I wonder, do gas stations make enough to actually care to jimmy rig the machines? I heard they (the store owner) only make pennies on the gallon as it is and that the true profits shoot up to the gas companies.
In otherwords the gas provided by the gas station is nothing more than a luxury and a lure to get the customer to buy car washes, oil, car products, and refreshments...
Ofcourse, I guess it matters if the station is owned by the gas company.
Do you think that if people could sell 4.5 gallon of gas and charge for
5.0 gallons, that there aren't at least some who will do this?Some people will lie and cheat however they can to make more money.
It is the refineries who are pumping the money in. They pay for oil based on the crude oil rate, but sell based on the local market conditions, which provides for a tidy profit.
Well, yes.
But, if the gas station is owned by an oil company...
And when gas stations are owned by oil companies, I am sure they offer really low rates on soda, snacks and milk, compared to grocery stores.... ;-)
I think it was in California where crooks figured out that to test the accuracy of gas pumps the state pumped out exactly 5 gallons and measured it for accuracy. Voila..... they designed a chip that ripped you off by running fast as you first pumped but slowed down to be accurate at 5 gallons, and then started running fast again. They got caught because they were so greedy you could actually see the speed changes of the numbers on the pump as they flashed by.
Sure, if they are charging 5.0 and selling 4.5 then they are making a buck
50 more for that fill up compared to the pennies that they are making per gallon. However, isnt that a tad bit noticable, not just for the driver but for the company filling the tanks? Eventually that is going to make itself widely known. Thats not like skimping pennies on the dollar. Thats an obvious theft.
I don't doubt that they got caught. Some things are a bit obvious.
A typical independent makes between two and five cents per gallon profit. Factor in maintenance on pumps, dispensers, and hanging hardware, and he's lucky to break even. An acquaintance of mine owns a mini-mart independent station, and sells gas at a 5 cent per gallon loss. He has to make up for it with, as you say, non-gas products.
Anger at owners is completely misdirected.
Yeap, with those 3% or so credit card fees you sell at a loss.
What they make on gas pales in comparison to the profits on the first 3 things you see when you walk in the door: soda, snacks and candy. That's why those things are there.
The entities that make the largest 'profit' on a gallon of fuel are the federal and state governments. Most states make more per gallon than does the oil company that made the gasoline
LOL
mike
If one could "see the numbers go by" that must have been when gas was 35C a gallon. At $3 they whiz by too fast LOL
mike
Which is exactly why the phonies on the left, who scream about prices, have no true interest in reducing prices.
They're fat and happy with all the FET with which to play.
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"I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." - Winston Churchill
"A liberal is someone with a great debt to his fellow man, and proposes to pay it off with your money." - unknown
"In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other" - Voltaire
"What this country needs are more unemployed politicians." - Edward Langley
I can see the numbers go by. They go by at about the same rate as when gas was 35 cents a gallon, except that the decimal point is a little farther than before.
I guess having a younger and better-functioning brain helps. And being a resident of planet Earth.
Jeff
How much are oil companies and refineries making on gasoline? What is the average state and federal tax on gasoline?
Jeff
Let's see: The federal tax is fixed, regardless of the price of gasoline. What does that say about your conjecture?
You're quite correct. Mea Culpa. But the state and local taxes are not.
According to the US Commerce site the average is around 17c a gallon or 1.4c LESS than the federal tax and far less than the average state tax of 30 some cents. Station operators earn from 1c to 7c a gallon, about what they earned when gas was 25c a gallon. The real profiteer are the commodities buyers, that set the rate for crude at any given time
mike
I guess that leave you out of the picture, but you of course are free to believe whatever you choose. LOL
mike
Yep,. and don't forget the cigarettes, at $4.00 + per pack. Let's see, that's 20c a smoke. Wow, I can recall when a CIGAR was a nickel. (When I was too young to smoke 'em.)
Depends. In California, the cost of refining, including profits, was over $1.10 last month, but is around $0.70 now. I doubt that the cost of refining changed that much, leading me to believe that the profit was 40 cents higher in May.
Overall average is $28.75 per barrel. If you divide that by 42 gal per barrel you get something like $0.60 profit per barrel.
Jeff
Last I checked, $0.35 x 10 = $3.50. The numbers on the purchase price would go up a little slower (@ $3.00 /gal than $0.35 per gallon), but the decimal point would be one place farther to the right.
But, but the indicator for the volume would go up at the same speed, regardless of whether the price is $0.35 or $3.50 or $1.25.
Of course, in the old days, the indicator for the price and the volume was mechanical, not digital.
I am sorry that your brain doesn't work fast. I would say anymore, but I have no reason to believe that your brain ever worked well. It certainly doesn't do so today.
Jeff
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