[quote name='GuyWithGun']See that's what I'm talking about...
There's no way that it's only 1 cent a gallon profit if people are expected to be so much more than a certain gas station and so much less than another. If it were really just 1 cent profit, then it would all be determined by the cost of the gasoline instead of competitors prices. Now I know this was just one example and may not be generalized to every store, but it shows you that people can make more profit than just 1 cent.[/QUOTE]
What dtcarson is arguing is probably that the *mean* price over a period of time averages about a $0.01 profit per gallon; perhaps somedays you're making $.25, others losing $.25. It's simply a matter of means, if I understand correctly.
That number, for all I know, could have been calculated as the net profit for an individual station, after covering payroll, overhead, and things of that nature. Otherwise, I see your skepticism (that the risk/reward ratio is totally *
ed* if that's all a station makes *before* covering payroll and overhead, and only loonies would bother opening one).
OTOH, consider that I spend maybe 4 minutes filling up, and I pump 11 gallons into my car; if we believe that the 0.01 profit is the net profit, then the boss made 0.11 in four minutes. Furthermore, I never see less than 3 cars in a station at any given time, and as many as 8-10. So, at minimum, the boss is making 0.33 every 4 minutes, or as much as 1.10; the profit for the boss, then, for an hour (during daytime, anyway), could be as little as $5.00 or as much as 16.50 (if we also assume everyone drives Civics like myself, and not Gigantors or whatever 35 gallon
hole machine they're much more likely to own). That's not much money for a boss to make, and it *sure* isn't going to cover the bills for the place, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this is the worst-case scenario profit for the owner. Nobody in their right mind would try to eek out a living based on that kind of fluctuating wage. I call BS.
k hmmm
