Choosing between two ways to charge

[rasico2012]

I live in a disaster-prone region and am involved in disaster preparedness and emergency management with various organizations. One thing I keep hearing from residents is that they know they should be prepared with the various recommended supplies (food, water, first aid kit...).

They either:

• Haven't gotten around/ keep delaying in getting the items together
• Are overwhelmed with the possibilities
• HAVE the supplies, but they're horribly out-of-date/ inadequate

The idea I have for a company would:

• figure out what you need
• go buy it for you
• put it in your home/business
• keep track of what you have and replace/upgrade as needed

I've been mulling this over for a while now and have come up with the structure in terms of record-keeping, maintenance, suppliers, etc. The point that I could use some help on is how to actually go about charging for the items. The two ways I see it happening are:

(a) I buy the items, mark them up, and "resell" them as a package to the customer

(b) I bill the customer directly for the actual cost and instead have a flat fee for going out and finding the items for the customer.

With the latter, I have a feeling I would get have to deal with a lot less record-keeping and taxes. I won't be selling tangible goods, just a service. Either way, I'm counting on the maintenance part being a component of the idea.

Could I get away with, in a way, not "touching the goods"? I would be merely getting reimbursement...
Thoughts on (a) vs (b)? Is there some (c) I'm not considering?

 

[cruse]

@rasico2012 I lived in an area that was prone to hurricanes and every damn time the power goes out for a week... argh. I understand. Anyway...

People are lazy, they are not going to track their inventory for you. Once you sell them their "survival pack" I suggest adding the client to a list.

Through steady communication, you can leverage this list in different ways to develop referrals, continual purchases, and even making money off other businesses by brokering deals for your client.

Source - using this technique a real estate client of mine makes almost as much money AFTER the house transaction than he does from commission.

 

[rasico2012]

@cruse That laziness (or lack of time/ effort/ knowledge) is what I'm counting on. Instead of just a list, it would be a more structured program or subscription. Steady communication: I would be seeing them face-to-face when I would go over to resupply/ exchange items.