This is not a $97 cake. I don't see any kind of advanced techniques that would increase the price and the way the buttercream is styled looks amateur. It has no additional tiers and no decorations. I've made and sold a lot of cakes and the most I charged was $175 and it was a 2 tier with 2 different cakes and fillings and buttercream roses, buttercream tassels with intricate lattices, and sugarwork. If I'm going to be brutally honest this person isn't ready to be charging that much for such a basic cake with a sloppy and rushed appearance. The only somewhat reasonable excuse for this is shipping cost and even then this person should be using a third party shipping service to drive down the price. People can say it doesnt matter how it looks all they want but there is an inherent aesthetic quality to baked goods especially cakes. Event cakes are supposed to be a centerpiece people can oogle over before digging in thats the whole reason we buy them from someone who can make them into something eyecatching cause most people cant do that themselves.