It used to be that gas stations used to display the prices for all three grades prominently on sign posts. And the price difference between the three grades was typically 10 cents more for 89 octane versus 87, and another 10 cents higher for 93. Fine.

Now I'm finding that a lot of stations are charging about 15 cents more for 89 and up to 15 cents more again for 93. Shell is the worst offender of them all, already starting higher than everyone else at 87, and with the biggest intermediate price tiers. Not so fine.

But what really gets me is that many stations now only post the price of 87, and that's it. BP posts the price of 87 and 89, but omits the 93 price at all of their stations. It's then a guessing game what the price of 93 will be until you pull up to the pump. And more often than not, it's not a pretty sight.

I think it's a clear case of malicious premiumism. And we are all "caught in the crossfire".

For information's sake, here in West Palm Beach the current range for 93 octane is 3.29 (few and far between) to 3.39 (typically at most stations) and even higher at the worst offenders locations like Shell at 3.49.

 

I have yet to see a station here in SoCal that doesn't list all three prices. Our prices seem to be only slightly above yours but, oddly enough, a couple of Shell stations I frequent actually have lower prices than most Mobil or Chevron stations near me. Go figure.

 

So worst case scenario, a fill-up at the "wrong" place costs you $3. I'd rather have $3 than not have it, but it's still just $3 (worst case).

There's nothing magical about $0.10 between grades...yes, that's been the norm, but no surprise that as prices go up, the gaps might grow (%-wise, 15 cents on $3 is the same as 10 on $2).

And if you don't like what Shell charges, go elsewhere. Sellers are free to charge what they like...buyers are free to choose their seller...America is cool like that.

 

gas prices!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaCjwPvCCXA

 

Keep in mind that Shell is formulated differently than the other brands. Here in MA, Shell is the only high quality gasoline on the list of brands that will not leave sot and crud on your exhaust pipes. I saw the list somewhere, probably on the forum. I think it's worth paying a little extra. For only $2 to $3 per tank full.

 

I think it's called "top tier gasoline." See this thread.

 

We have just fallen to $3.49 per gallon this week. We were as high as $3.59 per gallon just last week...THANK YOU New York...

 

Most of the stations in my area post all three. So if the prices aren't posted, I don't even bother with them.

 

Yeah check out the "Top Tier" gasoline website. It ranks brands that have a higher quality mix of gasoline. I go to school in central VA and I used to use Wawa because they had the cheapest premium gas. However I always noticed crud in my tail pipes and poor engine noise when the tank would get low. Now I pay extra and go to Shell, less crud in my pipes and better engine noise all around.

 

Don't feel so bad folks, I live right up the road from some of the largest oil refineries in the nation and still pay $3.23 for Premium !

Ya gotta admit tho, these gas folks are brighter than the average bear ! They raise the price of a gallon of gas by 20 cents then lower it by 10 and people think they're gettin a freakin deal !!!

Just my dos centavos

 

Well, it's a lot more work changing 3 sets of numbers than just one or two sets!

 

Here in Michigan they only list regular unleaded, diesel, and cigarettes on the sign.

What I love is Speedway jacking up the price of gas 20 cents on thursday night...only to lower it 20 cents on monday morning!

 

In Indiana some post all three and some don't, I always try to run Sunoco 94 in my SRT 6. I use to be a Shell guy, but there's not many around here where I live any more, they all went to BP.

 

I haven't been able to find anyone around here that carries higher than 91... How do you find the gas stations that carry higher octane? I remember last time I read a thread on here about the octane, I went around town and stopped at around 10 stations that didn't have anything higher and said they didn't know of anyone that carried higher.

 

What's even worse is when you pull up and the credit card price is 10 cents higher than the cash price.

 

I find it to be all over the place. Some stations list everything, some stations don't.

I just drive by until I see a price I like.

 

I believe California requires the posting of all three grades.

I wonder why nobody calls them "Service Stations" any more?

Pete

 

"service stations"???...more like "bend over 'cos you're gonna get it in the a** stations"!

 

That's 'cause every gas station pays a fee to the credit card companies for the 'privilege' of having customers use their card. Even if you use a, let's say, Citgo card at a Citgo station the owner of that station pays a fee to Citgo (actually whatever card company issues the card for Citgo) to take that card.
The company I work for owns 21 C-stores (6 Mobil, 15 Citgo's) & we're presently starting to unbrand our Citgo stations mostly 'cause the C.C. fees are outrageous (well that & because Hugo Chavez, the pres. of Venezuela (the "owner" of Citgo), can't keep his mouth shut.). C.C. fees just whack the station owners. You'd be surprised at how much we earn on a gallon of gas; 1 to 2 cents p/gallon. C.C. fees, at least for Citgo, are 3 cents per transaction. We don't charge our customers a fee for using their cards. Those that do should be avoided!
The price you pay at the pump is basically set by the distributors, the folks we buy the gas from, plus our jumbo markup of a penny or 2. The price changes more than once a day but we can only change our prices, by law in Wisc., once a day. We actually make more money when the prices are falling 'cause we can keep our margins a wee bit higher (that's the 2 cents day!). When the price goes up & depending on how our nearby competitors are doing there are times when we're selling gas at below what we pay that day. It's usually all a wash simply because we have thousands of gallons underground at any one given time at each station.
That's all I know...I work in the IT Dept. of the company. For the complete story I'd have to spend a couple of hours with our fuel folks & dispatchers. Trust me, fellow gas users, the gas station owner isn't getting rich & unless they have digital signage ($10K - $30K per sign) changing the prices daily in this crappy weather is a job I wouldn't want to do!

 

Took the words right outta my mouth !!! On a side note, I don't ever remember hearing about gas prices going up because of a storm or an assaination or a hole in a boat or a leap year or...This all started with Katrina and the public bought it and now they always find an excuse to jack up the price 50 cents and then lower it 20 and expect us to say thanks. Sorry, just had to get that off my chest !