Cost + timeline for a home & garden Magento build, and what are your credentials?

Realistic ranges for a home & garden brand at $2M, $10M GMV:

• Audit ($499, ~20h @ $25/hr), 5-day fixed-fee. Catalog mix audit, LTL freight rate baseline, drop-ship partner inventory, return-rate analysis by category, AR readiness, seasonal demand profile. Written 12-18 page report + 30-min walkthrough.
• Build ($4,999, ~200h @ $25/hr), 6-week fixed-fee. Catalog architecture (configurable furniture), 1 drop-ship integration, LTL carrier wiring (Old Dominion / R+L / Estes), AR room placement (Vyking + Apple AR Quick Look), Loop Returns, plant shipping calendar if applicable, Hyvä storefront.
• Custom enterprise, quote in 24h. Multi-drop-ship (Ashley + Coaster + Sunbrella + Yeti), 50-state LTL + white-glove (NSD + Metropolitan + JB Hunt), full AR studio integration, multi-region (US + CA + AU + UK), PIM (Akeneo / Pimcore), ERP (NetSuite / Acumatica). Typical engagement: $35k, $120k + ongoing retainer.
• Hosting, $400, $1,500/mo on Cloudways / dedicated. Over-provisioned for Q4 + spring launches.
• Ongoing retainer, $1.5k, $5k/mo for through-season ops (drops, seasonal SKU rotation, drop-ship vendor scorecard, returns iteration).

Credentials: Adobe Certified Magento Developer. 7+ years home decor DTC builds shipped across the US, UK, AU, and EU. Verticals covered: furniture (sofas, beds, dining), lighting & decor, garden tools & plants, patio furniture, outdoor structures, kitchen & bath. Integrations shipped: Ashley HomeStore, Coaster, Sunbrella, Yeti, Big Joe, Burpee, Generac, NSD, Metropolitan, Old Dominion, R+L, Loop Returns, AfterShip, Vyking, Apple AR Quick Look. Tooling: Magento 2.4.x + Hyvä + Adobe Commerce B2B + Akeneo PIM + ShipperHQ.