Build: $0–$4,500
- Hosted platforms (Shopify etc.): $39–$399/mo + theme ($0–$350) + apps ($20–$200/mo). Fast to start, fees compound forever.
- Custom lightweight storefront: our Premium tier ($4,500 once or $400/mo) — sub-second product pages, one-page checkout pattern, no app sprawl. Best under ~200 SKUs.
- What kills budgets: 60 apps, custom variants logic, multi-warehouse shipping rules. Start with 20 best sellers, prove conversion, then expand.
Per-order costs nobody models
- Payments: ~2.9% + 30¢ per transaction. On a $40 average order that's ~3.7% off the top.
- Shipping gap: "free shipping" means you eat $6–$12. Bake it into price or threshold it ($75+).
- Returns: 10–30% in apparel. Prepaid labels + restocking workflow beat arguing.
- Photography: $30–$80/product for clean packshots. Phone photos on white cost you more in returns.
What converts (spend here first)
- Sub-second category + product pages on fast hosting — our Stellar Coffee concept in the portfolio shows the pattern.
- Reviews + real product photos near the buy button.
- One-page checkout with guest option, Apple/Google Pay.
- Abandoned-cart email (recovers 8–15% of checkouts).
- Product schema + clean canonicals via technical SEO so listings earn rich results.
Year-one budget example (50 products)
Build $3,000–$4,500 once (or $400/mo on a monthly plan), platform/payments ~$150–$400/mo all-in, photography $1,500–$3,000, care $30/mo. Total year one: ~$8k–$14k to do it properly — versus $2k for a template store that converts at half the rate. Compare with our general small business cost guide.