, if I
> wanted to, I could rent one for $25 per hour. I don't know how many hours
> your "all day" dough would really take, but if it's 8 hours, that's $200
> added to the cost. How many Danish could you make and sell in a day, and how
> many would you end up throwing away after they got stale?


The actual labor is about two hours or less depending on how fast or
slow I work. The rest of the time the dough is either resting in the
refrigerator or I'm waiting for the finished danish to rise. I would
never consider selling them commercially although I have gotten orders
from neighbors. In order to be cost effective in a commercial
environment a person would also have to sell other products that could
be made more quickly at a lower cost.

> wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> D.Currie wrote:
>> If you were making them commercially, not only would you have to consider
>> ingredients and labor, you'd need to cover the cost of working in a
>> commercial kitchen, which is generally a health code requirement. Here,
>> if I
>> wanted to, I could rent one for $25 per hour. I don't know how many hours
>> your "all day" dough would really take, but if it's 8 hours, that's $200
>> added to the cost. How many Danish could you make and sell in a day, and
>> how
>> many would you end up throwing away after they got stale?
>
>
> The actual labor is about two hours or less depending on how fast or
> slow I work. The rest of the time the dough is either resting in the
> refrigerator or I'm waiting for the finished danish to rise. I would
> never consider selling them commercially although I have gotten orders
> from neighbors. In order to be cost effective in a commercial
> environment a person would also have to sell other products that could
> be made more quickly at a lower cost.
>

The whole point is that there are a lot of costs in doing something as a
business that have to be factored into the cost of product or service. Most
people look at the cost of materials and discount all the other costs.

It always amuses me when someone looks at a CD (music or software) and
wonders why it costs so much when it's just a couple pennies worth of
plastic. But everyone from the CEO to the guy who cleans the offices at
night has to be paid from the "profit" on the CD.

Same thing with those Danish or cookies or whatever. When you buy one,
you're not just paying for ingredients, you're paying for all the other
business expenses as well. So of course you can make them a lot cheaper at
home.

Donna

On Wed 17 May 2006 02:01:57p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it djs0302
@aol.com?

>
> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>
>> You're only considering the cost of ingredients. Consider the cost of
>> labor. Would you sell them for $.45 each?
>>
>> --
>> Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬ _____________________
>
> Of course I wouldn't sell them for $.45 each but I can't imagine
> almost a 300% markup.

How much do you think it costs to produce, say, a good loaf of good rye
bread? I'm sure that the $3.00-$6.00 per loaf charge in many better bakers
is at least a 300% markup. The cost of ingredients is often neglible to
the price of the product, all other things considered.

--

Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________ ___________

"How can a nation be great if it's bread taste like Kleenex?"

Julia Child

> wrote in message
ps.com...
> Has anyone ever bought any bakery products from a company that sells
> online or through catalog sales? I was just curious because HSN was
> featuring "David's Cookies" a while back and I couldn't believe the
> prices they were charging. I thought you have got to be kidding. I
> went to the David's cookies website and checked out some of their
> prices. A 1 pound tin of cookies costs $22.99. A 2 pound tin costs
> $29.99. I don't care if they are gourmet cookies. I can make a heck
> of a lot more than 2 pounds of cookies with $29.99 dollars worth of
> ingredients.
> They're not the only ones who charge ridiculous prices. I make
> homemade danish pastries from scratch. The dough itself takes several
> hours if not a day to make. I also make my fruit fillings from
> scratch. I figured the total cost for each danish to be about 45
> cents. I went to a couple online bakeries and the minimum price I saw
> for a single danish was $1.75. I think at that price I'd say you can
> keep the danish.

In store - not on line: if a danish LOOKS good, it is worth $1.75 to take a
chance on it.
If then, it really tastes good, it's worth $2.75.
I see nothing but dead looking crap at coffee shops, all costing at least
$2.00.
Dee Dee

> wrote

> They're not the only ones who charge ridiculous prices. I make
> homemade danish pastries from scratch. The dough itself takes several
> hours if not a day to make. I also make my fruit fillings from
> scratch. I figured the total cost for each danish to be about 45
> cents. I went to a couple online bakeries and the minimum price I saw
> for a single danish was $1.75. I think at that price I'd say you can
> keep the danish.

I say for not having to spend a day making dough and fillings,
I'll just pay for a danish. I don't want 2 dozen danishes, either,
which I assume a recipe would make. Okay, a dozen. Whatever.
Aside from the fact that I don't see ordering danish online, I can
for sure see why they aren't 45 cents. If I was somewhere and,
oddly, decided I wanted a danish, I'd fork over the 2 bucks.

People who make food for sale have more overhead than someone
in their home kitchen. What you can make something for at home
doesn't usually compare to what you are charged if someone else
makes it, just look at restaurant prices.

nancy

wrote:
> Has anyone ever bought any bakery products from a company that sells
> online or through catalog sales? I was just curious because HSN was
> featuring "David's Cookies" a while back and I couldn't believe the
> prices they were charging.


I've never bought from the online places myself, but we sell similar
products where I work (wine, cheese and gourmet shop with fancy cookies,
vinegars, etc.). As near as I can tell, the online bakeries all have
retail and wholesale sales. Even the wholesale prices seem high to me,
and the prices we have to sell for after mark-up strike me as
outrageous. And you know what? The products sell. They don't run out
of the store, but they do sell slow and steady, enough to make it worth
it to carry the product.


I shrug my shoulders. Not every product was meant for me. There's
someone out there who thinks I'm nuts for paying $20 for a bottle of
wine just like I think people are nuts to pay $20 for a box of cookies.


--Lia

"Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message
news
> wrote:
>> Has anyone ever bought any bakery products from a company that sells
>> online or through catalog sales? I was just curious because HSN was
>> featuring "David's Cookies" a while back and I couldn't believe the
>> prices they were charging.
>
>
> I've never bought from the online places myself, but we sell similar
> products where I work (wine, cheese and gourmet shop with fancy cookies,
> vinegars, etc.). As near as I can tell, the online bakeries all have
> retail and wholesale sales. Even the wholesale prices seem high to me,
> and the prices we have to sell for after mark-up strike me as outrageous.
> And you know what? The products sell. They don't run out of the store,
> but they do sell slow and steady, enough to make it worth it to carry the
> product.
>
>
> I shrug my shoulders. Not every product was meant for me. There's
> someone out there who thinks I'm nuts for paying $20 for a bottle of wine
> just like I think people are nuts to pay $20 for a box of cookies.
>
>
> --Lia

I'd like to be that kind of nuts, but be able to afford $20 for a bottle of
wine. Give me wine anyday over a box of cookies. $20 a bottle, too!
Dee Dee

Dee Randall wrote:
> "Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message

>>I shrug my shoulders. Not every product was meant for me. There's
>>someone out there who thinks I'm nuts for paying $20 for a bottle of wine
>>just like I think people are nuts to pay $20 for a box of cookies.
>>
>
> I'd like to be that kind of nuts, but be able to afford $20 for a bottle of
> wine. Give me wine anyday over a box of cookies. $20 a bottle, too!
> Dee Dee


And then there are the people who think I'm nuts for spending an
afternoon baking my own cookies when I could be doing something fun.


--Lia

"Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message
. ..
> Dee Randall wrote:
>> "Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message
>
>>>I shrug my shoulders. Not every product was meant for me. There's
>>>someone out there who thinks I'm nuts for paying $20 for a bottle of wine
>>>just like I think people are nuts to pay $20 for a box of cookies.
>>>
>> I'd like to be that kind of nuts, but be able to afford $20 for a bottle
>> of wine. Give me wine anyday over a box of cookies. $20 a bottle, too!
>> Dee Dee
>
>
> And then there are the people who think I'm nuts for spending an afternoon
> baking my own cookies when I could be doing something fun.
>
>
> --Lia
>
That sounds fun to me, too. But for me - it's bread!
I'm a flop at baking anything but bread.
Dee Dee