Fuel prices....again!

[john in la]

Racetrac lost their liquor license at one store. They lowered the gas price. Before it was all over with his neighbors were begging the authorities to give him the license back.

They also would sell premium gas for the same price as 87 for a few weeks to mess with the other stations.

With hundreds of stores in many states you can run mom and pop and even owner operated name brand stores out of business real quick.

 

[Texasmark]

A lot of people will drive 20 miles to save 2 cents per gallon. My dad will drive all over town to save 2 bucks on an air filter. He spent that 2 bucks on gas! He would drive 50 miles round trip to save $10 on a battery rather than buy it from our small town co-op. He used 2 gallons of gas, at almost $4 per gallon so he saves $2 for his hour to go get it. I suppose some of that is from being born in the 1930s and dirt poor when he was a kid.

Along those lines I have picked up on some folks habit: They get a coupon source (newspaper?) and cut out the coupons for a Saturday's shopping spree then drive all over town to this store and that cashing in the coupons.......Never had the urge to do that......and now you can sit down in front of your computer at your farm and order everything you want and have it delivered to you pretty much free of charge........and you get unlimited selection, not having to deal with the local merchant just happens to have in stock.....I exercise that part of the equation most of the time as I'm sure most of you do too.

 

[PJH]

Does anyone remember the 1960s gas wars where local gas stations in bigger towns would try to undercut each others prices until one blinked and prices shot back up well above normal for a few days? The lowest I ever bought at was 15 cents when the normal was 32 cents, but prices could go a lot lower for a few hours at a time. Gas stations also gave away promotional glassware and other things with purchases. Describe that to young people now and they think you are either joking or hallucinating.

In 1965 I was working at a gas station in Tuscola, Illinois. Gas wars among the local stations were almost constant. I was the youngest guy working there, so I was the one who climbed the ladder and changed the numbers on the sign. The individual numbers were black, painted on thick plastic sheets and stored in a file cabinet. You selected the proper numbers from the file drawer and carried them up the ladder. It was the cutting edge of technology at that time. Some days we changed prices so often that we left the ladder leaning against the sign.

 

[buickanddeere]

Filled yesterday with 253.5 US gallons, at $1.91 US per US gallon for a total of $482.03 US.

 

[wh]

Diesel up again today. $6:50 at loves travel stop. Shell station across road is $6:29. Chevron at $5:99.

 

[john in la]

Diesel up again today. $6:50 at loves travel stop. Shell station across road is $6:29. Chevron at $5:99.

Roadtrip

 

[SweetFeet]

Filled my house propane tanks yesterday....$2.75 delivered.....was pleasantly surprised. September is the cheapest month to fill up around here. Farm diesel (30 cent road tax eliminated) was $5.19. I was reading new sources yesterday and apparently crude oil from the Middle East is easier to refine into diesel, whereas light crude from around here makes the best gasoline.....maybe that's the reason for disparity between the two fuels...around $2 more for a gallon of diesel.

LP $1.30 per gallon here - will be delivered next week... but price locked-in on the day I called for delivery (which was Tues.- day after Labor Day)

 

[Keith True]

Paid $4.99 yesterday for # 2 heating oil.214 gallons,$1070.29.My mom got almost 500 gallons from them today,but the price was $5.05.She told the driver she had been quoted the afternoon before,and he got on the horn to the office.They told him to adjust the bill,and make a note of it on the ticket.What they've gone to is you get your quote on the day of delivery.They weren't holding a hard line for regular customers that got a 4: PM quote and an 8:AM deliveryThe driver wasn't a regular delivery driver.He was on loan from a trucking outfit,the oil company has been losing drivers.Some of the customers have been getting abusive because of the price and the drivers aren't taking it.

 

[john in la]

oil company has been losing drivers. Some of the customers have been getting abusive because of the price and the drivers aren't taking it.

Can not blame them
If my driver told me he was quitting because of your abuse I might not stoop to your level and call you with a piece of my mind but you would surely be on my black list next time you called for a delivery

 

[joeysmith]

you would surely be on my black list next time you called for a delivery

Yea we are not scared to fire a customer
Life is to short to put up with that

 

[grandpa Love]

Roadtrip


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Are you sure that's accurate? It's 45 miles from me....... diesel hasn't been cheap for a while.

 

[flying belgian]

Well, both the county and the state had seperate road construction projects that closed my road for 6 weeks. Unfortunately the county resurface project turned into a disaster with the subsurface of the road being too far gone to just apply top coats. So they left the project torn up for a month while they drew up a new plan, then totally shredded up all the tar and a little gravel and started over. They are working on it today again. We hope they are done by the time harvest starts. We are starting our 5th month of roads closed on the 4-6 week project…..

So, no, I haven’t seen much traffic here either!


More on topic, I think we all like to complain. I sure do. Egg prices too high. Beef prices too high. Hay prices too high. Fuel prices too high. Try and buy a tractor, Sheez…. Remember when flour prices were too high, wheat prices climbed to $20+ a bu over a decade ago? Almost no wheat was out there very little sold at that price it was phantom bidding to get farmers to plant more wheat, but oh the hand wringing everyone getting rich on 20 dollar wheat and breaking the backs of town folk…l

There is always a crisis, and we always complain. Anyhow I do, and it looks like most of us?

But, we make minor adjustments and carry on anyhow. Things change, prices go up and down out of our control.

Some prices are down, we kind of forget that because it’s not something to complain about.

I remember when gas prices were 29.9 cents a gallon, pretty much all over for a long time. Once in a while there was a special at 26.9 cents a gallon. Dad would put $5 of gas in the car, he didn’t want to spend too much at a time.

The oil cartel crisis came along and prices evened out at 79.9 cents a gallon. Oh the hard times, dad had to go to the pain of putting $10 of gas in the car to get to half a tank. Didn’t want to spend too much at a time you know.

We survived.

We will survive this as well.

I wish gas was $2.09 or so like it was before the virus hit. Let me tell ya….

But I’ll drive around 95% like I did before.

Paul

If you think about it, most cars get at least 25mpg. Gas price,,$5/gallon. So for $5.00 you can move car, 4 people, 10 bags groceries and the kids soccer gear 25 miles down the road.

That just doesn’t seem like a big deal compared to other things. After all your morning Starbucks costs you more than that.

 

[wh]

Roadtrip


View attachment 163678

No way that is correct. Every station I pass by is $5:89 or above.

 

[Loosehandle]

If you think about it, most cars get at least 25mpg. Gas price,,$5/gallon. So for $5.00 you can move car, 4 people, 10 bags groceries and the kids soccer gear 25 miles down the road.

That just doesn’t seem like a big deal compared to other things. After all your morning Starbucks costs you more than that.

Thats only a 12.5 mile round trip, Starbucks is more of a luxury than having a car especially with kids.

 

[grandpa Love]

If you think about it, most cars get at least 25mpg. Gas price,,$5/gallon. So for $5.00 you can move car, 4 people, 10 bags groceries and the kids soccer gear 25 miles down the road.

That just doesn’t seem like a big deal compared to other things. After all your morning Starbucks costs you more than that.

Diesel F-250....loaded gooseneck, lucky to get 14 mpg.....$6.50 a gallon is starting to be a big deal ......and that's not what we were promised .... absolutely no need to try to put a happy spin on this. ......and who is drinking Starbucks????

 

[GChief]

Diesel F-250....loaded gooseneck, lucky to get 14 mpg.....$6.50 a gallon is starting to be a big deal ......and that's not what we were promised .... absolutely no need to try to put a happy spin on this. ......and who is drinking Starbucks????

Glad my DD gets 40, but I do commute 114 miles everyday M-F.

 

[Texasmark]

Glad my DD gets 40, but I do commute 114 miles everyday M-F.

I had a job once that was 85 miles from my farm. I bought a cheap 27' travel trailer and parked it in a nearby trailer park. Went home on weekends. Preferred that and any expense over having to take 170 miles out of my daily routine.

 

[wh]

I’m

If you think about it, most cars get at least 25mpg. Gas price,,$5/gallon. So for $5.00 you can move car, 4 people, 10 bags groceries and the kids soccer gear 25 miles down the road.

That just doesn’t seem like a big deal compared to other things. After all your morning Starbucks costs you more than that.

heck. $5 gas and $7 diesel really will not hurt anyone making $500,000 or more a year. Of course I am not in that group.

 

[GChief]

I had a job once that was 85 miles from my farm. I bought a cheap 27' travel trailer and parked it in a nearby trailer park. Went home on weekends. Preferred that and any expense over having to take 170 miles out of my daily routine.

Its not bad, right at an hour when the traffic is lite.

 

[grandpa Love]

I’m

heck. $5 gas and $7 diesel really will not hurt anyone making $500,000 or more a year. Of course I am not in that group.

I don't think gas prices are hurting the top 1%.,........ They just keep buying jet fuel and yacht fuel . But prices are killing us hard working, salt of the earth, red blooded, blue collar Americans. I don't think anyone in charge actually cares about us