Australopithecus scobis wrote:
On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 16:18:52 -0700, Charlie Self wrote:

Thus, the public is getting gouged rather nicely. One local outfit
priced their gas at $2.39.9 when the truck filled their tanks. That
price increased to $2.47.9 today, though no truck has been near the
place. What happened? I think the owner drove through town and realized
he was a dime under anyone else, so he tacked most of that on.

Profiteering is not at all unusual in such situations. I don't know
whether it is moral or not, but I do know that I'd rather pay more for
gas with a dealer who prices it honestly from the start than I would
from one who pops the price based on what he discovers the market will
bear after he has set his normal profit percentage.


The retail dealer has to charge replacement cost, so no truck is
necessary for a price hike. Took a long time for me to understand that
point.

The previous poster's choice to choose a dealer who doesn't profiteer is a
nice example of what some economists don't like to admit: that there are
non-economic considerations in economic decisions.

Remember, we lowly consumers have power too: it's just more diffuse and
harder to marshal. Carpool, buy domestically, walk; just don't buy your
usual amount of gas. Suggest the same thing to your friends, coworkers,
and anonymous correspondents on Usenet. (Full disclosu The family is
about to do the summer vacation thang in a Jeep Cherokee. Whoops.)


The reason you took a long time to understand "replacement cost" as a
charge from dealers is because it is utter bull****. I bought a
briefcase the other day, and paid for it based on what the seller had
paid, not on what the seller is GOING to pay for his next bit of stock.
Once he gets the new stock in, the then raises prices.

Carpooling? Uh, I live in the country and work at home. Not effective.
Actually, not possible. I use about one tank of gas every 2-1/2 weeks
in my pick-up (Chev S10 gutless wonder). We probably use more in the
car, but that's a 30 MPG Stratus (Dodge's ultimate POS). We time our
town visits so when I need something, my wife does shopping, etc.
Believe me, that's a royal PITA but probably will become more and more
necessary as time goes on. I also don't zip into town for one item
anymore, unless it is essential to the success of an article that is
deadlined.

I may be back on a small motorcycle soon, though I quit riding when I
moved down here 28 years ago. If there is still a 250cc road bike out
there, or even off road, I might be able to up my 25-30 MPG vehicles to
55-60 MPG. I don't always need even a small pick up bed for my treks
into town, nor do I need the extra space in a car to go to, for
example, the library.

Yeah, all that said, I'll be heading to the truck terminals in Roanoke
(about 35-40 miles away, call it 85 miles round trip) in a buddy's
over-sized Ford pick-up to grab two jointers for an article. My truck
won't handle the size or the weight, so I buy him at least 20 bucks
worth of gas for that one trip. Probably $30 just to be nice.