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Author	Topic: [Poll: 2007.48]: For every dollar you spend for fuel, how much do you think a ...	Topic is locked Back to Topics

JT Moderator	Message Posted: Nov 24, 2007 11:01:10 PM Ignore JT Report Abuse For every dollar you spend for fuel, how much do you think a retailer is making in profit after subtracting costs such as the cost of the fuel, taxes, rent insurance and employee salaries? 1-2 cents 3-6 cents 7-10 cents 11-15 cents 11-15 cents 16-20 cents More than 20 cents Don't know Post your thoughts about this poll below.

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Message Posted: Nov 24, 2007 11:01:10 PM

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For every dollar you spend for fuel, how much do you think a retailer is making in profit after subtracting costs such as the cost of the fuel, taxes, rent insurance and employee salaries?
1-2 cents
3-6 cents
7-10 cents
11-15 cents
11-15 cents
16-20 cents
More than 20 cents
Don't know

Post your thoughts about this poll below.

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rjoeh Champion Author Michigan Posts:7,066 Points:2,467,190 Joined:Jun 2004	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2007 6:58:03 AM Ignore rjoeh Report Abuse real station profits are inside the store... The gas profits are just a bonus
GASMAN632 All-Star Author New York Posts:977 Points:1,929,415 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2007 6:27:16 AM Ignore GASMAN632 Report Abuse It is between 7 to 10 cents on a dollar
N9HVP Champion Author Indiana Posts:11,698 Points:2,468,690 Joined:Sep 2004	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2007 6:10:20 AM Ignore N9HVP Report Abuse More than 20 cents.
99dakota Champion Author Providence Posts:8,097 Points:2,170,075 Joined:Oct 2006	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2007 5:45:31 AM Ignore 99dakota Report Abuse 7-10 cents
Guido4 Champion Author Pensacola Posts:13,039 Points:2,669,390 Joined:Jun 2005	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2007 5:39:48 AM Ignore Guido4 Report Abuse About 5 Cents
GreenLuminaAPV Champion Author Akron Posts:3,812 Points:743,165 Joined:Apr 2005	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2007 4:57:11 AM Ignore GreenLuminaAPV Report Abuse 7-10 cents
Bonanza Champion Author Boston Posts:12,069 Points:2,548,080 Joined:Jun 2004	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2007 4:44:16 AM Ignore Bonanza Report Abuse 3 to 6 cents.
Dancin Champion Author Toronto Posts:5,510 Points:2,082,255 Joined:Mar 2004	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2007 4:40:20 AM Ignore Dancin Report Abuse Probably only 3 cents, but the big $sale$ are in the convenience stores. Don't buy there.
firemansmall Champion Author Maine Posts:1,945 Points:1,002,330 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2007 4:33:04 AM Ignore firemansmall Report Abuse It varies from dealer to dealer.
Bill313 Champion Author Kansas City Posts:5,520 Points:772,565 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2007 2:02:15 AM Ignore Bill313 Report Abuse 3-6 cents
Bill313 Champion Author Kansas City Posts:5,520 Points:772,565 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: Nov 29, 2007 2:01:45 AM Ignore Bill313 Report Abuse Lenexa, Kansas 66215
dongo50 Champion Author West Virginia Posts:14,672 Points:2,377,120 Joined:Jul 2006	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 11:49:12 PM Ignore dongo50 Report Abuse not much.
Focus2 Champion Author Illinois Posts:7,889 Points:1,918,255 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 11:24:41 PM Ignore Focus2 Report Abuse Somebody is making money with price at or above $3. Here is what big oil company CEO for Chevron said about last quarter. "Add the cost of transportation, refining, distributing, marketing - you're not going to make any money at that price. That's why our U.S. refining and marketing business did not make money in the last quarter".
alcal Rookie Author Los Angeles Posts:22 Points:105,095 Joined:Oct 2004	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 11:15:10 PM Ignore alcal Report Abuse Am in the gasoline retail business. The average retailer will profit around 8-12 cents per. Gallon @ a Los Angeles average price of $3.356 that’s about 3.5 cents on the dollar this is not subtracting all the wonderful expenses that occur, such as rent/mortgage, labor, utilities, testing, licensing and permitting fees, royalties, insurance/workman’s compensation, & the most favorite of all gasoline retail outlets credit card fees!!! That can range anywhere from $8,000-$15,000 a month… that’s right!! The average cost of running a gasoline outlet can range from $27,500-$44,000 a month, Basically the money made off gasoline keeps the doors open!! Retailers profit centers are convenience store sales, Auto Service Repairs, Carwash, Propane, QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) such as Subway, Mc Donald’s, Ect, granted the gasoline retailer owns the QSR. The moneymakers are the “Big Oil Company’s”
brownmeadows Veteran Author Missouri Posts:360 Points:165,690 Joined:Mar 2005	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 10:49:37 PM Ignore brownmeadows Report Abuse A Lincoln head if they are lucky
brownmeadows Veteran Author Missouri Posts:360 Points:165,690 Joined:Mar 2005	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 10:47:32 PM Ignore brownmeadows Report Abuse A Lincoln head if they are lucky
2wheelFred Sophomore Author Ventura Posts:151 Points:534,695 Joined:Jun 2006	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 10:09:52 PM Ignore 2wheelFred Report Abuse The gas is just the bread and butter to keep the doors open; the money is made on the items in the store.
J Eric Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:10,254 Points:2,068,105 Joined:Feb 2004	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 9:50:34 PM Ignore J Eric Report Abuse Many years ago, I was in training for a cashier's job at a Fotomat booth. The District Manager asked our class this very same question. There was quite a span of answers, all the way up to 50c on the dollar, but only I said, "About a penny." The Manager winked and said, "You must know retail." The profit is based upon volume. As a former gasoline retailer, I still think the current station owner only clears a penny or two for every dollar he brings in on fuel. Same profit margin as a chain store retailer (think k-Mart, Sears, Target, etc.). Possibly a slightly higher profit on selling other goods such as motor oil or in mechanical repairs. Now, the water well repairman who just charged me $131 to come out and install a new Schrader Valve on my well - he's makin' a profit! A Schrader is the tiny air valve found on bicycle tires and used also on some wells for air pressure release! [Edited by: J Eric at 11/28/2007 10:59:41 PM EST]
petrol4you Rookie Author California Posts:4 Points:79,030 Joined:Apr 2006	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 9:42:17 PM Ignore petrol4you Report Abuse Added thought the station makes their money on all the snacks etc. they sell and I also hate the fees especially the debit fee as I am basically paying cash and am penalized for doing so while credit cards incurr no extra fees. At least AM/PM does this which is where I mostly buy gas.
petrol4you Rookie Author California Posts:4 Points:79,030 Joined:Apr 2006	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 9:35:37 PM Ignore petrol4you Report Abuse I don't believe that in most cases the end retailer makes the money, maybe the middle man and especially the oil companies are the big pockets. Look at their posted profits if you think otherwise.
starr85 Rookie Author Quad Cities Posts:1 Points:12,920 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 8:22:43 PM Ignore starr85 Report Abuse My Mother has owned a Gas Station for the last 25 years and I can tell you this you do NOT sell gas to make money. You are lucky to get 2 cents out of one gallon and stay competitive with everyone else in your area. If you are in the business to make money off of selling gas and oil then you need to look much higher up.
OKRifle Champion Author Oklahoma City Posts:10,387 Points:1,807,360 Joined:Oct 2007	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 7:23:38 PM Ignore OKRifle Report Abuse I am for cash discounts on gas. I don't like paying extra just because someone else uses a credit card. I ALWAYS pay by cash and the cash discount locations get my business, at least within my normal driving area. Of course the "big boys" don't do cash discounts, so when I travel outside my area....I'm screwed, like everyone else! We need to figure a way to push for a cash discount system! I'll accept an amen or a hooaah to that!
yowzado Rookie Author Portland Posts:2 Points:208,145 Joined:Jan 2006	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 6:56:09 PM Ignore yowzado Report Abuse I work for a company that owns 2 stations and it is my resposibility to set the prices.... the markup is only $0.12 to $0.18 per gallon, out of that comes the credit card fees, rent, insurance, payroll, upkeep, maintence, uniforms, utilities etc. Gas stations do not make lots of $ and if they are in a poor location they lose! many months the accountant informs me that we have broken even. I think with all that information that I KNOW... I would say that the answer to the poll is 1 to 2 cents per gallon would be the actual average profit.
drunkhabib Champion Author North Carolina Posts:20,673 Points:2,964,925 Joined:Oct 2003	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 6:56:01 PM Ignore drunkhabib Report Abuse the real profit is being made by the banks with the hefty credit card fees and transaction charges on the cards. Im all for cash discounts on gas. Im tired of paying extra just because someone else wants to use credit. Give me a cash discount. Oh, and the stations average about 2 to 5 cents per gallon.
SenileOldMan Champion Author North Carolina Posts:3,518 Points:942,135 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 6:18:28 PM Ignore SenileOldMan Report Abuse Not a whole lot. That's why they're called Convenience stores and not Gas stations............
2006Camry All-Star Author Atlanta Posts:785 Points:239,440 Joined:Oct 2007	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 6:07:42 PM Ignore 2006Camry Report Abuse May be 5-10 cents
chui Champion Author Dallas Posts:2,900 Points:2,363,915 Joined:Sep 2004	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 5:37:23 PM Ignore chui Report Abuse 3-6 cents on gas
CollegeMan21 All-Star Author Colorado Posts:838 Points:457,160 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 5:36:22 PM Ignore CollegeMan21 Report Abuse I know 2 different owners of gas stations who tell me they make very little money on gas; they make it up on other items like food and vehicle services. One has a gas station and a service center. The other one has 6 gas stations; he has owned these gas stations for about 2 decades or more. They have to be doing pretty well or other wise I would be seeing someone else owning the stations.
Lethalmike Rookie Author Ontario Posts:41 Points:182,590 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 5:13:37 PM Ignore Lethalmike Report Abuse Here in Ontario, Canada the rate is set by most oil companies i.e; Shell, Petro Canada, Sunoco etc. That is usually about 1-2 cents per litre and with our gas anywhere from 96.9 cents to $1.069 per litre it works out close to 1 or 2 cents per dollar spent on fuel or 4.5 to 9 cents per gallon. I know this because a very close friend of mine just got out of the gas station business for health reasons. [Edited by: Lethalmike at 11/28/2007 6:15:42 PM EST]
bobjeep Champion Author Florida Posts:9,709 Points:2,057,710 Joined:Jun 2006	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 4:51:17 PM Ignore bobjeep Report Abuse $2,00 on an average fill up,
TheSnowstorm Champion Author Montreal Posts:8,609 Points:1,910,980 Joined:June 2005	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 4:44:29 PM Ignore TheSnowstorm Report Abuse At the retail level, they make very little profit on the sale of fuel, they make more on the "convenience" items being sold, repairs, etc. It works the same way at movie theatre concession stands. The ticket price is channel right back up through the distributor and onwards to the production house. The theatre makes its money to cover salaries, operating expenses and overhead directly from the sales at the concession stand. Now the interesting thing. Most theatre chains are owned by the distributors, which in turn are owned by the production houses (AKA film studios).
JoeyNV Rookie Author Las Vegas Posts:17 Points:245,915 Joined:Nov 2007	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 4:28:17 PM Ignore JoeyNV Report Abuse They only average 3-7 cents a gallon in some cases they are charged more by the credit card companies for the transaction fee then they make in profit
pevensen Rookie Author St. Louis Posts:52 Points:313,140 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 4:21:30 PM Ignore pevensen Report Abuse I've heard it isn't much, but I really have no idea.
26jmtwMO Rookie Author St. Louis Posts:80 Points:18,600 Joined:Oct 2007	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 4:13:55 PM Ignore 26jmtwMO Report Abuse I don't think that the BIG producers ought to be painted as greedy monsters. They have to drill, ship,and refine the oil. In addition they have to please their shareholders [make a profit] so that they may remain in business! You can get your share of the profit if you buy their stocks or bonds. Besides, you can go into the retail part of the business yourself. Don't you see a lot of gas stations? [Edited by: 26jmtwMO at 11/28/2007 5:17:05 PM EST]
portchavz Rookie Author Massachusetts Posts:6 Points:112,520 Joined:May 2004	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 4:06:48 PM Ignore portchavz Report Abuse They make less than 10 cents. I have a sister that runs a gas station. Sometimes it can be 1 cent depending on how competitive the market is in the region.
jb107 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:9,535 Points:2,618,995 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 3:54:03 PM Ignore jb107 Report Abuse In NJ a lot of the stations do repairs and service in addition to the gas.
kbrawn Rookie Author Maryland Posts:34 Points:171,380 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 3:26:58 PM Ignore kbrawn Report Abuse The price is set by the company that delivers the gas to them. It's usually in the 2-4 cent a gallon range if they have a store. The gas is often a way to get shoppers in to buy soft drinks and such, which is where the store actually makes their money. Stations that don't have a store attached only clear about 4-6 cents a gallon. Keep in mind that most locations sell 6,000-10,000 gallons a day. But Exxon-Mobil, Shell, and the other big companies continue to record billions of dollars in profits every quarter. Greedy bastards, aren't they?
Foxt Champion Author Minnesota Posts:5,245 Points:2,017,405 Joined:Jul 2006	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 3:10:18 PM Ignore Foxt Report Abuse More than 20. There is always room to come down when the price drops at the next station. Nobody operates a business with it's main commodity at a loss. They'd take a loss on the milk, bread, pizza, or what ever to get you there to buy the gas and they sure wouldn't make a living on 30 cents a car. No bank would finance them.
frogmankid Sophomore Author Winnipeg Posts:214 Points:50,340 Joined:Aug 2003	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 2:49:50 PM Ignore frogmankid Report Abuse A retailer makes very little off of gas or NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Company and government makes all the bid bucks
firemansmall Champion Author Maine Posts:1,945 Points:1,002,330 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 1:23:17 PM Ignore firemansmall Report Abuse All depends on what each dealer wants for a profit.
Mntsnow Rookie Author Salt Lake City Posts:21 Points:55,395 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 12:16:23 PM Ignore Mntsnow Report Abuse From what I have seen and heard it's usually around the 6-10 cents per dollar which is a fairly low margin of profit if looking at just the fuel but for what amount of labor etc is spent to earn that the return is pretty good overall in my opinion.
CGC82317 Veteran Author Cleveland Posts:473 Points:276,455 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 11:57:19 AM Ignore CGC82317 Report Abuse The store on my corner claims they make 1-2 cents per gallon, so at around $3.00 per gallon that's about 1/3 to 2/3 cents per dollar.
xhead7 Rookie Author Nova Scotia Posts:74 Points:46,800 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 11:39:12 AM Ignore xhead7 Report Abuse 2 or 3 cents a liter is on a good day. That is before the cost of wages,electricity,equipment repairs,taxes and insurance. it costs the retailer different prices for the oil companies to ship to different areas. The oil company would charge differently to deliver to Halifax than it would to MiddletonDifferent zones
moneyrole All-Star Author North Carolina Posts:606 Points:1,742,975 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 11:37:39 AM Ignore moneyrole Report Abuse A retailer makes very little off of gas or NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Winoscientist Champion Author Maryland Posts:7,903 Points:1,372,310 Joined:Jun 2007	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 11:27:20 AM Ignore Winoscientist Report Abuse A small amount but made up for by sales of everything else being sold in the store.
bakerbaker Rookie Author Riverside Posts:47 Points:26,320 Joined:Sep 2007	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 11:23:20 AM Ignore bakerbaker Report Abuse I've heard that they make about 14cents per gallon sold. The money maker for them is the convience items. I wonder if other stations make more when other stations such as Arco is 10-15 cents cheaper than say shell or Chevron. I know the additives make the cost increase, but I think Shell and Chevron make more profit on gas.
fastfoci Rookie Author Rochester Posts:1 Points:45,970 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 11:22:18 AM Ignore fastfoci Report Abuse we run a shop in brighton. i watch the cost daily. we make on average abour .10 a gal. its not even enough to pay the full service gas attendant by the end of the week but we make it back in returned service from the cutomers in the shop.
april4 Champion Author Virginia Beach Posts:12,159 Points:2,397,935 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 11:07:49 AM Ignore april4 Report Abuse 3-6 cents
skils Rookie Author Little Rock Posts:1 Points:3,645 Joined:Nov 2007	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 11:05:50 AM Ignore skils Report Abuse I think it's 7-10 cents. Convenience stores make a large profit on the Convenience items, which have probably taken a pretty good hit with people paying at the pump more. As for the extra retailers have to pay to be able to accept credit cards; does anyone remember when some pumps listed two prices, the cash price and the credit price. I haven't seen that in a long time. I am quite sure the retailers raised the cash price rather than lowered the credit price so the consumer can absorb the extra cost.
mysequoia Sophomore Author Maryland Posts:172 Points:264,115 Joined:May 2004	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 10:57:15 AM Ignore mysequoia Report Abuse I think 3-6, what's the correct answer?
gene_1 Rookie Author Indiana Posts:13 Points:170,460 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Nov 28, 2007 10:52:44 AM Ignore gene_1 Report Abuse There making good profits.If tanker came in on monday and they paid 2.25 a gallon,and there pricing gas at 2.88 a gallon,then on tuesday they raised it to 3.15 a gallon,their making some money.Not only that the oil companies are doing it on OIL that was purchased a year ago at whatever price it was then.(maybe $60.00 a barrel).The retailer is making .20cents a gallon if not more,he has too or he couldn't stay in business. Especially when not everyone is going inside to pay, so not making any money on those,and alot of people that come out only have a receipt or nothing. Do The Math..