Why would fuel prices be SIGNIFICANTLY different at stations so close to one another?

Question

This morning, the price of a gallon of gas at one station in my town was $0.10 (yes, ten cents) higher than the price of a gallon at a station that was literally just across the street, less than 50 yards away.

I always noticed that there was perhaps $0.01 - $0.02 a gallon difference between a lot of stations, and this is really negligible over a full tank. But in the last few months I've noticed that the price at some stations has risen much higher than the price at other stations.

How would that station stay in business if a driver could go less than 50 yards further and save a few bucks to fill up the tank? Could there really that much of a difference in the quality of the fuel to make up the extra cost?

Answer 1

Yeah magiccharm, the gas near our state road is about 20 cents more than the stations in town. Highway robbery right there. But you can't do anything about because it's so conveniently located.

Answer 2

i bet the lower price station had a little more difficult access. the laws of supply and demand apply here also. Stations near interstates are usually higher too.

Answer 3

The price difference is more than likely a marketing choice by one of the stations.  It may be that the higher priced station's terminal is running low on fuel and to keep everyone from running out, they boost prices for a little while.  Or the lower priced station's terminal could be in danger of overflowing and they need to move thousands of barrels extra per day.  Perhaps the higher priced station isn't selling as much and they lost their volume discount some stations get.  There are any number of reasons why the price is off by that much.

As for fuel quality, there is a very real difference.  Top Tier fuels are designed to keep your engine running cleaner and more efficiently.  Top Tier was developed by automakers who found that discount fuels were causing engine problems in their cars.  Retailers must qualify for all grades of gasoline, not just premium.  There are some big name fuels that are not on the list, so don't assume expensive means Top Tier!!!

Here's the link:  http://toptiergas.com

Answer 4

lucky old u here in the uk its £5.00 a gallon