There’s a very significant thing going on with gas prices right now that you should be aware of.
When we’re in a time like we are right now, where gas prices at wholesale have dropped by such a significant amount in just a few weeks, in each metro area there will be big differences in the price of a gallon of gas from one station to another.
I took a poll of my staff today. I asked, “Who bought gas over the last few days?” Every hand went up but one. Then I asked, “What did you pay?” And the disparity in what people had paid per gallon was so much bigger than it normally is.
You’ll find the price difference in a typical metro area normally would be maybe 15 cents to 20 cents a gallon from the cheapest station to the most expensive one. Right now, the difference from the cheapest to the most expensive in most metro areas is about double that. Among my staff, the difference was 35 cents per gallon.
Why is that? Is the operator of the gas station with the most expensive gas ripping you off? No, he’s not. Most often, it has to do with delivery cycles.
There are stations that are known in the lingo of the gas station business as “pumpers.” Those are stations that sell huge numbers of gallons of gas per month. The busiest stations may get as many as three gas deliveries a day. The slowest stations may not get a delivery but once every few weeks. So during a time of falling prices, the highest-volume stations will be the first to reflect lower prices.
So if you were to buy gasoline at one of the supermarkets or warehouse clubs that have gas pumps, or an independent discounter that sells gasoline, you’ll find that their prices reflect the lower wholesale very quickly. The lower-volume stations are still pumping gas that they paid much more money for, and that’s why their prices might be much higher.
During a time of rising gas prices, the cycle is reversed. The low-volume stations will have the lowest prices, and the “pumpers” will have the highest prices.
So right now, if you normally don’t pay attention to the difference in what a gallon of gas is from one station to another, that will really harm you. This is a time when you do want to pay attention.
according to cnn.com/clarkhoward