Buy Premium Template?

I'm trying to decide whether to 1) purchase a premium SS template and then have my contractor install and build the site vs. 2) purchase a premium template and then have my contractor install and customize the site or 3) 

Also - how much work is it to make it look close to the brand and give the template some nice bells and whistles if you purchase a premium template?  

How do you explain this to the client?  Do you show them the templates? They will see the price (which I don't want) Or do you just buy one that's close and then have the contractor customize it?

How much customizing can  you do with a premium template?  And if you want to customize, is it better to build from scratch?

Thanks!

8 hours ago, sharongpastore said:

I'm trying to decide whether to 1) purchase a premium SS template and then have my contractor install and build the site vs. 2) purchase a premium template and then have my contractor install and customize the site or 3)...

I don't really understand your question 🤔 Can you provide more context?

There isn't such a thing as a "Premium Squarespace Template" because all templates available from Squarespace are free.

There are third party businesses (and individuals) who sell website templates but these third party "templates" are based in the same free Squarespace templates and so will have the same basic features, albeit with some additional styling and content to help non-designers get started more quickly.