Gas 119.9 in Peachland and West Kelowna

[krocky]

Can anyone explain why the gas is 119.9 in Peachland and Westbank today and 125.9 in both Summerland and Penticton. I don't get why we are paying 6 cents a litre more.

[prairieflower]

Where in Westbank? Today I saw123.9 in Westbank.

[krocky]

The Chevron in Westbank was 119.9 when I filled up around noon. The petro-can in Peachland was also at 119.9 as I drove by heading back to Penticton. I noticed Summerland dropped from 127.9 on Saturday to 125.9 today and Penticton has been 125.9 for a couple of days now, I think.

I know we are always a couple cents higher than Westbank or Kelowna but 6 cents is getting a little much. I guess they just want to see how far they can push the spread before we finally get po'd enough to say something. Last week it was 109.9 at the costco in Abbotsford. Aren't we the lucky ones !! Maybe it's time for that Boycott I keep hearing about.

[Quixote]

Just for reference, people usually post prices to http://www.bcgasprices.com/ so you can quickly compare prices all over the place.

[krocky]

Just for reference, people usually post prices to http://www.bcgasprices.com/ so you can quickly compare prices all over the place.

My question was WHY.?? Penticton is still at 123.9. Summerland has dropped to 121.9 and the rest, Peachland, Westbank, and Kelowna are all at 119.9. So we are 4 cents a litre higher. Is it because it cost Soooo much more to truck the gas from Peachland to Penticton or is it because the Penticton franchises are just that much MORE greedy than the other franchises.

Did I miss a previous discussion on this topic or are Pentictonites so used to being gouged at the pump that they just don't care why. Just curious as this question really got no response at all. It doesn't matter to me as I make the trip to Westbank weekly anyway so I can get my gas there and support their business rather than support them here, where I actually live and condone this type of consumer gouging.

[dreamon]

It's called market forces, suppy and demand, competition or lack of.

Kamloops vs Merritt gas price is a fine example. $1.09 vs 1.29. It's called Costco and competition.

Have you seen the price at the one and only gas station at Eastgate in Manning Park? $1.39 last time I was through there.

The Kelowna gas market is typically far more competitive than Penticton's will be.

If you don't like gas prices where you are, find cheaper fuel, walk more, car pool, go without. If you can't beat 'em join 'em by buying shares in IMO for 1.10% dividend, or SU for 1.63%, or better still in RDS.B for 5.05%. Remember the favourable taxation dividend income receives.

[mexi cali]

Can anybody help me to understand why diesel prices fluctuate both higher and lower than regular, low octane gas?

I bought a diesel jeep in July and gasoline was around 129.9 or so and diesel was 119.9. Now gasoline is close to 123,9 or so and diesel is 129.9?

I don't get it. I know that they are different types of fuel but for the longest time, diesel was a much better deal.

[zzontar]

It's called market forces, suppy and demand, competition or lack of.

If you owned a gas station that had plenty of gas but not many customers and wanted to sell more than the next station, you couldn't lower the price to bring in more customers, so demand, competition, etc. doesn't play in on the small scale at all. When the oil companies fear something might affect the supply like when there was all that unrest in Libya, they raise the prices. Then when Gadaffi was killed and the supply didn't wane at all, the oil companies didn't lower the prices to make up for gouging unnecessarily. That's because of the one thing that actually controls the price... greed!

[fluffy]

I guess they just want to see how far they can push the spread before we finally get po'd enough to say something.

Hehehe. You say that as if "saying something" would actually have an effect.

[Bsuds]

Can anybody help me to understand why diesel prices fluctuate both higher and lower than regular, low octane gas?

I bought a diesel jeep in July and gasoline was around 129.9 or so and diesel was 119.9. Now gasoline is close to 123,9 or so and diesel is 129.9?

I don't get it. I know that they are different types of fuel but for the longest time, diesel was a much better deal.

When I bought my truck it was .99 per litre....

[fluffy]

Hehehe. When I moved to Alberta to go to post-secondary school, a pack of smokes and a gallon of gas were the same price, 44 cents. Am I dating myself?

[workthatwedo]

What ever happened to gas wars? I remember only one when I was a teenager, filling up my truck for $13.00 @ $0.36/L. From what I hear it used to be a more common occurrence. Whatever happened to old fashioned competition for business?

[dreamon]

What ever happened to gas wars? I remember only one when I was a teenager, filling up my truck for $13.00 @ $0.36/L. From what I hear it used to be a more common occurrence. Whatever happened to old fashioned competition for business?

To create a gas war you need an "upstart" to trigger it. Typically happens when a new retailer arrives in town, or retailer known for high volume and heavy discounting is in town, think Costco.

Both Abbotsford and Kamloops Costcos have gas pumps, low and behold both communities have significantly lower fuel prices.

[krocky]

To create a gas war you need an "upstart" to trigger it.

I totally agree that although there are some external factors at play the main thing driving prices is greed. How else can they explain higher prices in Penticton than in Peachland where there is no competition. The reason they do it is because they CAN. We, as a whole, would rather whine and complain but sit on our fannies and do nothing.

What can do, they've got us, we don't have a choice etc. etc. etc. Many people said that about the HST as well until someone finally took initiative and started the ball rolling and even then many said it couldn't be done and yet, it was !!!

I've heard all the reasons why a boycott wouldn't work and I say poppy-cock. The ONLY reason a boycott would not work is because people are too self absorbed and lazy to do it. It might "inconvenience" them so they would rather just complain.

You can not convince me that if Penticton gas station owners want to be 4 cents a litre higher (I know ONLY 2 cents higher at the moment) that if we all came together and completely boycotted, say Petro Canada, that that would not hurt their profits. I am referring to the local franchise owner not the oil company itself. That just might be the "upstart" needed to create a gas war. The doubters will say, "they would just go back to old prices after the boycott" or "why hurt the local guy", I say once bit twice shy and maybe the local guy shouldn't be gouging us 4 cents more than Peachlanders are being gouged. You get the drift !!

[Tony]

It won't work Krocky for the simple reason there are a lot of people who actually need to drive for work and to make a living. Some of them, like myself, carry a company gas credit card. I'm not going to fill up somewhere else to boycott something and have to pay for it myself.

If you want to be an upstart, start a nationwide or a Provincial petition to lower the price of gas. That's how the HST was done.