Explain to me how this works

[mrmpa]

I didn't get gas yesterday, I didn't find the time. I needed to fill up for a trip I'm taking tomorrow. Gas was posted yesterday at $3.899 a gallon @ 7:30 p.m. This morning about 11:00 a.m. I went to buy gas, it was now $3.979 a gallon, an increase of 8 cents (same station). The station did not get a delivery of gas overnight, I asked the clerk. I did get 16 cents off per gallon, because of perks I received at a grocery store, that helps but the sting is still there.

How can the price of a product be increased when it's all ready been put in the station at a lower price? This is like, if I were in the grocery store and picked up a can of peas and the clerk puts a new price on the can as I take it off the shelf, because he just got a new shipment in (not on the shelf yet) at a higher price.

There has to be collusion somewhere in this process. Has anyone read anything new on the investigation Holder is conducting on this issue?

[Orrex]

1. Happens all the time, and it isn't just gas

When Oreos jump up to $3.75 a pack, they don't mark the shelf "$3.75 for these new Oreos and $3.25 for these other ones that were here yesterday."

Sure it's shitty, but that's how they do it. Nominally it's based in part on the cost to restock the merchandise currently on the shelf. If you were selling an ounce of gold that you acquired in 2003, you wouldn't sell it for $300. You'd sell it for its current market value.

[Buzz Clik]

2. It's a mystery. Gas prices flop around all the time.

They'll drop all of a sudden with no apparent reason, too.

[Zanzoobar]

3. It's more like if they repriced the can of peas at night

While you were sleeping. Tomorrow you go into the grocery store and find that can of peas more or less expensive.

Are you going to complain to the grocer that those particular peas were picked when the price was lower?

Are you going to complain that the gold in an old ring is way overpriced?

[mrmpa]

4. You got to know me, yea I would complain to the grocer, as for the

ring, probably not.

[Zanzoobar]

5. The practice is ubiquitous

Control rests in the trader's hand whether it is fuel, peas, gold, corn, etc...

It is a common practice. Gas gets the headline.

[Old Codger]

6. Usually

Most stations get their gas on consignment and the gas company, Chevron, Exxon etc. set the price. I worked in that trade for about 15 years and had a station myself for a few of them. Distributor delivers gas and then you pay him for what you used since last time, they set the price, if you want to raise or lower it you have to have their permission. If you lower it without that you are going to pay the higher price, since at that time dealers made about .05 per gallon you did not make enough to take any chances with that price. If they called and said ok lower price you took a pump reading at that time and paid one price for before the drop and another price after the drop maintaining the .05 cents "profit". This was during the days of real "service" stations, check the oil, tires and water if you wanted and wash the windows, if asked you washed all of the windows and smiled while doing so.

[Pterodactyl]

7. Supply and Demand

As others have said, this happens all the time with other products. But with gas, the pricing to match supply and demand is simply (or actually complicated-ly) hyper accelerated match current conditions.

[Festivito]

8. If you were selling some gold and it went up in price, would you take it?

Gas is connected to oil and oil is priced in dollars, but really, the price of oil is in gold and gold is rising, or, if you prefer, the dollar is dropping.

Selling gas is like selling gold.