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I don't believe it. I have never heard of this media source and I'm sure I would have seen a piece on it. We've been tuned in to the local news for hours each day and never heard a thing.
I clicked on the link. (never heard of that site, anyone else reporting this?)
& the story was vague. No mention of who the perp was, what part of town the store was in, etc. Half the story was the AG telling everyone that "We're going to prosecute price gougers".... and those that drown puppies. (duh.)
I'm thinking it was a fake story to get the word out that no one should gouge, because the AG means business. Either that or the Perp is an idiot. (Selling gas for $20 bucks a gallon in public would be like trying to hold up the police station for petty cash.)
Edit - Scooby beat me to it.
(& we never agree on things....so our collective spidey sense must be on to something)
Which "convenience" store was it?.........Would like to know so I can Boycott them.........
oh and Frank.........whatever you argue........$20 a gallon for gas is "gouging"
Not if there was a cheaper available alternative. If you have four gas retailers on a block, and three of them are selling gas for $2.50/gallon and one is selling it for $20.00, there just isn't any "gouging" occurring, because the customer can simply buy from one of the retailers charging $2.50.
The article doesn't make clear what alternatives were available to consumers at the time, and the reason for that most likely is that it doesn't make for anywhere near as compelling a story if you have one guy trying to sell gas for ten times what his competitors are asking. Because if there are alternatives (and there probably were, of course), then Mr. $20.00/gallon Retailer probably wasn't selling any gas at all, which was his whole intent.
Why would he jack up his prices while his competitors undercut him and garner all the sales? Simple economics, boys and girls.
Mr. $20.00/gallon Retailer probably has very little gas on hand to start with, and his expectation is that his next shipment of gas may be delayed, if it even arrives at all. He probably also expects the next shipment will cost him significantly more per gallon than the last one, but, unfortunately, he's already sold most of the last shipment at a price that won't cover its replacement cost. So he has to increase the price immediately on the stuff that still sitting in the tanks; but the question is by how much.
He doesn't want to run out of inventory, so he increases his price, signaling to the gas-buying public: "I have a little gas here, but it could be a while before the next truck arrives. The next batch of gas is going to cost more than the last one, and I've already sold most of the last batch at prices that won't allow for its replacement. What I'm telling you, via my seemingly outrageous price of $20.00/gallon, is that you should drive 150 feet down the street and buy from my competitor. You will probably like his prices much better. For the time being, I don't really want to sell any gasoline right now, at least not before I get my next shipment, and I am communicating that by my current pricing. I do have a little gas here, but if you want it, I'm going to have to get more for it than my competitors down the road."
And every customer drives past Mr. $20.00/gallon Retailer's place and buys from his competitors.
No price gouging. Just simple retail market mechanics.
Not if there was a cheaper available alternative. If you have four gas retailers on a block, and three of them are selling gas for $2.50/gallon and one is selling it for $20.00, there just isn't any "gouging" occurring, because the customer can simply buy from one of the retailers charging $2.50.
The article doesn't make clear what alternatives were available to consumers at the time, and the reason for that most likely is that it doesn't make for anywhere near as compelling a story if you have one guy trying to sell gas for ten times what his competitors are asking. Because if there are alternatives (and there probably were, of course), then Mr. $20.00/gallon Retailer probably wasn't selling any gas at all, which was his whole intent.
Why would he jack up his prices while his competitors undercut him and garner all the sales? Simple economics, boys and girls.
Mr. $20.00/gallon Retailer probably has very little gas on hand to start with, and his expectation is that his next shipment of gas may be delayed, if it even arrives at all. He probably also expects the next shipment will cost him significantly more per gallon than the last one, but, unfortunately, he's already sold most of the last shipment at a price that won't cover its replacement cost. So he has to increase the price immediately on the stuff that still sitting in the tanks; but the question is by how much.
He doesn't want to run out of inventory, so he increases his price, signaling to the gas-buying public: "I have a little gas here, but it could be a while before the next truck arrives. The next batch of gas is going to cost more than the last one, and I've already sold most of the last batch at prices that won't allow for its replacement. What I'm telling you, via my seemingly outrageous price of $20.00/gallon, is that you should drive 150 feet down the street and buy from my competitor. You will probably like his prices much better. For the time being, I don't really want to sell any gasoline right now, at least not before I get my next shipment, and I am communicating that by my current pricing. I do have a little gas here, but if you want it, I'm going to have to get more for it than my competitors down the road."
And every customer drives past Mr. $20.00/gallon Retailer's place and buys from his competitors.
No price gouging. Just simple retail market mechanics.
Instead of fines and jail, law enforcement should just look the other way while the residents have their way with this scumbag. This is a situation that demands frontier style justice.
lol the hits keep coming
How did you arrive at those numbers?
That's the going rate for gas in and around Houston. Before the storm, $2.50 would have been on the high side. I can fill up (at least before the storm) at Costco for $1.95.
Instead of fines and jail, law enforcement should just look the other way while the residents have their way with this scumbag. This is a situation that demands frontier style justice.
I'm sure you feel like a better person now for advocating violence just because you don't like how someone is handling their own private business while not hurting anyone else.
He can charge $20 or simply shut down, he has no obligation to sell anything he doesn't want to.
So sick of people that just want violence and turmoil because they don't get their way, or have philosophical differences with others, its disgusting.
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