Why gas stations owners hate when gas prices are high…

[DGUtley]

Why most gas stations don’t make money from selling gas

With gas prices climbing up, you may think station owners are getting greedy. But the economics behind the pump tell a different story.

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Over the past 20 years:

• The total number of miles we drive has gone up by ~20%
• SUV sales have doubled, and now outnumber cars
• The average household expenditure on gas has risen to $250 per month

In a rough and tumble 2020, gas stations in the US still managed to sell 123B gallons of fuel — enough to fill 187k Olympic-size swimming pools.
With average gas prices at a 6-year high, you might think station owners are rolling in the dough.
But the business model of gas stations is a bit counterintuitive.
Most gas stations barely turn a profit on their core product, and when the price of oil goes up they may even take a loss on it. Battling small margins, cutthroat competition, and the looming threat of electric vehicles, many gas stations are more reliant than ever on secondary revenue streams.

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https://thehustle.co/the-economics-of-gas-stations/

[stjames1_53]

I only buy gas at gas stations.
I've seen prices yo yo over the past month from $3.27 to as low as 2.77. The prices literally jumped .40 in 4 hours.

[DGUtley]

Went to Indians Game yesterday. It was $1 more by the stadium.

[stjames1_53]

Went to Indians Game yesterday. It was $1 more by the stadium.

I'd report them for price gouging

[countryboy]

Went to Indians Game yesterday. It was $1 more by the stadium.

No you didn't.

[DGUtley]

No you didn't.

I did. Could not give away tix so I went.

[countryboy]

I did. Could not give away tix so I went.

They're the Indians again? What happened to "Guardians"?

[carolina73]

I'd report them for price gouging

I don't believe you can as long as their price is always higher. That's just good marketing.

[carolina73]

I had a friend that owned a small store and gas station. He had 6 pumps and about a 20,000 gallons of gas storage.
He said that small independents are expected to pay COD which means that he had to have a revolving line of credit open to fill the tanks, so you can add negative cash flow to the problem of selling gas.

Then add theft/drive offs, spillage and cleanups, inspections... and he made more from selling a six pack of beer, than he did from filling a 14 gallon tank. He sold gas strictly to pull in traffic.

You rarely see small repair stations with working pumps anymore.

[stjames1_53]

They're the Indians again? What happened to "Guardians"?

now you know why he couldn't give the damned tickets away.........