Why? I would really like to know, why?

LightRoasted

If I may ...
If I may ...

Why is gas always so much more here in Calvert? Is it because Gott pretty much has a monopoly here? Recently went to Salisbury, and from over the bay bridge thru Easton thru Trappe thru Cambridge, all the way to Salisbury, gas was $2.00 - $2.05. So what gives? But closer, as soon as you leave Calvert, be it the southern way, or the northern way, gas prices are always much cheaper. If, for a far longer stretch of road, just over the Route 50 bridge, there can be drastically lower gas prices, why can't similar prices be in Calvert, with a shorter stretch of road? Is there a realistic explanation for this phenomenon?
 

NorthBeachPerso

Honorary SMIB
If I may ...

Why is gas always so much more here in Calvert? Is it because Gott pretty much has a monopoly here? Recently went to Salisbury, and from over the bay bridge thru Easton thru Trappe thru Cambridge, all the way to Salisbury, gas was $2.00 - $2.05. So what gives? But closer, as soon as you leave Calvert, be it the southern way, or the northern way, gas prices are always much cheaper. If, for a far longer stretch of road, just over the Route 50 bridge, there can be drastically lower gas prices, why can't similar prices be in Calvert, with a shorter stretch of road? Is there a realistic explanation for this phenomenon?

I brought the same thing up a couple or four years ago and was told to buy my gas at those places if I didn't like it here. Actually I was talking about gas in the Beaches being higher than elsewhere in the County (except for the BP in Dunkirk).

Gas in the Beaches is the highest in Calvert, both outlets are Fastops. Ray Charles could see the reason for those prices.

I'm on the Shore this week and a couple places are $1.999 today.
 

angelbaby

Active Member
I was told years ago that there are two reasons the prices are higher. One, part of the money goes to the schools. Two, emissions.
 

BernieP

Resident PIA
I was told years ago that there are two reasons the prices are higher. One, part of the money goes to the schools. Two, emissions.

taxes are the same every where in the state. You have the state surcharge and the federal tax.
Delivery is the decider. The delivery fees depend on how far and then you have to factor in the spot price of fuel.
 

PeoplesElbow

Well-Known Member
When I first moved here in 2000 gas cost approximately $0.25/gallon more than where I moved from, then enter Sheetz and WaWa and suddenly the gas is comparable in price within a few cents and has been since. The local stations were gouging people, now they have to compete their prices are more in line.
 

LightRoasted

If I may ...
If I may ...

I brought the same thing up a couple or four years ago and was told to buy my gas at those places if I didn't like it here. Actually I was talking about gas in the Beaches being higher than elsewhere in the County (except for the BP in Dunkirk).

Gas in the Beaches is the highest in Calvert, both outlets are Fastops. Ray Charles could see the reason for those prices.

I'm on the Shore this week and a couple places are $1.999 today.

Yup. I'm thinking the same. Monopolistic.
 

BernieP

Resident PIA
When I first moved here in 2000 gas cost approximately $0.25/gallon more than where I moved from, then enter Sheetz and WaWa and suddenly the gas is comparable in price within a few cents and has been since. The local stations were gouging people, now they have to compete their prices are more in line.

Not the stations so much as the distributor. Sheetz and Wa Wa have their own distribution system, they don't rely on a local business.
The end point retailer doesn't mark up the gas much, it's the guy in the middle. I would say it's not gouging, but economy of size.
The more fuel you move, the lower the profit on a gallon has to be.
The end point retailer never made much on gas, at first it was the "service" portion of the station that made money.
Now it's the retail store that makes money. Selling gas is basically a loss leader to get people to stop.
 

steppinthrax

Active Member
Gas prices have a lot to do with what people are willing to financially bear (from area to area). Gas prices for example in Dundalk, MD (Poor area) are much lower. Parts of Baltimore County are also lower. You go to a richer area like the Downtown DC gas station right around the Kennedy center and the price is 4.00+ a gallon (i've seen it this high).

Of course you've got to factor in the cost of transportation as well as other weird factors. Gas in "touristy areas" can be much more...
 

PeoplesElbow

Well-Known Member
Not the stations so much as the distributor. Sheetz and Wa Wa have their own distribution system, they don't rely on a local business.
The end point retailer doesn't mark up the gas much, it's the guy in the middle. I would say it's not gouging, but economy of size.
The more fuel you move, the lower the profit on a gallon has to be.
The end point retailer never made much on gas, at first it was the "service" portion of the station that made money.
Now it's the retail store that makes money. Selling gas is basically a loss leader to get people to stop.

I am not sure I can believe that because as soon as Sheetz and WaWa showed up the stations that relied on the local distributors lowered prices. I don't think if the business model was to get people into the store then pay at the pump wouldn't be so prevalent. Maybe I am different than most people but I rarely go into a station, I pay and the pump and leave.

I know southern Maryland doesn't have a real interstate to actually base this off of but everywhere else I have lived did have a real interstate and the stations on it were always higher because they could be, think about it, it would be cheaper for the distributor to go to these stations than the ones in town and yet they are still more expensive.
 

Goldenhawk

Well-Known Member
...everywhere else I have lived did have a real interstate and the stations on it were always higher because they could be, think about it, it would be cheaper for the distributor to go to these stations than the ones in town and yet they are still more expensive.
Economics 101. The interstate station managers know most people will pay more for not driving so far off-route to get to cheaper gas. It's not gouging, it's just good business savvy.

Of course, a smart manager knows he can game the system a bit. He'll drop his prices a few cents to get more business. Or, he can raise prices a few cents because his loyal customers will still shop there, at least for a while, and he won't lose many customers for a few days.

At some point, though, customers do notice and shift their purchasing pattern. And the other nearby stations see the new price and adjust accordingly. Soon everyone is charging roughly the same again.

This ability for mutually-antagonistic competitors to act in unison has always fascinated me. I can't decide whether it is "monopolistic competition" or "oligopoly".
http://academic.udayton.edu/PMIC/Chapters/chap14a.htm
 

PeoplesElbow

Well-Known Member
Economics 101. The interstate station managers know most people will pay more for not driving so far off-route to get to cheaper gas. It's not gouging, it's just good business savvy.

Of course, a smart manager knows he can game the system a bit. He'll drop his prices a few cents to get more business. Or, he can raise prices a few cents because his loyal customers will still shop there, at least for a while, and he won't lose many customers for a few days.

At some point, though, customers do notice and shift their purchasing pattern. And the other nearby stations see the new price and adjust accordingly. Soon everyone is charging roughly the same again.

This ability for mutually-antagonistic competitors to act in unison has always fascinated me. I can't decide whether it is "monopolistic competition" or "oligopoly".
http://academic.udayton.edu/PMIC/Chapters/chap14a.htm

Don't really consider what the stations near the highway do as much gouging since they often have a ton of competition, the stations here in Southern MD didn't have much in way of competition before 2000. Stations near the highway are rarely as much as $0.25/gallon more than the ones farther away. Most expensive place I ever bought gas was in Death Valley, but that was understandable if you have ever been there. I was actually surprised it wasn't more.

The first thing I noticed about Southern MD was the high gas prices, if you remember this was when gas was around $1.50/gallon so $0.25 was a big difference.
 
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