Gouging

[jazz4cash]

In addition to the grocery store discounts on fuel, I see .20 discount if you get a car wash, .05-.20 discount on various grades of fuel on a certain day of the week. These are generally additive along with 5% PenFed Visa you can get 60 cents or more off per gallon.

 

[Montecfo]

I think it was Saturday night when the news broke outbought the Saudi oilfield drone hit. The next morning our local gas station had raised prices $.20. Is that ridiculous? They didn't even know the impact on the market. I suspect they wait for any excuse to extort us. Your opinions?

Seen it for decades. Oil price goes up, gas prices immediately rise. Oil price goes down, prices decline verrry sloowly. They have to replace higher priced inventory, don't you know!

I combatted it by buying oil and gas stocks.

 

[rk911]

I'm don't care about the price of gas.

+1. we have 2-3 stations we normally use and will fill there based on where we happen to be or where we find ourselves during our errands.

 

[Calico]

+1. we have 2-3 stations we normally use and will fill there based on where we happen to be or where we find ourselves during our errands.

^^^^This

 

[Midpack]

+1. we have 2-3 stations we normally use and will fill there based on where we happen to be or where we find ourselves during our errands.

I don’t care either - because 90% of the time I fill up at Costco while already driving by and I’ve never seen a week they weren’t the lowest anywhere. When I run low away from Costco I look at GasBuddy for the best price close by, easy peasy.

Prices today are a screaming bargain anyway...

 

[Amethyst]

I knew gas prices were low when the Hummers started reappearing on the road. Prices will go back up eventually....

I don’t care either - because 90% of the time I fill up at Costco while already driving by and I’ve never seen a week they weren’t the lowest anywhere. When I run low away from Costco I look at GasBuddy for the best price close by, easy peasy.

Prices today are a screaming bargain anyway...

 

[wrigley]

WAWA is taking over Jacksonville Florida. They are going up everywhere!

 

[DrRoy]

I was in Glacier NP when I heard the news, but was trying to avoid such things as best I could. As of yesterday AM, the price of gas had not changed. At home last night in MI, it was still the same too, or back to the same.

 

[ERD50]

Originally Posted by ERD50 View Post
It's not "gouging" (typically meant as a derogatory term), it's basic supply/demand.

You may not like the free market system, but I'm not aware of a better one.

-ERD50

It’s not supply and demand driven when the price increase is effective before the supply has actually been affected. Our prices jumped pretty consistently by .05 cents which is reasonable IMO.

Sure it is.

As soon as an interruption is reported, or even the chance of an interruption, there will be a market response. Prices rise on the anticipation there could be a supply cut.

Think of a similar situation - a chance of a big storm and power outages is reported. People go to stores and stock up on things in anticipation. Demand has gone up in anticipation of a supply interuption. They don't wait for the storm.

BTW, "gouging" (or "the free market" to avoid loaded terms) has actually been demonstrated as the best (not perfect) way to handle shortages. If the price of bottled water (for example) is allowed to rise, that motivates more shipments of water to the area, and the higher price also helps to keep people from buying more than they really need, "just in case".

-ERD50

 

[ncbill]

When the latest hurricane brushed Florida one of my kid's roommates flew home when school was canceled for the week.

The online price had tripled...he called up the airline and threatened to report them to the state attorney general's office...so they booked him at the normal (1/3 of posted) price.

 

[GenXguy]

Gas prices jumped about 20 cents here plus state gas taxes were doubled. So there are multiple reasons for skyrocketing gas prices. I sure miss the days of $1/gal gas prices.

 

[Chuckanut]

The Saudi fields will be back at near full production in a few weeks.

What drives gas prices up in my area is taxes - federal, state gas taxes and even sales tax. That's why my last car and my new car are hybrids. 40+mpg takes the sting out of high gasoline prices.

 

[USGrant1962]

Gas prices jumped about 20 cents here plus state gas taxes were doubled. So there are multiple reasons for skyrocketing gas prices. I sure miss the days of $1/gal gas prices.

If you google "inflation adjusted gasoline prices" you will see that the current ~$2.60/gal is just about the average over the last 30 or 40 years - accounting for inflation. So not really high or low right now.

 

[OldShooter]

It is really surprising to me the number of posters in this thread who do not understand basic microeconomics. For example, "supply and demand" refers to people who sell an item (supply) and people who buy it (demand). It has nothing to do with the supplier's cost for the item.

I recently ran across an excellent and very readable book: "The Instant Economist: Everything You Need to Know About How the Economy Works" by Tim Taylor. He starts with a treatment of microeconmics that is directly pertinent to this thread, following with a treatment of macroeconomics that provides a basic education that any investor should have. Six bucks plus shipping gets you a used paperback copy on Amazon. IMO it's probably the best investment you'll make today.

 

[sengsational]

Around town, I suck at putting elasticity into the market (I pull-in where it's quick and easy). When on the road, though, I'm usually bored while DW drives, so pull up gasbuddy or search gas on maps to find cheap gas. This is probably not doing anything to the refinery price curve, but instead, rewarding the county/state that has lower taxes. In the city, I might see a $0.15 difference (usually less), but along a good stretch of highway, there are often pockets of price $0.50 different. Not that it's a big deal with a 16 gallon tank, but it's only the difference of filling up here or in 20 miles.

 

[Backpacker]

I don't think 20 cents is gouging. Back in 2001, on 9/11 our local gas station nearly doubled the gas price. They later refunded the difference to anyone that came in and complained.

 

[Nemo2]

We gas up at the rez...no tax.

 

[ERD50]

I'm curious if the OP has any response to the comments so far.

In case some of them got too long, I'll try a concise version:

I think it was Saturday night when the news broke outbought the Saudi oilfield drone hit. The next morning our local gas station had raised prices $.20. Is that ridiculous?

No.

Your opinions?

-ERD50

 

[ncbill]

I don't think 20 cents is gouging. Back in 2001, on 9/11 our local gas station nearly doubled the gas price. They later refunded the difference to anyone that came in and complained.

Here I noticed that morning one Texaco station had raised its price to nearly $6/gallon.

But by that evening Texaco corporate was stripping their signage & pumping out the tanks.

An independent later bought that station.

 

[RenoJay]

I tend to believe that competition prevents gouging.

 

[OldShooter]

... But by that evening Texaco corporate was stripping their signage & pumping out the tanks. ...

Dead cert that was an independently owned station. This is damage control by a smart Texaco regional manager.

 

[SpinDr]

Happy that I live in a primarily free market economy where there is competition for the cost of goods and services! Happy that I live near a Costco for lower gas prices! Unhappy I have a state Govt, CA, that is happy to tax gas high enough to be $1.00 to 1.50 per gallon higher than neighboring states[emoji35]

 

[razztazz]

I tend to believe that competition prevents gouging.

In business collusion is one way of competing. The only thing they cannot tolerate is the customer knowing what's being done to them

 

[LOL!]

Didn't notice since I still have half a tank in the car. I just checked to see when I last bought gas: August 5th, so I should be able to make it to November since I will be flying out of town in a few weeks for the rest of October.

 

[GenXguy]

If you google "inflation adjusted gasoline prices" you will see that the current ~$2.60/gal is just about the average over the last 30 or 40 years - accounting for inflation. So not really high or low right now.

I keep my my gas receipts going back at least 13 years. I paid as low as $1.70/gal in the last couple years where I live, but the gas tax was doubled this year, and prices have continued to climb. I get decent gas mileage, but I'm cutting back even more on driving to compensate for the big climb in prices.