It's a little too early to scream price gouging with a 4 cents difference.
Besides, without know ing the whole story, it's obvious that the second one has a car wash, which makes it easier for that station to compete and/or make up losses.
Every time the gas goes up a little everyone gets all Marxist all of a sudden. The gas business is essentially a business of pennies. your profits rise and fall with a few cents. This makes the gas business very reactive to anything--pressures from world events, market supply pressures and the slightest change in demand.
I see price gouging all the time. I found that bread prices are not the same from store to store. The same applies to milk, fruit, computers, software, cars and just about everything else.
Of course, if prices were the same everywhere, the businesses would be accused of PRICE FIXING.
"Every time the gas goes up a little everyone gets all Marxist all of a sudden. The gas business is essentially a business of pennies. your profits rise and fall with a few cents. This makes the gas business very reactive to anything--pressures from world events, market supply pressures and the slightest change in demand."
I agree, how would you feel if these gas companies were not making their all-time high profits Rob?, you Marxist!
If you guys think that gas prices are bad now, just wait and see. After aggregate global oil production reaches a peak and goes into a terminal decline, we'll be lucky if we can even put gas in our cars anymore.
Tragically, we've pretty much built our entire landscape around the automobile. If we had maintained our landscape the way it was before WWII (i.e. you could take the train to Grandma's house and walk to church and the corner grocery store) then this wouldn't be the big problem that it is.
Whether we like it or not, an ever sprawling suburbia is not sustainable. And no combination of so called alternative energies is going to allow us to keep running things the way we do know.
Sure it's supply and demand...sure sounds good, doesn't it? Oil companies are truly an example of a monopoly. But food prices are subject to supply and demand because there is actual competition. The food industry is the most misunderstood business. Prices often reflect what customers want, what the manufacturer charges and what the competition charges. Gas companies have their own pricing rules and they are gouging the public. And Rob, let's face it, some conservatives think that we are Marxists just because we're Democrats. Maybe we should balance it out and call them Facists? Just a thought. (I can hear it now... 'that's what you are, but what am I')
10 comments:
It is simply the law of supply and demand
It's a little too early to scream price gouging with a 4 cents difference.
Besides, without know ing the whole story, it's obvious that the second one has a car wash, which makes it easier for that station to compete and/or make up losses.
Every time the gas goes up a little everyone gets all Marxist all of a sudden. The gas business is essentially a business of pennies. your profits rise and fall with a few cents. This makes the gas business very reactive to anything--pressures from world events, market supply pressures and the slightest change in demand.
I see price gouging all the time. I found that bread prices are not the same from store to store. The same applies to milk, fruit, computers, software, cars and just about everything else.
Of course, if prices were the same everywhere, the businesses would be accused of PRICE FIXING.
I've been called "Marxist".
Silly.
I want a gas voucher damnit!
I remember when we had "gas wars".
Consumers would find the station that had the lowest price and give that station their business.
Ya, lets just go to the station that is convient and lets send the message that it is okay to "gouge" us.
When Chevron charges 2.95 and Sinclair charges 2.79 to 2.84 One might see that Chevron is not the corporation to buy gas from.
$2.80 x 20 gallons = $56.00
$56.00 x 2 = $112.00 a week in gas.
$112.00 x 52 weeks = $5824.00 yearly in gas.
$2.95 x 20 gallons = $59.00
$59.00 x 2 = $118.00 a week in gas.
$118.00 x 52 weeks = $6136.00
$6136.00 - $5824.00 =$312.00
Now imagine if you have two cars, or you can do the math.
"Every time the gas goes up a little everyone gets all Marxist all of a sudden. The gas business is essentially a business of pennies. your profits rise and fall with a few cents. This makes the gas business very reactive to anything--pressures from world events, market supply pressures and the slightest change in demand."
I agree, how would you feel if these gas companies were not making their all-time high profits Rob?, you Marxist!
If you guys think that gas prices are bad now, just wait and see. After aggregate global oil production reaches a peak and goes into a terminal decline, we'll be lucky if we can even put gas in our cars anymore.
Tragically, we've pretty much built our entire landscape around the automobile. If we had maintained our landscape the way it was before WWII (i.e. you could take the train to Grandma's house and walk to church and the corner grocery store) then this wouldn't be the big problem that it is.
Whether we like it or not, an ever sprawling suburbia is not sustainable. And no combination of so called alternative energies is going to allow us to keep running things the way we do know.
If you haven't already, please read:
www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net
Sure it's supply and demand...sure sounds good, doesn't it? Oil companies are truly an example of a monopoly. But food prices are subject to supply and demand because there is actual competition. The food industry is the most misunderstood business. Prices often reflect what customers want, what the manufacturer charges and what the competition charges. Gas companies have their own pricing rules and they are gouging the public.
And Rob, let's face it, some conservatives think that we are Marxists just because we're Democrats.
Maybe we should balance it out and call them Facists? Just a thought.
(I can hear it now... 'that's what you are, but what am I')
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