Rip-off petrol stations

dulpit

So got petrol in the Texaco on Model Farm Road (Cork) at €1.629, Lee Garage was the same price, but the guy there is weird and it's no name fuel (no idea who it is).

Can't imagine there'd be an issue with Texaco, would there?

Celly Smunt

2 Topaz down the road from me are 171.9,hence why i never go there on principle.For the sake of 3 cent or so, these stations lose hundreds if not thousands in custom.Support your little local.

FacebookLAD

corktina wrote: »

Our local petrol station is still at 169.9 despite the recent decreases.

Our local independent which sells a tiny fraction of what the other guy sells and doesn't have a Centra supermarket to bring in the punters is at 165.9.

makes me spit.

Kanturk can be a pain for petrol!

Hal Decks

corktina wrote: »

Our local petrol station is still at 169.9 despite the recent decreases.

Our local independent which sells a tiny fraction of what the other guy sells and doesn't have a Centra supermarket to bring in the punters is at 165.9.

makes me spit.

Ok. Now please answer the following?

1. What should the retailer do with fuel he has bought at last week's prices?

2. Are you aware that a retailer is free to charge what he likes?

3. What, in your opinion, is an acceptable margin for a fuel retailer to add to the cost if his fuel?

Leonard Hofstadter

In Galway not one station seems to have decreased their prices.

Bar one. The Topaz on College Road has decreased theirs. By one lousy cent a litre to 169.9 for petrol and 159.9 for diesel.

There seems to be no competition of any description in Galway - all the stations are within one to two cent of each other, only the Topaz on the Barna road is anything close to respectable price wise relative to the rest of the country.

corktina

Hal Decks wrote: »

Ok. Now please answer the following?

1. What should the retailer do with fuel he has bought at last week's prices?

2. Are you aware that a retailer is free to charge what he likes?

3. What, in your opinion, is an acceptable margin for a fuel retailer to add to the cost if his fuel?

1.my point being that an independant who probably did buy fuel at last weeks prices reduced price very speedily whereas a large outlet with sales of ten or twenty times more who almost certainly bought at THIS weeks prices hasn't reduced at all.
2 yep, don't make it not a rip off though
3 well, i would guess that the more fuel you buy the cheaper you get it, so I would assume a large outlet should be able to sell cheaper than a very small one, even if they use they the same margin.

Hal Decks

corktina wrote: »

Hal Decks wrote: »

Ok. Now please answer the following?

1. What should the retailer do with fuel he has bought at last week's prices?

2. Are you aware that a retailer is free to charge what he likes?

3. What, in your opinion, is an acceptable margin for a fuel retailer to add to the cost if his fuel?

1.my point being that an independant who probably did buy fuel at last weeks prices reduced price very speedily whereas a large outlet with sales of ten or twenty times more who almost certainly bought at THIS weeks prices hasn't reduced at all.
2 yep, don't make it not a rip off though
3 well, i would guess that the more fuel you buy the cheaper you get it, so I would assume a large outlet should be able to sell cheaper than a very small one, even if they use they the same margin.

I was specific in my question 3. Can you answer, please?

What margin would you deem acceptable for a fuel retailer to work with?

corktina

If all outlets are using the same margin then a large outlet should be cheaper to the customer than a very small one ( and we are talking about 4c per litre difference here).(A large outlet with a busy shop shoiuld be able to exist on a smaller margin too.

Hal Decks

corktina wrote: »

If all outlets are using the same margin then a large outlet should be cheaper to the customer than a very small one ( and we are talking about 4c per litre difference here).(A large outlet with a busy shop shoiuld be able to exist on a smaller margin too.

You are still avoiding the question.

What margin do you deem acceptable?

It BeeMee

I've seen no reductions anywhere yet.

In fact, in one station the diesel went up to 162.9

2 Hell and Back

Live near Bray/Greystones... Drive past Topaz and Esso most days.. the topaz is always more expensive...

And having done countless brim tests...In the ESSO i always put in fewer litres of petrol per tank than in the topaz!

Maybe its something to do with the nozzle; or maybe topaz are rippin us off! Telling us we are buying more petrol than we really are!!

Bandara

corktina wrote: »

Hal Decks wrote: »

Ok. Now please answer the following?

1. What should the retailer do with fuel he has bought at last week's prices?

2. Are you aware that a retailer is free to charge what he likes?

3. What, in your opinion, is an acceptable margin for a fuel retailer to add to the cost if his fuel?

1.my point being that an independant who probably did buy fuel at last weeks prices reduced price very speedily whereas a large outlet with sales of ten or twenty times more who almost certainly bought at THIS weeks prices hasn't reduced at all.
2 yep, don't make it not a rip off though
3 well, i would guess that the more fuel you buy the cheaper you get it, so I would assume a large outlet should be able to sell cheaper than a very small one, even if they use they the same margin.

Lol

Just lol

Mycroft H

2 Hell and Back wrote: »

Live near Bray/Greystones... Drive past Topaz and Esso most days.. the topaz is always more expensive...

And having done countless brim tests...In the ESSO i always put in fewer litres of petrol per tank than in the topaz!

Maybe its something to do with the nozzle; or maybe topaz are rippin us off! Telling us we are buying more petrol than we really are!!

Go report them to the legal metrology service.

Bandara

corktina wrote: »

If all outlets are using the same margin then a large outlet should be cheaper to the customer than a very small one ( and we are talking about 4c per litre difference here).(A large outlet with a busy shop shoiuld be able to exist on a smaller margin too.

Basically completely wrong from start to finish

psycho-hope

2 Hell and Back wrote: »

Live near Bray/Greystones... Drive past Topaz and Esso most days.. the topaz is always more expensive...

And having done countless brim tests...In the ESSO i always put in fewer litres of petrol per tank than in the topaz!

Maybe its something to do with the nozzle; or maybe topaz are rippin us off! Telling us we are buying more petrol than we really are!!

the cheapest petrol around greystonrs is usually either the garage in newcastle or the tougher one up in.newtown always at least 2cent cheaper a litre

2 Hell and Back

BX 19 wrote: »

Go report them to the legal metrology service.

Done

corktina

Hammertime wrote: »

Basically completely wrong from start to finish

a worthless post from start to finish.
Care to explain how it is not the case that the more of something you buy , the cheaper you get it?

pippip

corktina wrote: »

a worthless post from start to finish.
Care to explain how it is not the case that the more of something you buy , the cheaper you get it?

Yes generally the more you buy of something the cheaper per unit you get it.

But those who generally do buy more of something generally have much bigger overheads.

In your original case I'd reckon the inde has cheaper, or possibly, no rent to pay. Also less staff to pay. Thus can afford to knock off a few cents if they choose to.

corktina

i don't see it. The margin is very small anyway so Im told, the guy has almost no sale except the petrol and the bigger guy has an entire supermarlet to help offset the overheads

Hal Decks

corktina wrote: »

i don't see it. The margin is very small anyway so Im told, the guy has almost no sale except the petrol and the bigger guy has an entire supermarlet to help offset the overheads

Yet, still, you have not answered the question

What margin do you deem acceptable for a fuel retailer?

(As to why any business should subsidise fuel sales from convenience store sales is beyond me. )

langdang

Hal Decks wrote: »

(As to why any business should subsidise fuel sales from convenience store sales is beyond me. )

I hate it when Tesco has cheap "ProductX" to draw me in, I always end up buying a few other bits too. Loss leaders, I hear they're called. I dunno, tis all very underhanded. God be with the days of corner shops, they wouldn't catching you with these loss leader malarkeys!

Bandara

corktina wrote: »

a worthless post from start to finish.
Care to explain how it is not the case that the more of something you buy , the cheaper you get it?

Its only worthless to you as you clearly have absolutely no idea as to how the fuel system works, how service stations as a business are structured or how fuel sales relate or otherwise to shop sales and shop profitability.

I may appear to be overtly agressive here for which I genuinely apologise, its not my intention, but you are making so many assumptions based on a standard perception of retail. The fuel industry is a completely different animal to which your observations do not apply.

I can be buying fuel for 1 euro, and selling it for 1.05 and yet be making less money than my competitor who is buying for 1.05 and selling for 1.04

In turn my competitor can be selling for below cost and still be dearer than me, even though I am making a 3 cent margin per litre.

It is not a buy for x and sell for y business. There is no level playing field, no one is starting from the same point.

The busier your pumps its very common you will start to make less money in your shop.

These are just a few examples of the industry specific differences that exists.

Regards
HT

Bandara

Regarding the margin question that hal is asking.

The fact is that a margin of less than 1% is what the forecourts operate off.

There is (I'd suggest) no other business in the world that operates on such tiny margins and has a situation where the company retention from €10,000,000 of sales is currently €18,000 a year above the staff cost alone to deliver such sales.

Hal Decks

Hammertime wrote: »

Regarding the margin question that hal is asking.

The fact is that a margin of less than 1% is what the forecourts operate off.

There is (I'd suggest) no other business in the world that operates on such tiny margins and has a situation where the company retention from €10,000,000 of sales is currently €18,000 a year above the staff cost alone to deliver such sales.

Thanks but you have misinterpreted my question. I know the margins involved but I was asking the OP what margins he deemed acceptable. So far, despite ranting and raving about it, he has refused to answer.

Bandara

Hal Decks wrote: »

Hammertime wrote: »

Regarding the margin question that hal is asking.

The fact is that a margin of less than 1% is what the forecourts operate off.

There is (I'd suggest) no other business in the world that operates on such tiny margins and has a situation where the company retention from €10,000,000 of sales is currently €18,000 a year above the staff cost alone to deliver such sales.

Thanks but you have misinterpreted my question. I know the margins involved but I was asking the OP what margins he deemed acceptable. So far, despite ranting and raving about it, he has refused to answer.

I know hal, I knew what you meant, I was just giving the actual facts regarding the margin to the posters who are throwing around the rip-off rubbish.

You'll never get an answer as no one could ever actually expect any business to earn as little as is earned on fuel. Even the most ludricious person would only allow a 5% profit (which is about 6 times over the actual real figure!!!)

So fuel is actually provided extremely cheaply through the channels involved in the industry.

The fact is it's the government that makes fuel expensive. But the ranters and ravers can't see that for some strange reason !

corktina

Hal Decks wrote: »

Yet, still, you have not answered the question

What margin do you deem acceptable for a fuel retailer?

(As to why any business should subsidise fuel sales from convenience store sales is beyond me. )

annoying isnt it.

corktina

a margin of less than 1% and yet an small independent can sell for 4c less. He must be making a big loss then and I can expect him to close this week. Oh, hang on a bit, he's been selling for less than the big guys for a good while now. Guy probably sells only a 20th of what the big guy does, so you'd assume the big guy would have got supplies since the little guy last did and yet theres still a 4c difference.

pippip

corktina wrote: »

a margin of less than 1% and yet an small independent can sell for 4c less. He must be making a big loss then and I can expect him to close this week. Oh, hang on a bit, he's been selling for less than the big guys for a good while now. Guy probably sells only a 20th of what the big guy does, so you'd assume the big guy would have got supplies since the little guy last did and yet theres still a 4c difference.

Why dont you drop in and ask the inde how they are so low?

Hal Decks

corktina wrote: »

a margin of less than 1% and yet an small independent can sell for 4c less. He must be making a big loss then and I can expect him to close this week. Oh, hang on a bit, he's been selling for less than the big guys for a good while now. Guy probably sells only a 20th of what the big guy does, so you'd assume the big guy would have got supplies since the little guy last did and yet theres still a 4c difference.

Thus proving that, yes, you haven't a clue how the industry works.

pippip

Some fuel related figures -

http://blog.aaireland.ie/index.php/2011/03/09/uncategorized/1159