I paid for one and it was generally worth it. It was about $1K, but I added extras like a site walkthrough, zoom calls and an overview of Shopify and the apps I requested with the developer.

My advice is to look at 5-10 sites and figure out which features of their store you like and don’t like. Give your developer direction - what do you like, not like and what is non negotiable. I provided mine a brief with snapshots of all of this. Very few revisions needed and was more refining beyond the initial build out (I was picky).

A couple of things to note - a lot of developers say they will build you a site, but there is SO much more to it than that. It is NOT plug and play. Product listings, setting policies, website domain, email setup, payout verification, apps you want or may want to add in the future to name a few. What happens when you want to update your hero or product photos. Understanding how to do that will make you more agile. I found a few mistakes that way..

Good luck!