10-01-2006, 06:51 PM
[quote MacMagus]It didn't take long for me to realize that there's more than just saving money on the line. This could be a profitable enterprise for the right person.
There is probably a difference in the local taxes paid. Not that this would account for the entire difference.
You do understand that people are already doing this as a profitable enterprise right? They are called gas station owners. They are buying cheaper gas, moving it, marking it up, and selling it at a profit. It is just that they pay the truck drivers to haul it for them.
The economics of gasoline are unusual as the demand is inelastic and the supply is near constant and effectively has a cap. Are you buying more gas now that it is cheaper? Much of the flucuation in price is due to speculative trading of wholesale gas. There are a lot of traders losing a bunch of money right now as they speculated a higher wholesale cost many months ago. In essence, they are obligated to buy that gas at the agreed upon price and resell it now for less. You can't really take posession of the gas and resell it in the future when/if the price goes up although it is theoretically possible. And although it has never been proven, I believe that there is collusion within the refining industry. We know that there is collusion on the part of the crude suppliers (OPEC).
I wish there were nationwide gas banks that would allow you to purchase gas in bulk and deposit it into a tank for a fee. Then you could withdraw that gas into the future until it was gone. I have heard of one but it is local only. http://www.fuelbank.com/ is supposed to go live nationwide this fall. http://www.firstfuelbank.com/ is local to the St. Cloud, MN area only.
BT
There is probably a difference in the local taxes paid. Not that this would account for the entire difference.
You do understand that people are already doing this as a profitable enterprise right? They are called gas station owners. They are buying cheaper gas, moving it, marking it up, and selling it at a profit. It is just that they pay the truck drivers to haul it for them.
The economics of gasoline are unusual as the demand is inelastic and the supply is near constant and effectively has a cap. Are you buying more gas now that it is cheaper? Much of the flucuation in price is due to speculative trading of wholesale gas. There are a lot of traders losing a bunch of money right now as they speculated a higher wholesale cost many months ago. In essence, they are obligated to buy that gas at the agreed upon price and resell it now for less. You can't really take posession of the gas and resell it in the future when/if the price goes up although it is theoretically possible. And although it has never been proven, I believe that there is collusion within the refining industry. We know that there is collusion on the part of the crude suppliers (OPEC).
I wish there were nationwide gas banks that would allow you to purchase gas in bulk and deposit it into a tank for a fee. Then you could withdraw that gas into the future until it was gone. I have heard of one but it is local only. http://www.fuelbank.com/ is supposed to go live nationwide this fall. http://www.firstfuelbank.com/ is local to the St. Cloud, MN area only.
BT