I'm a teacher - kids are 6-8 years old - and this already for 31 years.
I always hear that teachers have a lot of free time  . Almost all of this time I spend making marionettes and making new plays for our group. So, performing on stage is also a timetaker.
Johan

Wow what a diverse group of artists! Like Nikole I have sampled many items from the "career buffet". I've owned two businesses, been a small town elected official, helped create and design a board game, written a novel (which I've not really tried very hard to publish), sold frozen food out of a truck (for Schwan's) and managed a variety of retail stores. Somewhere in there I got a bachelor of arts degree, got married, had 3 children and now 3 grandchildren.

To more specifically answer your question as originally posted though. I have ALWAYS loved puppetry but only really began studying it in the last six or seven years. Most recently I was balancing my puppet building education with my full time career as part of the management team at a Disney Store. I was indeed the person who would run home at night and after everyone else had gone to bed I would haul out the puppet making gear and do as much as I could.

I lost my job a year ago and have been unemployed since. I've used that extra time to further hone my craft and build a bunch of puppets both for sale and to use in a planned video. The video is an idea I came up with while working in retail and the other puppets will hopefully help generate some income. Haven't actually launched a site yet, but I'm building up a stock of a few puppets and planning out the business. I'll be sure to trumpet the news when I finally do have some puppets up for sale!

I hope that answers your question. I've really enjoyed seeing the rich pool of experience on display here at Puppets and Stuff!

I'm a puppet builder and doll artist for more than 20 years.I mostly work on custom orders,from time to time I make stuff for fun and sell it on Ebay or ETSY.

 I've used that extra time to further hone my craft and build a bunch of puppets both for sale and to use in a planned video. The video is an idea I came up with while working in retail and the other puppets will hopefully help generate some income. Haven't actually launched a site yet, but I'm building up a stock of a few puppets and planning out the business. I'll be sure to trumpet the news when I finally do have some puppets up for sale!

This brings up a few questions for me - has anyone had any luck on eBay, or anywhere else, doing a "build to order"? I'm still not too crazy on selling my first puppets, but thought if anyone wanted one of them I could build an exact one to order, or even to their specifications......

Second question is what would be a fair price to ask?

Thanks!

I'm not sure how well custom orders would do on Ebay. For a start, if it was an auction, you'd likely end up getting orders that are *way* below breaking even. It would work better on Etsy, where custom orders are common (alchemy they call it). Having said that I've never really looked into Ebay.

Doing custom orders via your own website (with say a paypal button or similar) would work well, but you'd have to be marketing far more than you would if you were within a selling community/marketplace.

As for pricing, see:
http://puppetsandstuff.com/community/index.php/topic,846.0.html

I will also add that custom orders aren't necessarily easier as a way to get started. Customisations require a lot of work with the client, and you may end up spending more time/effort than is profitable. Having said that, you could offer a limited set of customisations (ie. allow 5 things to be customisable only) which may be better to start off with as you develop confidence and a system of production.

Thanks for the link Na!

For something like eBay I was considering a "Buy it Now" scenario, offering 4 at a time (4-6 weeks delivery, so I can do 3-4 a month without killing myself). I like your idea about limiting customizing options for now, maybe sticking to color, number of fingers, ventriloquist entrance, legs, small features (horns, teeth) etc.....

It's all just wishful thinking for now, still not too sure of myself, but excellent advice nontheless!!!

Thank You!

I think you'll find the best advice for selling online is: give it a go and experiment. Different people find different things work for them, so if the Buy it now thing doesn't work, you can always adjust your strategy.

A good idea too is to get a Blogger account (or any other free blog account) and regularly post about your puppets. The more ways people can find out about your products, the better.

Don't worry about confidence, that will come with time. I've been selling for a couple of years now and still find the whole thing a bit weird

Well then I'll keep you posted! 

Re: Ebay
People seem to shop Ebay for 2 reasons: (1) bargains, (2) items they cannot find elsewhere.  I don't sell there because I have a bottom line price that I feel I must make to be profitable. 
If your puppets are unique and something people cannot find elsewhere, then you might do OK.  I have noticed that many of the puppets offered there are the mass produced ones from China, which are labeled as "professional."  They are a far cry from the puppets that a good puppet builder creates.
Just my opinion.

Thanks MsPuppet,

That brings up another good question, when does one become a "professional puppet"? Can I use that term for people to find me on eBay without insulting those who have had a lifetime of hours into this, or is it used after my first puppet sale, or do I have to wait until I build a certain number of puppets??? Is there a test involved?!?!?

Sorry, lost myself, but you get my point.

How about "professionally used Puppet"?