gas gouging being good economics
 

For that matter, after a disaster and you need ice, THANK GOD for the
guy who has ice and sells it for $10.bag.

It's prevalent everywhere, when someone has something you need. In the
winter, at Lake Tahoe, windshield washer fluid sells for about 10 bucks per
gallon right after (or during) a storm. In clear weather, it's less than 1/2
that... go figgur...

--Mike


wrote in message
...
On Sep 13, 9:43 pm, hk wrote:
TJ wrote:
wrote:
Last night I saw gas for $6.00/gallon but I thought it was a good
thing for the station owner. The station was a quickie type market
where they do not make much profit on gas sales and mostly rely on gas
sales to bring in customers to the store. If he sold all his gas at a
reasonable price, he would have no more customers for his store.
Dissuading people from buying a lot makes his supply last longer and
so he will have customers for his store. I think he is being
reasonable.

It's not "gouging" unless his customers are somehow forced to buy gas
from him. As long as they have a choice, he can charge $20 a gallon if
he wants to. It also depends on his expenses. There is no law that I
know of that compels somebody to sell at a loss.

One of the things I do for a living is sell sweet corn. Right now, my
corn is $3 a dozen. I have a lot of corn ready, and if I don't sell it,
I'll lose money on things like fuel and fertilizer that I used to grow
it. The guy down the street is selling his for $3.75. Is he gouging?
Nope. His big rush of corn was last week, and he doesn't have as much
right now. He also has a mortgage that I don't have, adding to his
expenses. He is charging what he needs to to turn a profit. He's not
gouging.

Now, if we both got together and decided to charge $6 a dozen, we'd be
gouging. We'd also soon be out of business, because we wouldn't sell
enough to cover our fixed expenses. Price gouging is extremely bad for
business.

TJ

Price gouging is illegal in some states.

In Florida, for example:

""Attention consumers and businesses. A state of emergency has been
declared in Florida by the Governor. Because of this emergency, price
gouging laws are now in effect. To protect consumers, these laws make it
illegal for individuals or businesses to charge exorbitant prices for
essential goods and services. These include food, ice, lumber, fuel,
generators, lodging and other necessities. Those found guilty of price
gouging can face fines for each violation. Price gouging is a crime. If
you witness it, report it to us by calling 1-800-HELP-FLA or
visitingwww.800helpfla.com. We'll investigate, and we'll take action.”
Florida
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Charles H. Bronson,
Commissioner."

Now, of course, one has to define gouging. Raising the price of gasoline
about $2.00 overnight might qualify as gouging in some states.

Most people in this group are far more affluent than most small
station owners yet you rich people want to tell a poor station owner
that he has to lose money just so you can have cheap fuel. Most
station owners barely break even on fuel but make their money on sales
of merchandise.
For that matter, after a disaster and you need ice, THANK GOD for the
guy who has ice and sells it for $10.bag. If you wait for govt help,
you wont get it till its too late. Somebody who sees the need and
manages to get ice to somehwere that needs it by some unusual means
deserves what he charges.

gas gouging being good economics
 

On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:18:11 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

On Sep 13, 10:58 pm, Vic Smith
wrote:
On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:45:24 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

For that matter, after a disaster and you need ice, THANK GOD for the
guy who has ice and sells it for $10.bag. If you wait for govt help,
you wont get it till its too late. Somebody who sees the need and
manages to get ice to somehwere that needs it by some unusual means
deserves what he charges.

Sounds like the disaster gouging business is a good one.
But it's seasonal and spotty.
Ever think of starting up a franchising corporation?
A good one might be using them airboats.
Save people off rooftops if they sign over their bank accounts.
I sure would trade my money for my life.
But I won't get in if it doesn't have a muffler.

--Vic

Of course we like it when people respond to disaster simply by
donating time and whatever else is needed. However, i see nothing bad
and a lot good about so-called price gouging. Same goes for ticket
scalping as far as I am concerned. Profit will motivate people to get
goods that are not needed for lifesaving to a place far faster than
other incentives. Goods needed for lifesaving are definitely
different than goods needed to maintain a comfortable life. Most of
us will donate enough to get people through a disaster but if someone
wants to get his house done faster by paying $150 for a sheet of
plywood, I have no problem with it.

As far as that bag of ice for $10, I'm not going to get on my knees
for the guy selling it, praying to God he came along.
Just tell him to beat it.
Reminds me - I had a steaming locker in the fireroom of my can and
could fit 8-10 cans of Coca-Cola in there before a cruise.
After a few weeks at sea those Cokes got real valuable. I was offered
$5.00 for a can. Wouldn't think of selling it at that outrageous
price.
Drank every damn one of them myself.

--Vic

gas gouging being good economics
 

On Sep 13, 1:27*pm, wrote:
Last night I saw gas for $6.00/gallon but I thought it was a good
thing for the station owner. *The station was a quickie type market
where they do not make much profit on gas sales and mostly rely on gas
sales to bring in customers to the store. *If he sold all his gas at a
reasonable price, he would have no more customers for his store.
Dissuading people from buying a lot makes his supply last longer and
so he will have customers for his store. *I think he is being
reasonable.

$3.59/gallon street price yesterday.........$4.09 this morning. Same
gas in the tanks that was paid for a fixed price when they purchased
it and filled up their tanks.

Heading to the boat tomorrow..............unless a new gasoline
shipment was received I bet the gas dock price at my marina will be at
$4.09.......the price the last time we saw the posted price on the
river.

Go figure.

gas gouging being good economics
 

gas gouging being good economics
 

TJ wrote:
wrote:


Most people in this group are far more affluent than most small
station owners yet you rich people want to tell a poor station owner
that he has to lose money just so you can have cheap fuel. Most
station owners barely break even on fuel but make their money on sales
of merchandise.
For that matter, after a disaster and you need ice, THANK GOD for the
guy who has ice and sells it for $10.bag. If you wait for govt help,
you wont get it till its too late. Somebody who sees the need and
manages to get ice to somehwere that needs it by some unusual means
deserves what he charges.

Not in New York. There was a derrichio (not sure of the spelling. heavy
straight-line winds during a severe thunderstorm) that put most of the
city of Syracuse and surrounding suburbs out of power for as much as a
week following Labor Day 10 years ago. Keeping food cold became a
problem and there was suddenly a shortage of ice and generators. An ice
storm the winter knocked out power over most of northern NY, NH, and VT,
as well as parts of Ontario and Quebec. Since most heating systems won't
function without power, generators suddenly became very important, and
some enterprising businessmen started charging some five times the
regular price. As a result, NY's price-gouging law was enacted. A few
years later, another ice storm knocked out power in a large area, and
somebody tried to test the law by selling generators for exorbitant
prices. They were stopped, tried, and the resulting fine was
substantial. A year later they were out of business.

I repeat: price-gouging is extremely bad for business. Even where it's
not against the law, it ruins the reputation of the one doing it. People
recover from disasters, and when they do they remember who helped, and
who tried to take advantage. Guess who they take their business to?

That said, I see no problem with someone raising prices to cover unusual
but legitimate expenses of providing an essential service. But if
somebody with a warehouse full of generators before the disaster
suddenly starts charging 10 times normal price for those same
generators, that's just plain wrong.

BTW, we didn't raise our produce prices after that Labor Day storm. If I
recall correctly, we LOWERED them. Sold a lot of stuff, probably made
more money than we would have had there not been a storm, and the good
will we garnered has been invaluable. We're still in business, stronger
than ever.

TJ
The distributors said they were making money when the price of gas was
4.15/gallon oil and oil was $140/br. before President Bush removed the
administrative ban on drilling. After President's Bush's action, oil
has dropped to less than $100/br. they should be making the standard
profits at about $3.00/gal. As I figure it some one is making $1.15/gal
(29%) more than their normal profit margins.

I think that is what people mean when they say they are being gouged. To
put it another way when gas increase $0.60/gal overnight some one is
gouging.