Please someone, help me to understand why the gas prices can vary so much from state to state, and station to station in same city. The "Big Names" have the higher prices. Yet you drive 1/8 mile to Joe Schmo, and their prices are lower. How does this work? If there really is a gas/oil crunch, should not every one be affected? Here, in my Southern State, our prices are higher than those reported from the Northern States. This does not make any sense.

-- No heat (or@acheretoday.com), February 28, 2000

Answers

Some of it has to due with the tax difference from state to state.

-- David Whitelaw (Dande53484@aol.com), February 28, 2000.

Price and availability. There's a guy in our community who owns three or four stations - he's an independent. He drives to Indianapolis everyday (sometimes 3 or 4 times a day) with a tanker truck, fills it up and returns to his stations. He undersells his competitors by 5 to 10 cents. Apparently, gasoline is available for a somewhat more reasonable price out of Indianapolis. I don't know where the closest refinery is located, but there is obviously one nearby that IS REFINING.

-- Y2kObserver (Y2kObserver@nowhere.com), February 28, 2000.

Let us say that you are a dealer and you buy 10,000 gallons at $.50 per gallon. 2,000 gallons later, you top of the tank with 2,000 gallons at a whopping $0.75 per gallon. You should immediately start charging $0.25 more per gallon, even though 80% of the gas in your tanks was cheaper...price gauging??? No, because if the reverse were true..80% of your gas costing you $0.25/gal more, you will have a hard time passing on the higher price....

Obviously, stations with high turnaround can stay closer to the daily price....I think that some of the local price difference is related to the owners either not understanding the need to raise, or they are trying to keep price lower to move out more material.

Also, the price the dealers pay may vary depending on who their suppliers are and whether those suppliers have "contracted" or are forced to get "spot price".

Best advice, drive less and enjoy car pooling walking and biking.

-- light (on@the.feet), February 28, 2000.

Part of the reason for price differences is that some states reguire the use of what they call "clean burning fuel" which use additives such as MTBE.

-- just a thought (tigerpm@netscape.com), February 28, 2000.

MtBE is killing our wells here in California...I've heard it has also polluted hundreds of rivers and lakes also... very dangerous stuff... and just think we in California pay for this killer? Doesn't make sense except if you look at the profit margin for big business/big hype!

-- S BRyan G III (sbrg3@juno.com), February 29, 2000.

Yes, but S BRyan, the gas costs on your coast, are reported as less than the Eastern Southern. Cali should be the highest price, yet we are designated as such. Smell a fish. What flavor?

-- No heat (or@cheretoday.com), February 29, 2000.

prices in california are $2.01 / gallon as of march 14. Where i live, Eureka, California, has had the highest price in the continental us for years now. it was 1.50 all of last year, for example. news flash, gas is going to cost like 2.50 all summer, everywhere. why do you think the u.s. is suddenly getting friendly with iran?

-- joe schmo cali (drunk.yeltsin@russia.com), March 17, 2000.