Who plays with their puppets before selling them?

I do. But then, I generally don't know how well the puppet has turned out until I make a promo video for it.

I think testing before selling is a must, because a puppet can look fantastic but if it falls apart as soon as you pick it up, it's worthless. I think of my puppets as tools, and as such, should be tested for strength and durability. (Plus, if you test them beforehand, you often find kinks in the way they work, which can be smoothed out on the next one you make) Of course, it helps that I don't make one-of-a-kinds, which means I have a couple of attempts at screwing up before being able to produce perfect-every-time puppets.

mwhahahaha!! i think we all say we test them for functional reasons. but i think most puppeteers just like playing with their works before they hand them off..athough you do need to test them, before selling them, but that comes secondary to me.lol hahahahahaaaa!no just kidding!hehehe