A method to reduce gas prices by We The Consumers????

[chknltl]

I got one of those chain e-mails, the kind that urges one to keep passing it along. Normally they get deleted pretty fast but this one caught my attention. The more I read the more this guy made sense.

His suggestion: Don't boycott ALL gas stations, just boycott Exxon Mobile's gas!

He feels that if everyone who reads his e-mail passes it along and diligently boycotts ONLY Exxon Mobile, eventually there will be an impact on Exxon Mobile gas sales. When that impact is large enough they will be forced to lower their prices a bit in order to draw in consumers. This he felt would cause a gas war forcing Exxon Mobile's competitors to lower their prices as well. He further suggested that we hang in there with this boycott of Exxon Mobile gas until they lower their price down to under $2.00 a gallon!

This from a retired Halliburton employee! (That's who he claimed came up with the notion in the e-mail). I dunno, my simple mind thinks this guy may be on to something. So what am I missing? Where is the fly in the ointment? Is it possible that 'We The Consumers' could get behind such a scheme? Could it really work?

[wildflowergardener]

1. chain letter

I got this too tonight - must be going around pretty fast.

Meg

[chknltl]

2. I have NOT passed it along...yet. I thought to inquire here first.

I got it an hour or so ago.

[RedCappedBandit]

3. The only time I ever buy from exxon-mobile

is when I am traveling to and from school on the NYS thruway. Those are the only stations they have the entire damn way..

[chknltl]

6. I get my gas from Cost-Co...

...or Safeway. ...I wonder if this plan in the chain letter has merrit. If he is right, If enough people do this thing... well it just seems too damned simple, too easy and that bothers me....Someone here will wake me up.

[Captain Angry]

4. Total baloney.

Oil prices are high due to speculation in the commodities and futures markets.

Gas prices are high due to lack of refining capacity.

If the entire country stopped shopping at Exxon stations and went across the street to one of the other gas stations that buy their oil from Exxon, what's the difference?

Unless you drive out to Wyoming and buy from Sinclair who is drilling, refining and selling their own stuff, you're probably not going to avoid Exxon.

Furthermore, the rise of Indian and Chinese wages are creating more and more drivers who will offset any demand lost in the USA.

So, no.

The key is to drive less, if you can afford to buy a hybrid, you cut fuel use even more. As more development into battery technology is done, better hybrids will be released which will further reduce fuel usage. Eventually we'll have the technology to go fuel free and drive electricly.

And that will only cut a portion of worldwide oil usage since it goes into plastics and pesticides.

Boycotting one company will not make anybody follow suit. Especially when most of those gas stations get their oil from the same refinery.

[chknltl]

7. Ok that's what I was looking for.

I did not know that most gas stations get their oil from the same refinery. I had heard for instance that 7-11s get their gas from Citgo and that this gas comes to us from Venuzuala. Truth be told, I have no knowledge on the whole oil-into-refinery-into-gas-into-gas station process works. For this reason I wanted to ask here in the DU before deleting this chain letter. Thanks

[Captain Angry]

9. When people went bonkers over Chavez, 7-11 started dropping Citgos.

I recall reading that Citgo was the primary reseller on the NJ turnpike, and in a fit of outrage they were going to be thrown out. To be replaced by the Russian Yukos gas stations. Brilliant!

Chain letters like that are going to originate in one of two places:

1) a group that has a financial tie to the competitor of the one being boycotted, or
2) somebody who honestly doesn't know how any of it works, but is emotionally yelling on the street corner that is spammed email inboxes.

[chknltl]

10. I fall into group #2

In a way I was yelling on a street-cornor by posting this here. I am also someone who honestly did not know how this works. I DID have an allarm bell going off because to me, this seemed WAAAAY too easy.
Sincerely: Thanks I was looking to see where that alarm bell would lead.

[Captain Angry]

11. Asking questions is how we all learn, you're doing the right thing.

Forwarding an email to hundreds of people is forcing your opinion into somebody's inbox.

I've finally taught my parents not to forward stuff (or at least not to forward it to me).

Just think, 20 years ago, it would have had to be a newsletter or a flier stuck under your windshield wiper. Technology has made it practically free for some people to push their ideas into your sight.

[Speck Tater]

5. There was a post a day or two ago

explaining in detail why this can't possibly work. I don't recall all the details, but the gist of it is that if Exxon Mobil doesn't sell their gas at the pump, they will sell it to the other stations that are not being boycotted. Either way, Exxon Mobil will continue to sell as much gas as they can supply. In the meantime, the independent station owners, who operate on a very slim margin, are the ones who get hurt. Them, and their minimum wage employees.

So let's all get out there and punish a bunch of minimum wage people trying to support their families and make ends meet in a way that won't faze Exxon Mobil in the slightest.

Besides, any oil company can only lower gas prices by so much before they are losing money on it. Look at the per barrel price of crude, add the price of transport and refining, and even with the record profits the oil companies are pulling in, those profits still only amount to pennies on the gallon.

[chknltl]

8. Again, more of what I was looking for, thanks

If you remember where that post is please get back to me with it.
I knew that this plan was too damned easy. That was my red flag. I further knew that folks here would set me straight. Thanks again

[Obamanaut]

12. Debunked by Snopes with an explanation as to why this sort

of thing won't work. This sort of email chain letter goes around frequently

http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/gasout.asp

[chknltl]

14. THAT is PRECISELY what I was looking for!

I knew it was too good to be true! I am SOOO glad I posted here instead of passing along the chain letter! I could have easily fallen for it, even as I was posting this I was partially taken in. Thanks, this link will get attached to that chain letter and THEN I will send it back from whence it came with instructions to keep passing it back.
Thank you for that snopes link usnret88 :toast:

[Indiana_Dem]

13. From another discussion board--here, pass this one around:

Don't believe all that crap that's going around. Someone on my peak oil board posted the following as a response:

Please forward this to everyone you sent the original
message to if you really want to make a difference,
otherwise enjoy your time urinating upwind.

I don't know who came up with this, but (s)he was a
real dumb ass. This will not work because the supply
chain is stretched beyond the breaking point. Here's
what will happen. Nobody stops at Exxon/Mobil. The
other gas companies sell out of gasoline, and, to keep
up with demand, they buy gas from Exxon/Mobil and sell
it to you at Conoco or whatever the local company
happens to be. The problem is the excessive demand is
taxing the supply of gasoline available. Now, if you
really want to affect gasoline prices, here are some
options for what you have to do:

1) Carpool to work everyday. Not only will this cut
your gasoline demand, but you get to use the carpool
lane in the big city for free!

2) Bicycle to work and to the store. Not only will
your gasoline usage go down, but you get some
exercise.

3) Reduce your consumption in general. If you stop
buying that cheap Chinese junk, you'll save money and
help reduce diesel prices because there won't be any
need to ship the stuff you are not buying by truck.

4) Mass transit. You've already paid for it, so use
it.

5) http://www.storyofs tuff.com/
Watch this video, The Story of Stuff, and start
educating yourself about the impossibility of
continuing the hyper-consumption dead-end our society
is on.

6) Educate yourself about Peak Oil. Then you'll
realize gasoline is cheap at $10.00 a gallon.

Finally, it's not enough to do this in America. It
does literally have to be a world wide effort.

[chknltl]

15. And an even better rebuttal than the one on snopes!

Thank you for this too. Fellow DUer usnret88 above provided me with a link debunking the chain-letter. (a chain-letter I confess to partly falling for). I'll be using the link by attaching it to the chain letter and sending it back along the lines it came to me from. This post you provide will be used if I get any stubburn responses from doing this. I feel like I have the needed bullets for my guns now. Thank you very much.
chknltl

[BB1]

19. good post.

"Finally, it's not enough to do this in America. It
does literally have to be a world wide effort."

Here in Europe people are doing most of that already. I suppose it's a matter of education and respect for the environment. I for one have put over 30.000 kilometers on my (various) bikes through the past 31 years. Chucked out my car recently, been using public transportation for decades. little or no electrical stuff. I own a 1997 walkman:)

On the other hand - the US is such a big country; Public Transportation would be no good in most parts.

You'd need solar power in the south and wind-power in the north; power from seawaves in the east and west to cut back on oil.

[Indiana_Dem]

20. I commend you for doing what you've done!

The U.S. could do it if it had the will. It's just not strong enough of a will yet. I hope that changes. I envy the ability and determination of those in Europe who are trying to switch to alternatives and conserve their energy.

[cherokeeprogressive]

16. I worked for an independent refinery in the late '80's

I worked for a refinery called Golden West in Santa Fe Springs, CA. In the middle of the night, we filled trucks from EVERY major gas retailer.

So no, I don't think it would be in the slightest bit effective.

[chknltl]

17. Got it now... thanks

Others up-thread have made similar suggestions, (well yours is more than a suggestion). I now have a couple of nice rebuttal links and attached one to the chain letter with a note to pass it back along the route it arrived on. It is my hopes that the rebuttal link makes it all the way back from whence this chain letter originated. For what it is worth, I am pretty gullible and I have fallen for one of these things before. Like last time, a close but equally gullible friend sent it to me. Thanks for the testimonial.

[taterguy]

18. Don't drive so much

Oh wait, that would require getting off our fat asses and walking or riding a bike somewhere.

Nevermind.