Watching gasoline prices is great fun. In Palm Coast, it's 'high' theater.
Why? It's because our gas prices are high.
We've heard from some business owners that this is primarily because property costs are so dear in our fair city. I guess anything's possible but I wouldn't think business prices could be so inflated given our low level of business development and wages. It's not like Palm Coast is a business Mecca with people queuing up at the County line for our prime retail locations.
My dream is that that will happen someday, but that's a story for a different day.
But what are we going to do about the gasoline prices? It's clear that local businesses have thumbed their noses at us. Some may feel that prices are geared to the ner-do-well traveling tourists on I-95, so who cares about gouging them? Unfortunately, we're getting financially eviscerated in the process.
Some of us are luckier than others. I, for example, am among that crowd. I commute to Jacksonville daily so I can fill up regularly at stations with 'more competitive' (read: reasonable) petrol prices.
How reasonable? As of writing this article (May 23), there's a 17 cent per gallon cost difference for regular unleaded gas at one I-95 exit versus one station on Palm Coast Parkway. There's also a 12 cent difference between that same Parkway station and its Company mate on State Road 100.
One could conclude that the phenomenon at work is that good ol' capitalist mantra of "whatever the market will bear."
If I ask you to pay more money for something and you do it, why should I voluntarily reduce my income? For the greater good? I don't think so, at least not in sunny Palm Coast.
How much gross profit does a service station owner make on each gallon of gas? I tried to find out but was advised by employees at one local station that such information is guarded like the gold in Fort Knox. Is there still gold in Fort Knox? I digress. I suppose all those expensive gasoline fumes are getting to me.
One thing is clear. The greater your profit margin the less gasoline you need to pump for the same return.
Let's do the math.
Take the nearby I-95 station which charges 17 cents per gallon less than one of our beloved Palm Coast fill-em-ups. Let's assume that the owner is making four pennies profit per gallon.
That means our compassionate Palm Coast service station owner is making 21 cents per gallon. The first owner told me that he pumps 9,000 gallons daily, which means he's pulling down $10,800 per month in gross profit.
For our Palm Coast entrepreneur to gross that same $10,800 with a 'presumed' 21-cent margin, he need only sell 1,700 gallons per day.
Looks like the owner (and her or his staff) with the reasonable prices works a lot harder to make the same money. Could that be why our local stations aren't as reasonably priced? Why work harder to make the same cash?
I've noticed one interesting thing, which will come as no surprise to you, my gentle readers. The gas stations here are never nearly as busy as less expensive ones.
One of these days -- and I can only hope -- our stations will realize that they are losing business and that if they lowered prices, they could actually sell more gas and make more money.
Until then, I'll boycott local gas haunts because they clearly don't have my best interests in heart.
It'll take time, but as many other readers before me have written and complained, staying away from these merchants is our best defense. I hate to hurt local businesses because that's like cutting off your nose to spite your face. But until they're willing to meet us halfway with quality goods and services at reasonable prices, how else can we send a meaningful message?
If all we do is complain but not act, our friendly merchants will be laughing all the way to the bank and have absolutely no motivation to change. The ball's in our court -- not theirs.
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Fred W. Apelquist, III, M. Ed.
Approximately 690 words
(c) 2000