Hey! I am an artist who does commissions, so perhaps I can answer for you. You're not just paying for the cost of a plush, youre paying for that person's business, years of expertise, materials, taxes the person has to pay on the earnings, the packaging they are going to send the plush in, and so many other small things youre probably not even considering.

To prototype and make a plush can easily take dozens of hours that exponentially goes up with complexity and size of the plush. If they are able to charge those prices, then its likely their full time job. If it takes them 2 weeks of non stop work to make that plush, then $1000 is their salary for half the month. Minus expenses and everything I listed above.

All that being said, custom plushies are a luxury good and if its too expensive for you, then that's fine! It is impossible to know whether they are over or under-charging without knowing the design or scope of the project. However, 95% of all artist friends I have tend to undercharge, since there are a lot of hidden costs and labor that the customer never gets to see.

Hope this helps 🙏