Re: Upgrading existing gear
That's one of those "beyond the scope of the current rules" questions by dint of the boxed set being a starter set with only a modest focus on ongoing campaigns. For a quick-and-dirty rule:
Divide enchantment cost by $20 and use that as the number of days you'll be without your item; e.g., to improve your broadsword with Penetrating Weapon (2), which costs $5,000 on a melee weapon, you'll need to pay $5,000 and wait 250 days.
If the GM feels generous, then multiplying enchantment cost by (1 + N) halves the wait N times. For example, for that sword, paying $10,000 halves wait time to 125 days, and paying $30,000 gets wait time down to about a week (7.8 days). The extra money has nothing to do with magic . . . it's about reimbursing the Wizards' Guild for social and administrative difficulties such as losing business with Ye Olde Magick Shoppe, hiring extra help, and putting more magical stuff out there that will flood the market.
As for nonmagical changes, these aren't generally possible – armor and weapons have to be made fine or dwarven or whatever. The exception is making something ornate, silver-coated, or bejeweled. That takes a week and costs the difference in value plus a 10% commission. So if you also decide to add a silver coating to that broadsword, which would raise base item value by $1,200, you'd have to pay $1,320 and wait a week. This can't be sped up.
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