Just curious--who here pays attention to gas prices?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Ever notice the stations with the digital price signs that alter the price/gallon during particular times of day?

Some up the price during commute hours and other times when demand is high.

Pulled into a costco once, picked up the pump and as I went to press the button to start it, the price went up a few pennies. Looked at my watch...5:00pm

 

[Outtahere]

I've seen the employees at these two stations change the price twice in a day.

 

[KB]

I only fill up once a month and I drive a Toyota Camry. I usually buy my gas at Sam's club which is only a few mines from my house. I occasionally buy at Arco if the price is really good and I'm low on gas. The Arcos around here charge a .45 fee to use the ATM for payment.

Mostly I buy at Sam's for convenience.

 

[Nords]

Ever notice the stations with the digital price signs that alter the price/gallon during particular times of day?
Some up the price during commute hours and other times when demand is high.
Pulled into a costco once, picked up the pump and as I went to press the button to start it, the price went up a few pennies. Looked at my watch...5:00pm

I remember Coke had a similar pricing plan for a "smart" vending machine-- it'd raise the price of a can on extremely hot days or drop the price of a flavor/size that wasn't selling well.

People were outraged at the prospect of price manipulation. But I guess if no one "knows" how much a gallon of gas is supposed to cost then no one cares.

 

[bosco]

I would like to see gas go to 5 dollars a gallon

why leave things in the hands of others when you can control this? move to Kotzebue, Alaska where gas is $5.30/gallon and be happy

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

The adjusting coke machines are here in the Excramento area. I've seen a couple at some outdoor walking malls.

 

[Bikerdude]

I bought a new car that GM was giving away last March and I've put 4500 miles on it to date. I use my motorcycles when the weather is good (8 months) and get 40+ MPG when I tame my right hand.

 

[Deetso]

I own a 2001 toyota camry. But I drive a 2003 Bianchi Pista. I fill up the toyota about once every month and a half.

I used to pay attention to gas prices (part of the reason I movied to a Bianchi) but my Pista gets way better mileage- and it runs on oatmeal and peanut butter!

 

[Craig]

Interesting how many LBYM folks aren't too concerned with gas prices. Perhaps we each have different ways of expressing how we pay attention.


I have zero problem with the gas stations charging what they will. It's a very liquid market ...

 

[RedHawk]

I worked at a gas station this past summer. It sucked but it was the only job I could find since my family had just moved to the area and I didn't have any "connections". Anyways, we only changed our prices to match the Speedway and Swifty stations down the street. I always though it was funny when no one would buy gas at say 2.80, but drop it down to 2.75 and everyone needed to buy gas at that point in order to save fifty cents.

A little side story to the type of coworker you get when working at a gas station:
The girl that trained me, Lindsay, was 20yo college drop-out. She never understood why I would want to spend 4yrs of my life going to school instead of working. One day when we were working together, I overheard her talking to an IHOP waitress about how going to school was a waste of time of money. She continued ranting about school until she said,
"My mom never went to school and she makes $8/hr at the bakery."

 

[runchman]

I seldom have a clue what I'm paying. At 15 gallons or so to fill, if I happen to hit a high station once in a while and pay an extra buck and a half, oh well.

Half the time I blow $3.86 on a coffee and scone at starbucks in the morning, so it's hard to get excited about hunting around for a buck fifty every couple of weeks.

Ok 1.50 every 2 weeks, that's $39 a year. Suppose I work another 10 years and retire at 53....

That's an extra $390 I'm going to spend by not paying attention to gas prices. Works for me, but I'm not a tightwad by nature (not intending to disparage tightwads, if I were one I'd be retired right now).

- John

 

[MikeD]

"My mom never went to school and she makes $8/hr at the bakery."

I used to work with a guy who had two master's degrees. His mother would come into his room at 9 pm while he was studying and turn the light off, leaving him in the dark and say "You're wasting electricity."

 

[mickeyd]

I just filled up at SAM'S for $1.99/gal. It was nice to see the total tab less than $30.