Gas prices. When will the craziness stop!

[1st impressions]

Gas prices just went up to $1.60-$1.67 here in the
Chicago area.I guess the summer driving season has
already begun. If this is a prelude of things to come
we are all in trouble come March/April.
What gets me the most is that it takes these oil
companies 6 weeks to lower the price a dime but only
12 hours to jack it .16 cents. What the hell is going
on! Time to pull out my father's reel mower.

[mdb landscaping]

dont take any offense by this, but being in the gasoline business with my dad too, we arent making any more profit when gas prices go up. when we get an increase, the price raises, but we still only make the same amount per gallon. we actually like it when the price is low because you handle less larger amounts of money. the reason why we cant lower the price so quick, is because we have thousands of gallons in the tanks that we bought at the higher price, and until we pump some of that off we cant lower the price, or we'd take a hammering. hope this gives you a better idea.

[Premo Services]

The gas prices are not that high in missouri yet, but edging up. I just saw on the morn. news that OPEC is trying to get oil producing countries to slow production by millions of barrles a day to keep the prices on the rise, what a joke, everything is going up and I guess our prices will have to go up too. another thing, last season some of you said that you put a couple dollar extra charge on your invoices to cover gas prices, I would be intrested to know how this worked out for you.

[MJ]

mdb landscaping - just curious and not meant as an offense, but if you can't lower prices till you sell off the gas on hand, doesn't that also mean when price to you goes up you still have lower priced gas in the tanks?

Mick

[watatrp]

MDB

I understand the theory that you can't lower prices for gas that is in the ground in your tanks that you bought at a higher price. How do you explain raising prices on Friday afternoon when the next gas delivery is not until the following Thursday? Seems like it's always a one way street in favor of the gas stations and oil companies. I have a couple of friends in the gas station business. They both have close competition. If the guy across the street gets a delivery at a higher price and raises his price then of course my friend raises his price to just below the other guy to take advantage of some extra profit.

About the extra cash, why not just put bank branches in the gas stations. That way when I have to buy gas I don't have to make a special trip to the bank and the gas station owner doesn't either. We both save gas.

[1st impressions]

mdb landscape.
I have heard that the station owner is only following what
corporate tells them.I don't envy your position because you
are taking the brunt of the anger. I will concede this point to you but I disagree with your point that it can take
3,4, or even 5 weeks to empty the tanks.I cant speak where
you live but outside Chicago the tankers pull-up 2 to 3
times a week.The last point is the ptices here reflect the
daily market. If the price of crude goes up $2 a barrel,
we see the increase immediately. They do not wait for their
tanks to empty.


Last year I surcharged for about 6 weeks. Only 2 clients
objected.Definitely helped out.

[mdb landscaping]

you guys bring up a logical point. where are business is located we are in tight competition with two citgos right down the street on both sides. this guy owns over 50 stations. he hauls his own gas and has his own candy supply company. he obviously with that much clout can control what he makes on gas. the second an increase occurs he jumps on the price and raises it. we stay as long as possible at the lower price, but usually pressure is put upon us from the oil company to go up. we are constantly fighting to get them to help us out on price when the citgos are undercutting us. we just try to keep it fair. you guys have a point on OPEC though. they are in the big control.

[Mark]

Before i started cutting grass I worked in management for Hahn Oil Co and Sunoco Jober, I managed one of his stations. MDB when raiseing his price with lower price gas in the tanks is just following the competition. When your only making 5cents on the gallon you better hope you still have a little in the tanks maybe your gross will increase to 7cents. Anyway you sure do want to rock the boat by lowering, someone bigger that can afford to take a loss will put your butt in a hurt bigtime. OPEC will do just about what they want. If gas goes up then tack it on you billing. Its still cheap,compared to other countrys. Supply and demand doesn't effect oil.Its like water your not going to go without it if your in the Lawncare Business. You have to buy it.

[Mowin4cash]

I say we close the Straight of Hormuz by whatever means necessary and tell the towel heads that they won't sell oil to anyone! NO ONE Let them fight, but we won't be there this time to pacify them. We could bump off the environmental wackos and start pumping our own oil again. Sound harsh, you got it baby!

[Skookum]

Explain this!

Our Govoner lifted the state gas price per gallon tax to the dealers back in the summer. I am not 100% sure of the actual tax, but I think I was told it was between .05 and .15 per gallon. Makes no difference, gas dropped .35 per gallon the day after the state tax was lifted.

Now that the tax has been put back on right after Christmas, it went right back up .25 - .30 the day after.

Here where I live, we have two Amoco stations that I go by very many times a day. The one in town all last summer was cheaper by .20 even before the tax lift and after, now it is the same as the one out by the highway that was always been higher.

If people would like to see the price drop, all we have to do is all get together and boycott one brand for just one day. Oh, wait I forgot as Americans, we are pros at individualism not togetherness.

Someone, told me that Desiel fuel remained basically uneffected by all this all summer long. I do not buy or see desiel fuel prices. Is that true about the stability of the price of desiel fuel during all this?

What happen to all that oil we saved during the gulf war? I guess now we have to pay for it a third or fourth time?

[Charles]

The thing with OPEC is they are running a business just like we are. They saw that american were buying these big gas guzzleling SUVs and they knew that our demand was going up for gas. So they raise their prices to capitalize on this fact. Something they did along time ago when there were these gas guzzleing cars all over the roads. Car maker were irrisponsible to produce such low millage cars.
But OPEC countries are the only people how can afford to sell oil cheap. I gas prices do drop to 99 cent a gallon again then companies in the US will go out of business again. because theres no money in digging for wells and managing oil rigs and getting it to consumers if oil is selling so cheap. Many US oil companies went out of business when gas was selling so cheap. Fid all the oil reserves you want but no one is going to pump it out if they cant make a profit

[thelawnguy]

I welcome the days when gas rises to $10/gallon, it will give me another reason to raise my prices and recoup that, and then some.

[Twotoros]

At Costo I paid 139. the other day lowest in a year. Guess what? I won't be buying much gas until mid-march. The price will be back to 175. by then I'm sure!! The basteds. Just read ans article lately that BP/arco dumped Alaska crude last year to Asia in order to create a shortage on the west coast and keep prices high here. That is very wrong so boycott BP and Arco please.

[Keith]

I hope you all have learned something here, Invest in oil companies :)

[mowerconsultant]

here is a average of diesel fuel cost that i see when i travel weekly in my territory.
i live in syracuse ny fuel here is 1.78 avg per gallon
buffalo area about 1.69 avg
i get into ohio markets and it is about 1.56 at the penn state line.
i go to toledo area and a little west almost to indiana and the price is 1.43 per gallon.
what a difference !!
i have since bought a 150 gallon tank to put in my truck to buy fuel at lower prices and save some cash.

[mdb landscaping]

just a fun fact. exxon-mobil plans on making 18 billion dollars this year. they definately are raking in the money. let me assure you, that the dealers arent reaking all the benefits though. here in CT diesel is a $1.65.

[Edited by mdb landscaping on 01-15-2001 at 05:58 PM]

[thelawnguy]

Here it is again, look up where you plan to travel to: http://208.13.208.31/

[Mowman]

Northwest Ohio, gas at a $1.62 and raising. I can go 50 miles to the east to Toledo,Ohio and prices are about 15-20 cents cheaper. Figure that one out. I'm not sure what the price will be when we start cutting in April.
Something has to be done.
Mowman

[freshcut419]

OH my I found this old post from 2001 what will we ever do with when gas goes up to 160 per gallon lol