Costco Gas Price Gouging ?

[raytseng]

not sure how you can call it gouging, when the claim is they are gouging because another station close enough is selling gas cheaper.


Gouging is when one store hoards and they are the ONLY store with gas you have no alternative but to go to them.

The fact that you're presenting evidence that they are gougers because someone else sells the product cheaper completely proves the opposite point.

 

[bdcardinal]

The 2 closest stations to me are a Chevron and a Mobil, both have the same prices at 4.79, 4.89, and 4.99. No I don't go to either.

 

[Carmudgeon]

Costco's gas pricing strategy is like that for their hot dogs and roast chickens--to drive store traffic. That doesn't necessarily mean that they're loss leaders, but the margins are probably thin to non-existent.

In my area, the only stations that come close to their pricing are ARCO. Both are Top Tier, so whatever is closer...

 

[RoadRaceJosh]

I really doubt that Costco sells fuel at a loss. I was filling up last Thursday and asked how much this NE Portland Costco gas station sells in a day. 30-35,000 gallons.

Costco does not need to drive traffic to this store as it sits on the Oregon side of the OR/WA border so a lot of Washington residents come down to avoid sales tax. On weekends the parking lot is often full.

 

[armenakadino]

My local Costco is still cheaper then all the other gas stations.

 

[Joe1]

I don't know if it is price gouging or not, but l can't find any reason not to fuel there. Cheap prices, top tier, modern equipment, and high product turnover. Their prices are consistently significantly lower than the competition.

I have more confidence in Costco to keep their tanks clean than most other places.
A new Costco that will sell gasoline is being built near my home. I'll be able to use their gas the vast majority of the time.

 

[troyb43]

The gov't makes more $$$ on a gallon of gasoline than anyone

 

[TiredTrucker]

Don't forget, California has tremendous price spreads on fuels as a result of wide spreads in fuel tax. There is the flat federal tax, the state tax, and then many regional areas in the state tack on their own tax. We see this kind of thing all the time in commercial trucking. Many average consumers forget that up to a third of what they pay at the pump is nothing but taxes.

Effective July 1, 2015, the gasoline fed tax is 18.4 cents, the state tax is 30 cents, there is a 2 cent underground storage fee, and each municipality tacks on it own sales tax and other fees.

http://www.boe.ca.gov/sptaxprog/tax_rates_stfd.htm

 

[anndel]

Wow, $3.42 and $3.85 for a gallon of regular? I thought we had the highest gas prices in the nation. I just filled up at Costco today at $2.87/gal for regular.