Congrats!  That is a good one.

   Not bad for two hours of rehearsal. They seemed to have all the moved down.

Yea what Naomi said!   When I read your post all these things started brewing in my mind to answer and low and behold there they where!

Let me stress that more then likely these companies are going to use "black hat" techniques. Yep that might work for a quick influx of hits and rise in the page ranks but it won't last.

If you want to give "paying for results" a try then go direct to the source. http://adwords.google.com You can set your budget with them and there is not minimum that you have to pay.  I have not used it but looking at their TOS there is not contract limits so you can cancel your account if it is not working for you.  I do think that for something like this to work you need to be willing to commit to certain amount and time you are willing to pay into it but I don't think you would need to spend as much as these other companies are wanting you to spend and I bet they hold you to a contract for at least a year.

I well say that my sister works for veterinary that has gone with Yellow Pages for both their site and marketing of said site and business. They are not real happy with the results they have seen. The problem is that their marketing staff just does not understand the veterinary industry well enough so they employ generic techniques that really don't work.  That being said I've been in their system and it does allow you to control many of these things yourself but again it takes time on the owners side. I guess I am trying to reinforce what Na said that this can be done for $0 dollars if you are willing to put in the time.

Animals suggestion is a good one but you have it right that you should point out to the kids that it just like if they get hit by someone it hurts the puppet.  Use it to teach that it is not nice to hit or be a bully. Combine that with what Animal said about moving on. When the child hits step back a bit and have the puppet says it hurts and then move on to the next child before continuing on with things. Try not to focus on the child that hit the puppet since that just gives them attention and is a reinforcement of a negative act.

Great looking cast and crew!  Was the monster a person in a mask? I like his look.

So if you watch the video on your computer the full thing is there? I wonder if it is the DVD burning program itself. Do you set things up to burn more then one video to the DVD? 

Na, idea would be great to add something  behind you at the at the table. Then on the table I kind of like your idea of a tomato cage with cloth pins. Much like the wire rack behind you. Maybe put two tomato cages on each end of the table so they act kind of like "towers" to frame the booth. then on the table you could try the ideas given above where you have a piece of wood for weight and upright poles made out of wood dowels or closet rods cut up.  If you use a 2 X 4 as the base you can drill a hole about half way through that is just a bit bigger then the rods you are using and then glue the rods into the holes. Added strength can be added by drilling a hole in the bottom of the 2 X 4 up into the rod and then screwing a screw in.  The Pringle cans may work ok for you but you might need weight in them sand can work but if you want something cleaner pour some plaster into them and let it set up. Only fill about half full though.  A more portable stand for the table could be made out of PVC.  Make a square base with perhpas one cross pipe in the square. Then use T's in those to make some upright PVC poles. You would end up with three rows.  I think it is important to have this table top style rack so it is easy for people to take the puppets off and play with them.  Yes it may give them  some wear but folks are more likely to buy if they can get their hands on them I think.

Your idea to add in some lower price point is a good one.  Not only does it make your booth look fuller which is a good thing but you'll get more sales to say families who have two or more kids who feel they just can't afford to buy a higher priced puppet for all the kids.

Wow a $200 budget and 2 weeks... she did do good.  Love the road runner!  Looks like a fun time was had by all.

Great video! Love some of the moves your guy has.  I think my favorite is when his head in on the ground and his but is in the air!

Well I am in Myrtle Beach SC, as I am ever time this year, on a job. There is usually a pumpkin carving party that the other wardrobe crew has that was fun last year.  We also hit the haunted houses here last year and I think we are going to try this year also.  They have a big party at "Broadway on The Beach" but don't know we are going to partake this year. It is pretty wild and lots of drinking. I am not a big drinker so don't have much patients for drunks. There where some pretty spectacular costumes though. 

I received the below questions in an email and thought hey why not get a public poll on this one. I realize that it is kind of vague but perhaps we can shed some light on the issue.

I assume that "costume made stick puppet"  actually means a custom built rod puppet, or at least I hope that is what they mean. I would say depending on the needs a specifications of the puppet this would cost between $200 to $1000.00 perhaps even more if they are actually wanting animatronics or mechs in the puppet.

The second part of the question is kind of hard since there where no real specifics given again.  If we are talking a 40 hour work week then I would say $800 to $1000 for the week. I know also that salaries can be very different across the nation/world. They mention Griffith University which since I am not familiar with can only assume is is the one I found on Google in Queensland Australia http://www.griffith.edu.au/ Perhaps some of our down-under members can give a better evaluation of cost from that region. Since it is a school project I am sure that input from other parts of the world would be useful also though.

I'll email the person back and let them know about the post here so they can follow.  Perhaps they will even sign up and post so we can ask them for further details.

I am a student at Griffith University, and I am doing a project about a hypothetical puppet show. The show is a 20 min long Mody Dick production aimed at 8-12 year olds.

I was hoping you could help me with some budget information; How much would it approximately cost to buy a costume made stick puppet, and how much does a regular puppeteer get payed a week?

Your help will be greatly appreciated, and we will make sure to include your business name in our assignment portfolio.