On Sat, 15 Feb 2014 00:00:20 -0600, Leon wrote:

wrote:
On Fri, 14 Feb 2014 08:23:57 -0600, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet
wrote:

On 2/13/2014 5:54 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 13 Feb 2014 16:27:04 -0600, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet
wrote:

On 2/13/2014 12:46 PM, Just Wondering wrote:
On 2/13/2014 9:48 AM, Leon wrote:
On 2/13/2014 10:11 AM, Richard wrote:
On 2/12/2014 9:34 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
"Richard" wrote:


Basic economics, Lew.

The reason there are no viable alternative energy systems is simply
that they can't compete at $4 a gallon of gasoline.

$4 gas is cheaper

Maybe they can compete at $10 a gallon for gas.


But that pins energy at he $10 a gallon level.

It won't bring the price of alternative energy down.
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Check the prices for natural gas for the truck market.

They already beat diesel and provides a "bridge" fuel to reduced
carbon
dumping into the air we all breathe.

Supply and demand, Lew.
That's how it all works.

Actually in the last many years that explanation no longer holds water.
There is a good supply and relatively low demand.

What drives gasoline prices now is "what the market will bare".

I cab buy upper tier gasoline from Chevron at 2.87 and one block north
pay 3.09 at Exxon a lower tier station.

Gasoline prices are pretty much set at what a particular station thinks
it can or wants to charge.

I have a smart phone app that shows local gasoline prices and the prices
differ greatly within a few miles even among the same brands.


By "differ greatly" you probably mean plus or minus 10%. Price
differences in other "staples" such as food and clothing can very MUCH
more than that. When the difference in gas prices is plus or minus 30%,
y'all let us know.

I'm not sure where you were going with that. I was pointing out that
supply and demand is not what is causing the relatively wide fluctuation
in prices in "gasoline" within a one mile radius.

It is supply and demand. People are using something other than price
to determine where to buy.

No, the rule of supply and demand is when the supply is limited or the
demand goes up the price goes up. We have neither.

Yes we do, in fact. You have a limitation on real estate. People are
paying for convenience, not just gasoline.

Two different places with in walking distance of each other with a price
fluctuation of 10% is simply charging what the market will bare.

People are also brand sensitive (for several reasons). Supply and
demand still holds. The point is that it's not just "gasoline" that's
for sale.

When I say differ greatly, I mean for example you can go one mile west
to the Chevron station and pay 22 cents per gallon less than if you one
mile east to the Exxon station. Which way are you going to go??

Obviously, some are willing to pay more to buy *there*.

Obviously the price of gasoline is not set by supply and demand.

You're wrong. It is *exactly* set by supply and demand but it's not
only gasoline that's for sale. It's Exxon vs Chevron that's for sale.
Different products.

By the same
logic, you're saying that home prices aren't decided by "supply and
demand", either?

No, only you have mentioned housing.

It's the same thing. Location matters.


In that example it is all about how much are you willing to pay.

Do the prices at Exxon go up and down with the prices at Chevron? If
not, maybe I could buy your argument but I'll bet they do.

Absolutely not! I have seen the Exxon prices go up and the Chevron
prices go down and visa verse, but the Chevron station is always 20+
cents less expensive than the Exxon station. None of the gasoline
prices in the Houston metro area go up and down at the same time or in
the same direction. The stations have plenty of play in their pricing
strategies.

Over a period of time? Sure, for a day (or less, now, with
centralized/Internet control over these things) but I've never seen
one station trend high when everyone else was trending low.

That Chevron station is always 5-10% lower than the local competition.

Right, but its price must then move around with everyone else's.
Supply/demand is part of the cost. Convenience, marketing, or
something other than "gasoline" is making that brand a premium, there.
Supply and demand is *not* suspended.