5 replies to this topic

[nimblebear]

So oil is $83 per barrel. And a few stations are competing at $2.67 a gallon around here in a suburb of Chicago. All summer we were well over $3.00/gallon. (we hit $3.50's for awhile.) Leading the nation in fact in highest average gas prices. So even when oil was in the $70's we were still well over $3.00/gallon for gas. WTF ? Somebody apparently has been scamming us for an awlful lot of money for awhile now. Why would a couple of gas stations sell at such low prices if they are losing money ? They aren't. I talked to manager of one of them. I'm not griping about the low prices. This is were they should be or less. I am pretty PO'd about the ridiculous prices we have paid for the past 7 months.

[blackcloud]

So oil is $83 per barrel.

And a few stations are competing at $2.67 a gallon around here in a suburb of Chicago.

All summer we were well over $3.00/gallon. (we hit $3.50's for awhile.) Leading the nation in fact in highest average gas prices.

So even when oil was in the $70's we were still well over $3.00/gallon for gas.

WTF ? Somebody apparently has been scamming us for an awlful lot of money for awhile now. Why would a couple of gas stations sell at such low prices if they are losing money ? They aren't. I talked to manager of one of them.

I'm not griping about the low prices. This is were they should be or less. I am pretty PO'd about the ridiculous prices we have paid for the past 7 months.

We have dropped into the $2.50's in places in Texas. I think I saw the wholesale price dip below $2.00 a couple of days ago, don't know what the high was this year.

[Rogerdodger]

I'm not griping about the low prices. This is were they should be or less. I am pretty PO'd about the ridiculous prices we have paid for the past 7 months.

Did you feel so bad a few years ago when gas was near $1 and many producers including our local Williams Cos. were near bankruptcy?

Oil is not refined unleaded gas.

There is much less demand (vacation travel) after labor day. $2.49 here in Tulsa today, down from a high of $3.

When refineries shut down from accidents or fires or floods, as some did this summer it pushes up unleaded gas.

A fire and unplanned maintenance halved production at a refinery in Whiting, Ind.
Spring flooding shut down a refinery in Coffeyville, Kan. which pushed up prices here in Tulsa, Ok. even though we are usually near the cheapest in the country.
Cushing Oklahoma is the delivery site for oil futures delivery and they are just about dry!
"Since May, millions of barrels of crude have been sold off, and Cushing's inventory has fallen by nearly 35%." WSJOnline

Edited by Rogerdodger, 11 October 2007 - 11:08 PM.

[vitaminm]

http://www.chicagoga...-_NW/index.aspx


One may use Discover (gas) card and get 5% cash rebate!!

So oil is $83 per barrel.

And a few stations are competing at $2.67 a gallon around here in a suburb of Chicago.

All summer we were well over $3.00/gallon. (we hit $3.50's for awhile.) Leading the nation in fact in highest average gas prices.

So even when oil was in the $70's we were still well over $3.00/gallon for gas.

WTF ? Somebody apparently has been scamming us for an awlful lot of money for awhile now. Why would a couple of gas stations sell at such low prices if they are losing money ? They aren't. I talked to manager of one of them.

I'm not griping about the low prices. This is were they should be or less. I am pretty PO'd about the ridiculous prices we have paid for the past 7 months.

Edited by vitaminm, 11 October 2007 - 10:52 PM.

[Iblayz]

Talking to one manager of one store means little. I own a business that sells to the industry and I have known hundreds of "managers". Some are nothing more than warm bodies that really know very little. On the other hand, if you know a lot of owners you will know what really goes on. And what really goes on would surprise most people. In my area owners think they are making big margins when they can make 10-12 cents per gallon of gas. And that is a pool margin. A customer drives up to a pump, inserts a credit card and guess what happens to the pool margin.....at current prices a bunch of it gets taken away in fees by credit card companies. The truth is....over the last few years margins at retail have been horrible because gasoline is now a commodity item. I was at a customer location today. The owner is a former executive with a large retail chain and with an oil distributor. He has a great location but routinely goes through periods when he is losing three to four thousand dollars a month on gasoline sales. The reason? His pool margin drops to one to three cents for a sustained period and when customers use a credit card at the pump he is losing several pennies per gallon pumped. And he is not alone. And believe me.....I know what I am talking about. For me its both a good thing and a bad thing. The bad thing is that it hurts my customers. The good thing is that it helps me because I spend $2000.00 per month on gasoline. The profits on gasoline are made at the refining level. They are no longer made at retail......in any substantial measure.

[vitaminm]

Talking to one manager of one store means little. I own a business that sells to the industry and I have known hundreds of "managers". Some are nothing more than warm bodies that really know very little. On the other hand, if you know a lot of owners you will know what really goes on. And what really goes on would surprise most people. In my area owners think they are making big margins when they can make 10-12 cents per gallon of gas. And that is a pool margin. A customer drives up to a pump, inserts a credit card and guess what happens to the pool margin.....at current prices a bunch of it gets taken away in fees by credit card companies. The truth is....over the last few years margins at retail have been horrible because gasoline is now a commodity item. I was at a customer location today. The owner is a former executive with a large retail chain and with an oil distributor. He has a great location but routinely goes through periods when he is losing three to four thousand dollars a month on gasoline sales. The reason? His pool margin drops to one to three cents for a sustained period and when customers use a credit card at the pump he is losing several pennies per gallon pumped. And he is not alone. And believe me.....I know what I am talking about. For me its both a good thing and a bad thing. The bad thing is that it hurts my customers. The good thing is that it helps me because I spend $2000.00 per month on gasoline. The profits on gasoline are made at the refining level. They are no longer made at retail......in any substantial measure.

Some owners say gas sales pay rent for a store!