Don't be sorry. The answers got a bit carried away, IMHO.
My point is, that many people don't understand how much effort goes into making a puppet. I actually do encourage you to try to build one. See the amount of time it takes. Divide the $75.00 by that time, to get a price per hour. That is how much per hour you are asking someone to build a custom puppet for.
Is it below minimum wage? Now factor in materials. What about the time it takes to shop for materials? By doing this, you will get a better understanding of if $75.00 is a fair amount.
Finally look at the final product you made. Is that the quality you were looking for? Or were you expecting someone with years of training/practice to build something better for you? Would you offer them the same amount or more?
That was my point. I can't speak for the others.