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The weird world of gas station pricing
Hey, when it costs $60 to fill up the car, what's another nickel here or there?  
By Andy Tarnoff RSS Feed Twitter Feed
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More articles by Andy Tarnoff

What is a blog?  For us it is a short blurb that we write when the mood strikes us.  It can be first person, funny or informative. In short, a blog is whatever we want it to be. Published Oct. 23, 2008 at 3:19 p.m.
Tags: gas prices, gas station


It's always struck me as bizarre that two gas stations, literally across the street from each other, can charge a different price for identical grades of gasoline. But it's maybe even more strange that, for me, I don't necessary pick the cheaper one every time. When we're talking about two cents per gallon -- or maybe 30 cents per tank -- I usually hit the station that's on my side of the street, or the one without a line at the pump.

Is that strange?

Further, there's a Clark station about a half-mile from my house, and it's always several cents cheaper than the Marathon station very close to my house. I even have a Clark credit card, so I earn another 2 percent back when I fill up at Clark. Yet I don't usually go out of my way for the cheapest gas.

Do you?

Apparently not, because I can't imagine how a competitive gas station could survive when they sell identical grade gas at a higher price than their neighbor.

Am I missing something?

I will say this: I feel like recent $4 a gallon gas prices have changed the way I drive. I try to group errands more carefully now, and even as gas prices fall back into the only semi-ludicrous zone of $2.75 per gallon, I am continuing these good habits of living a bit more locally. I also pay more attention to which car to drive on which trip -- highway driving goes to the BMW while city driving goes to the Prius. But I still barely drive the scooter, which gets 75 miles per gallon.

I guess major shifts in behavior just take time.

3 comments about this article.
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Posted by rbunz on Oct. 25, 2008 at 10:09 a.m. (report)

I use Gasbuddy.com to find the cheapest gas in my area, then do my chores to get to the cheapest station for a fill-up. I also keep a 25-gallon reserve in gas cans. I use a stabilizer to protect it, and also rotate the stock every six months, especially when gas gets cheaper.

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Posted by Master C on Oct. 23, 2008 at 4:37 p.m. (report)

Gas prices can be different at adjacent stations because in Wisconsin, by law, service stations can only change their prices once during a 24-hour period.

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Posted by booboo16 on Oct. 23, 2008 at 3:41 p.m. (report)

Gas stations, like airlines, can hedge on the the price they buy gas at, but on a much smaller scale. The gas that is 0.02 more expensive across the street is so b/c the owner/operator bought it that way. The thing I don't get is that these stations make a very small amount of their profits from gas sales, so why not match the prices and hope that customer purchase higher profit food/drink/goods in your store.

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