Gas prices in Calgary

[Locke]

Originally Posted by skudr248

Lol, paying $1.29 for regular in Vancouver

Ah fuel taxes! Gotta love 'em!

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Dion

Costco gas is most always the cheapest gas in Calgary. They might raise their prices with others but on average it's still cheaper. That being said it does make me wonder how they can sell their gas at a cheaper rate while still paying the same rate as others from the refinery. Is it based on volume of sales or that other retailers are just greedy.

It's based on not making a profit on the gas side of their business.

Coop kicks back 5-6 cents a litre in equity/dividends. Superstore gives you 7 cents a litre in points. The co-op one probably shows the actual break even cost on the gas as they dividend / put into equity all profits.

The reason you don't see fluctuations is that it likely doesn't work to increase revenues. If I lower my price my 1 cent and everyone immediately matches all I have done is cost my self money without gaining market share. After trying that a few times and not seeing any benefit and only costs I would stop doing it and just follow the herd.

[aaronck]

Originally Posted by GGG

It's based on not making a profit on the gas side of their business.

Coop kicks back 5-6 cents a litre in equity/dividends. Superstore gives you 7 cents a litre in points. The co-op one probably shows the actual break even cost on the gas as they dividend / put into equity all profits.

The reason you don't see fluctuations is that it likely doesn't work to increase revenues. If I lower my price my 1 cent and everyone immediately matches all I have done is cost my self money without gaining market share. After trying that a few times and not seeing any benefit and only costs I would stop doing it and just follow the herd.

Their gas also has much higher ethanol, it burns faster than other gas so it's not quite as much of a deal, but with my having to buy premium I still buy there all the time.

[skudr248]

Originally Posted by Locke

Ah fuel taxes! Gotta love 'em!

Yup, thank god I live downtown and don't drive often.

[CroFlames]

My truck has been getting 10.8 l/100km for the past two weeks

Good ol active fuel management. Still sucks about gas prices though.

[Jiggy]

CO-OP's refinery in Regina is having a labor dispute so they moved up a turnaround.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by 4X4

I'll just save myself aggravation by paying whatever the pump price is, but the bullcrap doesn't escape me. When Rona and Home Depot and Loews can have sales on 2x4s, but no gas station in history can ever have a sale on gas, it looks like collusion. I'm not asking for a "sale", I'm just saying that when one place raises the price, they all do. What do you call that? And what do you call that when half of them bought their supply three days ago for a lower price, but they still jump in on the price increase?

I know where this is going, though. The other half of it is that gas stations don't make money on gas, they make money on confectioneries. I guess I don't know what the solution is, except that I will buy an electric 4x4, once one is available, feasible, and reasonable.

While I totally agree with your level of frustration, I think what makes it not quite collusion is just how public the prices are. When you can literally look out your gas station window and see the price the competition is charging and you know that the public has basically zero recourse, then it does make sense from a business standpoint to raise prices. No collusion needed.

We need gas, no getting around that. We tend to go to the place most convenient, the stations know that. So when the station across the street raises prices, legitimate or not, I kind of understand why a station might match. No reason to miss out on that extra profit. Having a price 5 cents lower probably wouldn't increase their business that much given that you can't really stock up on gasoline when prices are low and avoid buying when prices are high.

With a market with basically an endless demand, no ability to stockpile and public pricing, it sucks ass, but it makes sense why there is only ever upward pricing, never downward.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Also, just filled up this morning at Costco, no lineup thankfully. 86c for regular. 96 for premium.

[ken0042]

Worth a bump- gas prices are going up to 104.9 today. Fill up if you are low and if you can still find it under 90¢. (84.9¢ seems to be about the lowest.)

[Fuzz]

The long weekend bump? Niiiice.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by 4X4

You raise a good point, but if any of it was true, then we should see fluctuations in price per litre between stations. If the price of replacement was the only factor, then the price at the pump would vary between stations depending on their need to refill. But it never does. It's all 101.9 or 93.9 or 109.9 across the city, minus Centex and Gas Plus for a cent or two.

I realize your post is several months old but there is plenty of variance across the city. At this moment gas ranges from 83.9 to 104.9 which is a pretty substantial difference.
http://www.calgarygasprices.com/

[OMG!WTF!]

You saved me $8 CP. Getting the halibut and chips today...no more cod for this guy.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Jacks

I realize your post is several months old but there is plenty of variance across the city. At this moment gas ranges from 83.9 to 104.9 which is a pretty substantial difference.
http://www.calgarygasprices.com/

Yeah, I just filled up at Petro on 16th&14thNW for $0.859, then I proceeded up Center St. and passed that corner at McKnight and the Shell was up to $1.049, while the Esso across the street was at $0.869

I can pretty much guarantee that everyone will be over a dollar by midnight. The variance is a farce. It's just the stations that haven't joined the long weekend anal rape fest YET.

I'm so sick of the bogus explanations for gas prices jumping right before long weekends and holidays. It's such BS. Oil prices haven't moved in months, but suddenly gas costs 25% more.

But I'm sure there's a "reasonable" explanation such as Opec or Venezuela or a refinery shut down or North Korea launching missiles.

[burn_this_city]

Oil went from $44 to $50 in the last three weeks. Which is 13%, but they need those sweet sweet long weekend profits.

[Flacker]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Yeah, I just filled up at Petro on 16th&14thNW for $0.859, then I proceeded up Center St. and passed that corner at McKnight and the Shell was up to $1.049, while the Esso across the street was at $0.869

I can pretty much guarantee that everyone will be over a dollar by midnight. The variance is a farce. It's just the stations that haven't joined the long weekend anal rape fest YET.

I'm so sick of the bogus explanations for gas prices jumping right before long weekends and holidays. It's such BS. Oil prices haven't moved in months, but suddenly gas costs 25% more.

But I'm sure there's a "reasonable" explanation such as Opec or Venezuela or a refinery shut down or North Korea launching missiles.

They would simply cite increased demand, which if you are on the highway during any long weekend in Alberta, would be accurate.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Oil went from $44 to $50 in the last three weeks. Which is 13%, but they need those sweet sweet long weekend profits.

Glad you edited to add. I was going to snark the hell out of your original post.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Yeah, I just filled up at Petro on 16th&14thNW for $0.859, then I proceeded up Center St. and passed that corner at McKnight and the Shell was up to $1.049, while the Esso across the street was at $0.869

I can pretty much guarantee that everyone will be over a dollar by midnight. The variance is a farce. It's just the stations that haven't joined the long weekend anal rape fest YET.

I'm so sick of the bogus explanations for gas prices jumping right before long weekends and holidays. It's such BS. Oil prices haven't moved in months, but suddenly gas costs 25% more.

But I'm sure there's a "reasonable" explanation such as Opec or Venezuela or a refinery shut down or North Korea launching missiles.

I missed your post complaining about when gas went down before the Canada Day long weekend.

[calgaryblood]

Originally Posted by GGG

I missed your post complaining about when gas went down before the Canada Day long weekend.

It didn't.

[calgaryblood]

http://www.calgarygasprices.com/retail_price_chart.aspx

[GGG]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

It didn't.

Sorry it was May long it went down for.