Gas out on the Internets?

We need a Good Economist to help us better understand how markets work.

So, I'm going back to school. Ask me in six years.

 

I don't think one-day gas boycotts do anything other than make a statement.

One thing I did do last year, that I've stuck with, was stop buying anything from gas station mini-marts. They're making money hand over fist marking up soda and sandwiches and things like that, stuff you can get much cheaper at supermarkets. There's no way of getting around buying gas, but we don't have to go into their stores and hand them even more money.

 

I always wondered if instead of one of these one-day "gas-outs," it would be more effective to only buy the gas you need. In other words, when you're on E and not going to be driving much the next few days, only buy a few gallons. People tend to get on E, and then they fill up 15-20 gallons. If every car that was full right now only had a quarter tank, how much more would be in the oil companies' reserves now that they would be dying to unload?

Yes, eventually we all have to drive, but if we stored it in their tanks instead of ours they might want to be getting rid of it a little more cheaply.

 

I got this chain email the other day. I thought about starting a thread about it. Maybe this could work. Since I don't buy gas at Exxon or Mobil, I don't think I could help. But here it is:

NEW GAS WAR – a new idea that WILL work

Join the resistance!!!! I hear we are going to hit close to $4.00 a gallon by the end of this summer and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down? We need to take some intelligent, united action. Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea.

This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.

BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read on and join with us! By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $1.50 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $2.79 for regular unleaded in my town. Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace..... not sellers. With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea:

For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out at this point.... keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people.

I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us sends it to just ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers. If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!

Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all. (If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people.... Well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician. But I am, so trust me on this one.)

How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!!!

I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you?

Acting together we can make a difference. If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. I suggest that we not buy from EXXON/MOBIL UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $1.30 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN.

THIS CAN REALLY WORK.

 

Actually your local station owner tends to see profits go down when gas prices go up. They only make a few pennies per gallon of gas and this really doesn't change when the wholesale price of gas increases (since they are paying more for the gas they sell). The oil company is who sees the increased profit. Gas prices are highly visible and competitive (name another product that has it's prices posted on huge signs for all the world to see and comparison shop). As such, the markup that the station owner can charge stays low. They get walloped because as people spend more on gas, they tend to buy fewer items in the mini-mart, which I agree have high markups.

 

Won't work and if fully implemented would actually increase consumer prices. By eliminating Exxon/Mobil, you've just cut out a major portion of the nations gas supply from the market. However, demand will remain relatively unchanged. As a result, prices will increase.

 

And another problem with this philosophy is that consumers are price "takers," not price "setters."

 

Gas rose to $3.09 yesterday. I filled up for $2.99 in my town before coming to work today...

 

I could probably gas out SportsJournalists.com this afternoon.

 

Neither one of these things will have their intended affect, but on the positive side, quite a few people do seem ready to do something besides continue to take it up the ass on gas prices. That's a good starting point.

The best advice, that everyone can do today, is to drive less:

1. Plan your stops in advance so you take the shortest routes and don't double back.
2. Try to run all your errands for the week on one day, or in as few trips as possible, instead of running around town 4 or 5 days a week.
3. Buy stamps and drop your bills in the mail instead of paying them in person.
4. If you have flexibility in your job (which I know most of us might not) try to work four 10 hour days instead of five eights. If you supervise employers and this is feasible, do it.
5. Take weekend trips to places close by that you've never been to, rather than far away places that you've never been to.
6. Drive slower.
7. Take the more fuel efficient vehicle whenever possible.
8. Keep your tires in good shape.
9. If you're covering an out of town game, but not staying overnight, offer to carpool with another journalist who you can tolerate.
10. Instead of a delivery order, call your food in and pick it up on the way home.

 

Fair enough point in the mini-mart owners, but bottom line to me is that money I don't need to spend stays in my pocket and doesn't end up in the hands of either the station owner or the oil company.

 

I never realized what a big one this was until recently.

Mr. Lugs and I have a Highlander Hybrid as one of our family cars.

It started out getting pretty decent gas mileage (23 mpg highway) for an SUV.

Then in February, Mr. Lugs had steam coming out of his ears. The mileage had dropped to 19 mpg highway. (Mr. Lugs bought a hybrid more for economic reasons, I wanted to do it purely for emissions.) Anyway, he took it to the dealer and was wicked pissed.

The dealer adjusted the tire pressure.

I took a couple of highway trips 2 days later and got 26 mpg. Mr. Lugs was stunned.