New Home Delivery Concept. Is it feasible?

My latest status says that I’m thirsty. What would you charge to deliver a tall, icy glass of water to my bedside?

where are you? It may take me 24 hours from here….......what’s your addy. On my way!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kozmo.com

I miss the late 90’s.

I was going to charge a $6.99 delivery fee and .50 gas surcharge, and a nite owl charge after midnite. @ANef_is_Enuf your gas surcharge may be higher out of state. KY.

That Kozmo thing is what I’m thinkin of. I guess I could do a Red Box run for movies. But then you would have to pick them up. No dvds in my business, as of now.
what about bringin beer or wine? legally?

Personally, I would be scared. Delivering things to people’s homes, especially in the middle of the night.
It’s a smart idea, though.

I have fibro and cant work and my 20 yr old nephew is job challenged.
This seems practical, since I’m a night owl.

I would bring ice cold water to your door, but to your bedside is double :)

Smart policy. I am re-hydrated now, but, for future reference… it’s good to know that I have options. ;)

Think about all the other costs. Say I want a pizza and a pack of smokes and some grape juice. That could be two places. One for pizza and a 7/11 for juice and smokes. What happens if the pizza place has a really long line and you have to wait for 30 minutes. Same goes for any store and then you have traffic. And if you sit in traffic you burn gas. Then you also have the time of taking the order and actually delivering it. Someone could waste 15 minutes on the phone deciding if they want a Snickers or a Twix. And what happens when you show up with what the people ordered and they had to run out of the house? You just lost a lot of money.

Once it is all added up you would be better off working at Taco Bell or you would need to charge 20 bucks per order to make it worthwhile. And you would have to be stoned to pay that.

edit :: And don’t forget about the extra car maintenance.

minimums needed. I would even go to store, make said item, then deliver for extra charge. Smokes on any corner. I know a Concierge in town who could direct her visitors to my service. I would try to be accomadating to most requests.
$40 a day is better than nothing at this point.

There’s a delivery service called take out taxi that delivers from several restaurants. They also jack up the menu costs as well. I admit, I used to call them when I lived alone.

Chicken soup to the sick seems like a winner.

We have that here too. It is called Pony Express. But they have a very narrow focus so it is easier to be predictable. From your original description I thought you were talking about something like I could call you up at 9PM and say, “I need a plunger.”

Me too.

My sister used to phone a cab company to get her a pack of cigs if she had been drinking! So, there is a market out there.

Yes. I would bring you a plunger. I will try to be accomodating to your needs.
Cigs $4 plus $7.49.

But if you want me to go get your dinner, I’ll do that too.
I want to say YES more than no to requests, whatever your whimsy, within reason.
I just love Pony Express- Take out Taxi (They are similar sites, same fonts), but want an expanded clientele.

I think there would be legal issues around delivering alcohol (and maybe cigarettes?), but otherwise I like the idea. You could set yourself up as an “errand runner”, and drop off/pick up people’s dry cleaning and stuff like that, too.

Dry cleaning? I forgot people do that…...:)

What about insurance issues? If you delivered a food item even from a restaurant that made someone sick (for example, just brainstorming, here, I have no idea really, but stuff like that). I love the idea, could I get a spinach and broccoli lasagna, please?

Try it. You may get the occasional instance where you are stuck paying for the thing.

There are businesses in nearly every idea that has ever been had. If you figure out your policies well enough, target your market and set your prices high enough to cover all costs and turn a profit for you, and low enough to attract business, then obviously it can be a success.

One thing to keep in mind is that your clientele would be the kind of people who have been either too dumb or too far removed from society to invent “you fly; I’ll buy” arrangements with family, friends and neighbors. Since dumb people don’t usually have enough cash to be your customers and those far removed from society will be expensive customers for you to serve, I don’t think this will be an easy business to model.

I like the idea but there is a lot to work out with it.

You left out several important issues:

1. Delivery alcohol. Must 21 in most states. You the deliverer and the receipient of the booze. Who would check ID on both parties?

2. Using your automobile and your insurance company has not been notified. If you have an accident and your insurance is not aware that you are using your personal vehicle in a business, they may disqualify you for coverage. And, you will pay a higher premium.

3. Wear and tear on your personal vehicle. Will it be worth it? You will need licenses.

There are many issues to think about before jumping into your idea.

Well, you said you noticed these requests on Facebook. Why not start there? With people you know? Start posting your offers, see if people bite. You could do a little test run.