Lowering gas prices, who agrees on this solution?

Question

Do you think that by simply only buying gas on sundays, and wednesdays, you could lower the ammount of gas purchased, forcing big gas companies to lower prices?

I ask this because, if you limit yourself to only buying gas two days a week, it will limit your driving to only essentials. The point being that, employees in gas stations will just be sitting there except two days a week, and not be selling nearly enough gas.

My other solution, would be to completely stop buying gas from big companies. (Exonn Mobile, etc.)

I would just like people to leave there opinions on this.

Thanks :]

Answer 1

NOOOOOOOO   I WORK THERE!!!

BUY MORE GAS!!!!

no seriously, gas is WAYY to high and guess what? i pay the same price you do

Answer 2

Gas stations are just as big a victim as the rest of us.  Typical gas station marks up their fuel less than 2Cents per gallon.  When gas prices rise, people buy less gas, and they can’t even break even.  

Most gas stations are mom and pop (single owner) operations.

Most MUST sell chips, drinks and snacks, just to keep afloat.  In fact, car washes, snacks and food account for MORE of their profit than does the actual fuel sales.

And you can’t even imagine the grief they are put through with local government right up to the EPA.  IF there is even a tiny fuel leak (in the underground storage) or if their pumps digital readout are off by even a ounce, they are subject to massive fines and/ or the loss of their station.

If you ever saw a gas station that has been completely razed, and is now a dirt lot with a fence around it, chances are they had an EPA violation, and lost their station, as the feds made them tear it down to the dirt.  The EPA loves to do that.

It’s very sad that people lash out at the station, they have absolutely no control over fuel costs, so your “plan” of punishing them will put more of them out of business, reducing competition to just the corporate owned stations, which could possibly lead to HIGHER PRICES.

The reason are fuel is so high, is because we import it, and the FED has deliberately devalued our dollar, making imports more expensive.  And THAT is the bottom line.

If you want to reduce fuel consumption, drive slower.  Proven fact that at 65 MPH your car burns 15% more fuel than at 55.  Further, acceleration burns the most fuel.  If you simply limit your freeway speed to 55, and take twice as long to accelerate as you did before, you can reduce your fuel consumption up to 20%   (that is the equivalent of rolling back the cost per gallon 60 cents) and chances are you’ll still get to where you’re going in about the same time.  You may see a middle finger or two but saving money is saving money.  Problem solved.

Answer 3

That will not lower oil prices. Greeting people in the oil industry and the falling value of the dollar is making oil prices higher.

Answer 4

That's what I have been saying for some time now, if we boycott one oil company for 1 month, it will work because they will have to lower there prices to make room for the inventory coming in,Lets say company A is selling gas and company B is not, then company B will lower there price to beat company A price, then there are price wars between company A and B... Lets just say we try for June 1st for the boycott.

Answer 5

I feel that if people stopped buying from the top two, when they are not getting any sales they will be forced to lower prices and the others will follow.  A study was done and if you told 10 people and they told ten people, gas prices would be down in three weeks. Maybe its worth the try. I told ten on my e-mail...how about you and all the other readers of your question.  Census seems to be to stop buying from Esso and Petro-can or Esso and Shell.  As they say...nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Actually its something lost and that is the fact that it costs us more to go to work but our salaries are not increasing.  However, cabs, couriers etc. are going up.

Answer 6

Buying on certain days or from different companies will not lower prices.  The simple equation of supply and demand rules here.  There is limited supply, so if a bunch of us stop buying from the bigger companies, someone else will go there in our place.  

The best way is to reduce our use of gas overall, and I know it's not easy.  I'm glad that summer is here, and I can walk or bike to more places.

Answer 7

Buying on certain days will not affect prices,  only result in lines at the pumps.  

The gas stations will still sell the same volume,  just on two days.     Not patronizing one or two companies will not affect them,   they will just sell their product to other retailers at the rack.

To lower gas prices,   use less of it.   Shop around,  find ways to check prices around town and reward the lowest priced seller in your area with your business.   Others will have to lower prices to get cars back into their driveways.

Answer 8

This is a nice fantasy.  But people are oblivious.  They are even still buying NEW cars that get less than 20 mpg!

But YOU can become more independent from gas companies, and it's easy!

1. Find a local Motorcycle Safety Class and learn to ride a motorcycle.  OMG, it is NOT dangerous nor scary.  (I actually feel safer on a motorcycle these days, I'm much more aware and they are 100X more maneuverable, fast, and incredibly fuel efficient.  50mpg!!!  I fill up a 3 gal tank about ONCE A MONTH.  But take that safety class, it is a MUST.  In my area, the classes are about 30-40% female now too.  A lot of women are becoming riders.

2. If you're married, w/ or w/o kids, seriously consider NOT WORKING.  Honestly, DO THE MATH.  Include all the costs related to your working (clothes, fuel, food for lunch, makeup, increased taxes, day care, etc.)  Then subtract that from the money you are bringing in.  That is your actual net gain.  Now consider your TIME at the job, and INCLUDE the commute time.  Divide the net gain by the hours.  That is your actual hourly rate.  You'll be stunned to see how little you are actually making.  Some women will actually see a net LOSS!!!  DO THE MATH!  And then consider, IS IT WORTH IT for the time spent?  Stay at home.  Honestly, couples who do this are shocked to see how much money they actually end up SAVING (cooking cheaper meals for dinner, more time w/ kids, more energy, happier hubbies, do-it-yourself household maintenance) .  The second income requirement is a TOTAL HOAX encouraged by the government to raise revenue.

3. Don't drive as much.  Analyze your driving habits one day.  Now, when I go to the store, I park once, then walk from store to store, even crossing the roadway if necessary, to hit all my stores at once.  Park nearest the store where you'll have the most bags.  THEN WALK.  Drop things off at the car if you need to.  THEN WALK back to the stores again.  And plan your shopping.  Just once a week, maybe even just once a month!  I have a supermarket 1 mile from my house.  I WALK there now.  I bought a little rolling carrier like people used in the 60's.  And I'm losing weight from all the exercise too!

4. Sell all your cars except one.  It can work.  We do it.  No multiple car payments, much less insurance costs, much less maintenance costs.  It's incredible.  And on days where we all need the car, one of us is the taxi driver, dropping the others off then continuing on.  Just do it.  Remember, prices are per supply and demand.  This is one way to DEFINITELY drop the demand.

5. If you have to work, and if your type of work allows it, work from home.  INSIST on it, or else find another job.  Obviously, a factory worker can't do this, but SO many other professions can.  Technology supports it!  The only reason not to do it is that you have a bad manager or a lazy worker.  Both should be fired anyway, and both will immediately reveal themselves in a work-from-home arrangement.  You have to work from home anyway.  You only have one car.  ;-)

6. Just stay home in general.  Today, we have every modern convenience, entertainment, and luxury lifestyle accessory in our homes... BUT NO ONE HAS NOR TAKES THE TIME TO ENJOY THEM!  Force yourself to!  We haven't gone to the theater in 3 years (NetFlix).  Restaurants, maybe 3 times a year (I learned to cook really well, my steaks are better than any restaurant).  Vacations?  Well, frankly, I've been underimpressed by the so-called luxury vacation hotspots.  We now spend the same amount of money on our home (including installing energy efficient appliances, windows, etc. (ourselves)) and turned our home into a year-round resort!  And during the summer we'll rent a boat or personal watercraft once in a while (no yearly maintenance costs, no insurance, etc., it's much cheaper to rent).

You'll never get everyone to use these practical tips, but YOU CAN DO IT.  And you will become unaffected and relatively independent from the "energy crisis" others are experiencing.  AND THAT is a truly liberating feeling!

Honestly, hon, try these things (definitely try motorcycling!) and you'll have a whole new outlook on life.

Answer 9

Its worth remembering that OPEC controls how many barrels of crude oil are produced each day. More barrels lowers the price, supply and demand. So that won't be happening (ever seen a poor oil producing country)? And governments could lower taxes on fuel but then they'd get less money. So that won't be happening either. Happy motoring

Answer 10

It's good that you are thinking about this and your idea sounds like it might help.  Think about it from a supply and demand perspective.  If you only sell gas 2 days a week, you are counting on the sheer inconvenience of it reducing demand.  It may a bit, but probably not enough.  What it will do is reduce supply significantly.  If you lower supply without a proportionate lowering of demand, you will be creating a gas shortage and the pressure on price will be upward.  The price will continue to go up until enough people stop buying voluntarily that there is no longer an unmet demand.  This is part of why the price is so high now.  Oil producers have cut production.  Supply is low.  Demand is high.  Price is increasing.  When the price gets high enough that people voluntarily buy less, the price will stop going up.

Another factor is the weak US economy.  As the value of the dollar declines, it takes more dollars to buy the same thing.  A barrel of oil was $60 in the past.  As the dollar has become worth less, that same barrel requires more dollars and the price is well over $100.

Finally, unfortunately, all gas is produced by the big companies.  They do not make their money at the pump.  They make it selling the gas to the gas station.  No matter what gas station you buy from, you are putting money in the pockets of a big oil company.  There is also a part of the gas price problem due to corporate greed since the oil companies are making huge profits from the huge price rise.

Interesting aside... where I live, the government makes more profit on a gallon of gas than even the oil companies... through taxes.

Answer 11

I purchased a gas efficient vehicle two years ago, I seen this coming. It has already paid for itself in gas efficiency.

I fill up once a week and usually drive 400 miles.

We need more refineries in the USA - people need to realize every little bit helps.

Supply and demand.

Reduce your demand

We currently import 55% of our oil, where as in 1972 we imported 25%... We need to drill oil off the coast of OUR country and build more refineries. It is simple.

Answer 12

As a European, I find it amusing that you find your gas prices high, they've always been high. You've just lived in a country where the price have been subsidised heavily..

Currently, due to increased demand elsewhere, I rise in a 'middle class' in very populous countries, China and India for example (car ownership becomes an attainable goal\luxury), the prices are set to stagnate at the current levels, or rise, there is no going back.

There is enough oil, but.. at the moment, the bottleneck is at the refineries, that refine crude oil into products which we can use in cars etc. There are not enough refineries to process crude for the 'demand' that currently exists. Whether that bottleneck is intentional or not, is a whole different story, it depends who you ask..