that was a very interesting read.sammydafish wrote:Note, this is coming from someone who owns a Mobil Station
over $3.00 a gallon at my station... all the political action is simply an excuse for the price hikes though. At $36 billion net profit last year, ExxonMobil and other refinery companies are the ones controlling the prices of what should be a commodity but isn't treated as such. Prices will only go higher as US gas reserves are going down (decided by refineries, not due to lack of oil supply). What's the solution to the problem, simple, boycott ExxonMobil. You've all seen the chain letters and emails. It could actually work though. Granted the US consumer is a love of fossil fuels with its love of SUVs and other fuel inefficient machinery and equipment. None the less, the power of a commodity market should be driven either directly by the supply or by the consumer. There is more than enough supply despite politically heated claims that may say otherwise. This should leave the determining factor of price in the hands of the consumer. This is not the case though as the brokers, the refiners, the distributors are the ones setting market prices. It is quite clear that there is no immediate way to decrease the demand of gasoline by the US consumer, but the consumer can be brand aware. Decreasing sales of the largest and most profitable brand, ExxonMobil will show the strength of the consumer and force the company to react. In order to increase sales they will be forced to decrease prices. With a large enough following, it could work. It is by far the underlying ideal that is the balancing factor in a free market economy. The consumer must be strong in order to show their effect on the market. Do your part, join the bandwagon and make a difference.
At my shop we’ve prepared ourselves for decreasing gasoline sales. We own the building, pumps and everything, all we buy from Mobil is the franchise and gasoline. his is very unlike most Mobil stations, your average Mobil is actually owned by Mobil directly (all your 'on the runs' and other highly branded shops). Since we are a privately owned retailer, our margins are so slim that selling gas isn’t even worth it anymore, we barely even scrape up a 5% margin. Try to stay in the black with numbers like that in a retail business. Then drop credit card fees on top of your gross margin since 80% of sales are on credit cards and basically we don’t make a dime selling gas.
have you tried offering a discount for cash purchases? make it smaller than the credit card transaction fee but big enough to make a difference.
what bugs me is that there will be two stations very closes to one another and one will be a couple cents higher and people will keep buying gas there.
i am guessing you make more of a profit off of candy and pop than you do gasoline, if you can get them inside to pay rather than at the pump.
which brings me to the following little theory i have had floating around my head for a while.
has pay at the pump hurt the station owners profit margin?
i would imagine it has since you are loosing out on the "impulse" purchases like candy, pop, and other various snacks because people dont go inside anymore.
