Web Application Spec & Costing

Non-developer here with a new start-up, looking for a Good Samaritan. I'm working on the spec for a web application that may or may not be a complex site. I believe it is on the complex end of the spectrum, but I may just be naive to the possibilities and capabilities of RoR programmers.

This site will move forward, although the company is in the process of funding "as we speak." I know that a lump-sum, all-encompassing flat fee for a website/application isn’t practical. Still, I need to come up with a general idea of the cost to get this site up.

With limited technical expertise, trying to budget for web development is a black hole of confusion. I'm looking for someone who can consult me in coming up with a decent spec and estimate cost range for said spec.

From there, the spec WILL BE DEVELOPED and of course, developers that can provide solid input on the spec and cost range will be the first to be considered in contracting its development.

The site needs to act as an e-commerce site like Ebay, Amazon or Etsy with store subscriptions for clients (no auctions), a social networking platform, and a CMS.

Please contact me at (352)262-7989 or courtneyejennings@hotmail.com

Hi,

I'll happily quote on this project for you.

You actually don't need to be very technical at all, I find. But you
do need to specify as best as possible as many details as you can
muster.

If you're interested, please get back to me with the following details: - what you need to be able to do with the CMS - ie what do you need to
edit / what content do you need to manage? text, and... pictures?
audio? video? anything? everything? - what kinds of products you want to be able to sell, and how, and
what the process would be for the cart and showcase site - ebay, etsy
and amazon are all VERY different to each other - what kind of payment methods (ie one off, subscription, timed,
other?) would you like to accept, and what sort of ongoing fees do you
envisage for this - what sorts of capabilities does this social networking platform need
to allow (ie instance messaging? email-like messaging? applications?
as specific as you can be). - what your idea for budget is... (this is simply what you're thinking
- doesn't need to be the amount it WILL be).

I can give you a fairly good estimate of what's possible