Gas prices

[chadr]

I went to get gasoline this weekend at the same shell Station that I mentioned before and it was still $2.7999 per gallon, but the diesel was down another ten cents to $2.55 per gallon. Flying J was still $2.81 this morning.

 

[reddevil]

Place in Orem still 2.97 for reg., Springville down to 2.71. The Mav. dropped it twice on Sat.

STILL WAY TO HIGH!!!

 

[C22]

Seen on the news the other night that stations are only paying $2.06 a gallon which means stations are trying to keep prices up. Which irritates me I guess its ok one more person screwing me,whats new.Wish there was something we as a people could do about it

Tell the news to reimburse our family's c-store for the $.50/gallon difference between what they claim we pay and what we're really paying. Our rack price (the price we pay any given day including the state taxes) was $2.56/gallon the day you posted this (today it is $2.46/gallon). We are at $2.71 per gallon today, that's a profit of $.25/gallon (profit of approximately 10% unless you use a credit card, then it would be 7-8% profit). Most retail businesses would laugh at those numbers, but that's the highest profit we've had on gas in the last 5 years at least. We made anywhere from $.05 to $.15/gallon most of the summer, I don't need to do the math.

I'm not trying to defend gas prices, but the fact that the media and our governor have decided to throw gas stations in front of the bus is B.S.! We lose our butt on gas.... imagine doing 80-85% of your business at a profit margin of less than 5% on average. That doesn't work, and never will. Eventually there will be a few convenient store chains that survive and every Costco/Walmart/Sam's Club/Smith's (everyone who uses gas sales as a "loss-leader" to bring in business).

I'm not trying to be pissy and moany either, we really could care less at this point and plan on changing our business altogether, but to have people continually come into your business and ream you because you are the retailer of the most hated expense on earth is pretty draining. Especially when they hear about all the record profits in the oil industry.

The oil companies are the only winners in all this, and unfortunately we don't have the capability to change that with an investigation by some lady from Centerville (Governor Huntsman's latest crusade). But, popular opinion is what matters and gas stations are bad in the public eye.

No hard feelings, just want to give an honest perspective on what the media enjoys distorting.

 

[I Lean]

Tell the news to reimburse our family's c-store for the $.50/gallon difference between what they claim we pay and what we're really paying. Our rack price (the price we pay any given day including the state taxes) was $2.56/gallon the day you posted this (today it is $2.46/gallon). We are at $2.71 per gallon today, that's a profit of $.25/gallon (profit of approximately 10% unless you use a credit card, then it would be 7-8% profit). Most retail businesses would laugh at those numbers, but that's the highest profit we've had on gas in the last 5 years at least. We made anywhere from $.05 to $.15/gallon most of the summer, I don't need to do the math.

I'm not trying to defend gas prices, but the fact that the media and our governor have decided to throw gas stations in front of the bus is B.S.! We lose our butt on gas.... imagine doing 80-85% of your business at a profit margin of less than 5% on average. That doesn't work, and never will. Eventually there will be a few convenient store chains that survive and every Costco/Walmart/Sam's Club/Smith's (everyone who uses gas sales as a "loss-leader" to bring in business).

I'm not trying to be pissy and moany either, we really could care less at this point and plan on changing our business altogether, but to have people continually come into your business and ream you because you are the retailer of the most hated expense on earth is pretty draining. Especially when they hear about all the record profits in the oil industry.

The oil companies are the only winners in all this, and unfortunately we don't have the capability to change that with an investigation by some lady from Centerville (Governor Huntsman's latest crusade). But, popular opinion is what matters and gas stations are bad in the public eye.

No hard feelings, just want to give an honest perspective on what the media enjoys distorting.

Interesting info, but since state and federal taxes are something like $.43/gallon, that explains most of the $.50 you mentioned. I feel bad for anyone involved in selling or using oil-based fuel, with the exception of the oil companies themselves.

 

[Meat_]

...We lose our butt on gas.... imagine doing 80-85% of your business at a profit margin of less than 5% on average. That doesn't work, and never will. Eventually there will be a few convenient store chains that survive and every Costco/Walmart/Sam's Club/Smith's (everyone who uses gas sales as a "loss-leader" to bring in business)...

Offset a bit by the 1 liter Mount Olympus that you buy for $0.36 and sell for $1.80+

 

[carsmell]

Who am I susposed to believe? I don't mean that in a bad way. Gas prices are apparently killing the people who buy it and the people who sell it. Thats not good for anyone, I understand your frustration, but you have to understand the consumers frustrations also.:-\

 

[mbryson]

Who am I susposed to believe? I don't mean that in a bad way. Gas prices are apparently killing the people who buy it and the people who sell it. Thats not good for anyone, I understand your frustration, but you have to understand the consumers frustrations also.:-\

Follow the money. It's not the retailers making the big $$$......... Oil companies are posting record profits. I'm sure there's another element (wholesalers) but I don't know exactly how they're doing. I'm sure they're "making a living" at the moment.

 

[BlackSheep]

Here in Greenville, SC we are in the 2.05 - 2.15 range depending on where you go and where you buy.

 

[C22]

Offset a bit by the 1 liter Mount Olympus that you buy for $0.36 and sell for $1.80+

Not at our store, I can't give you an exact breakdown on each product we sell, but we don't have the buying power to get those kind of margins (maybe big convenient store chains, or supermarkets???).

We have an average of 30% profit margins on our inside sales (grocery, candy, pop, beer, cigs, everything but gas). These sales account for 20% of our overall sales. I can say that it is not enough to make money at the end of the month, and if you looked at our store from day to day and how busy it is, you'd think it did very well.

Like I said before, I'm not here to argue that higher gas prices are good (in fact it kills us because everyone drives less which means less inside sales which means less profit....... and so on), but when the media corners your business, you take every chance you can to tell it like it is.

 

[C22]

Interesting info, but since state and federal taxes are something like $.43/gallon, that explains most of the $.50 you mentioned. I feel bad for anyone involved in selling or using oil-based fuel, with the exception of the oil companies themselves.

We pay the taxes upfront, it's not an imaginary fee that we make money off of (ask the state for a breakdown of where those taxes go, my understanding is the majority of the taxes go to road improvements).

My point was if the news media say we're paying $2.06, it's misleading to the general public because we pay the tax as well and then are "lucky" enough to pass it on to the customer. I don't expect much more than that from the media, controversy = audience, and they can turn the facts any way they want to obviously (so can any of us for that matter).

Just take what I'm saying into consideration before anyone here takes out their frustration on the person behind the counter who makes the least of anyone in the "oil foodchain".

 

[Meat_]

We pay the taxes upfront, it's not an imaginary fee that we make money off of (ask the state for a breakdown of where those taxes go, my understanding is the majority of the taxes go to road improvements).

My point was if the news media say we're paying $2.06, it's misleading to the general public because we pay the tax as well and then are "lucky" enough to pass it on to the customer. I don't expect much more than that from the media, controversy = audience, and they can turn the facts any way they want to obviously (so can any of us for that matter).

Just take what I'm saying into consideration before anyone here takes out their frustration on the person behind the counter who makes the least of anyone in the "oil foodchain".

I hear ya, I've never blamed stations for gas prices (although I do get irritated with the age old story of "we only make $0.02 per gallon"). I do shake my head at the margins most have on the "continence" stuff inside. I know the owners of a supply business that serve (among others) a rather large but locally owned chain of convince stores.... those were the actual prices on that water (several months ago) and that is the norm for other products.

 

[bobdog]

C22 Let us all in on the secret of how every station knows to raise prices at the exact same time. Funny but when the Hurricains hit prices were going up twice a day and the tanks were not being filled twice a day with fuel at a higher wholesale cost were they. The big price increases were pure profit at least for the gas already in the tanks unless I am missing something. The very definition of gouging if you ask me.

 

[Rusted]

....Let us all in on the secret of how every station knows to raise prices at the exact same time.....

I know how the Maverik in Vernal sets their price. The morning shift person drives past a few stations on her way to work, and sets is a penny or two less than the Chevron, and close to what Sinclair down the road has, and a penny less than the Smiths across the road from them. Their prices are not based on the world economy, or even the cost of the last wholesale truck that was put in their pumps, but rather on the stations that are local.

 

[C22]

C22 Let us all in on the secret of how every station knows to raise prices at the exact same time. Funny but when the Hurricains hit prices were going up twice a day and the tanks were not being filled twice a day with fuel at a higher wholesale cost were they. The big price increases were pure profit at least for the gas already in the tanks unless I am missing something. The very definition of gouging if you ask me.

We set our prices according to the largest retailer in our immediate area (it's been that way the 15 years we've been in business). They have two stations within 2 blocks of each other that do more business than all the other stations in our area combined, that's generally how smaller independent stations set their prices.

I know that sounds weak, but if we had our way, we would list the price we're paying next to what we're selling it for and keep a constant margin (even $.10/gallon which is a 4% margin with today's prices would be better for us year-round than the freaking yo-yo we do with prices). We would probably get some backlash for doing that, but we may try it at some point (I'm sure someone will end up suing us over it).

Last winter, we were losing money on every gallon of regular unleaded that went out the door (when this happens, we usually are able to get a kickback from our distributor/brander for about $.05/gallon).

The way the mid-grade and premium pricing works is a little different, and more profitable. We pay $.05/gallon more for mid-grade and charge $.10/gallon more for it. We pay $.10/gallon more for premium and sell it for $.20/gallon more than our regular unleaded. We only do about 20% of our gas sales in mid-grade and premium so it doesn't make a huge difference, but it helps.

Maverick came up with a slick way to sell gas cheaper to the public. They run their credit cards through a satellite system and don't pay the middle man processor from what I hear. They and Flying J also are one company from the refinery to the retailer so they cut down on other middle man associated costs.

Ultimately, like I said before, the "ma & pops" stores won't survive and the big chains will. No biggy, just kinda frustrating when you're in the business. But, business is about change and if you're strategies don't work, you adjust them until they do.

Enjoy the reading, I wish we were talking about a trip to Moab....... maybe we should buy a c-store down there??????