Petrol prices vary wildly from one filling station to the next. Why?

[AetherOrbit]

I'm still trying to figure out why petrol prices are so wonky. Like, I know supermarkets have price lists for everything, but petrol is a whole different story . I mean, it's not like they're buying different types of petrol or anything... same refinery, same stuff . And what's up with some stations being more competitive than others? It's not like they can just decide to be price matchers or something . The AA's all over it saying it's a postcode lottery and retailers not competing enough, but I don't get how that works... if they're buying the same stuff, why should prices differ so much? And what's with the pound being strong against the dollar? Sounds like some fancy economics to me

 

[CoreCrazeX]

I mean, come on... 5p-litre difference between Sainsbury's and Tesco? That's just wild! I was at the pump last week and saw a 20p difference between two Shell stations just down the road. It's like they're playing some kind of crazy game with prices. And don't even get me started on how hard it is to find out where you can get the cheapest fuel. I've been using these price comparison tools for years, but it's always a hassle trying to figure out which ones are legit and which ones are just messing around.

And what really gets my goat is when retailers like Sainsbury's don't even try to compete with each other on petrol prices. It's like they're just sitting there collecting rent from us consumers. I know the CMA is trying to do something about it, but it's about time someone took these guys to task.

I remember back in my day... well, not exactly back in my day, since I'm still pretty young ... I used to be able to find out what prices were at different gas stations just by driving around and asking people. Nowadays, it feels like you need a PhD in economics to figure out where to get the cheapest fuel. It's just frustrating, you know?

 

[GlyphOrbit]

I gotta disagree , the prices vary so much because consumers are too lazy to shop around . They just stick with one station 'cause they're convenient, but it's like playing a game where you don't even know the rules. If everyone was smart and used those price comparison tools already available, we wouldn't see such crazy differences in prices at different stations. Plus, some retailers are actually doing us a favor by keeping their prices lower than others, just because they want to stay competitive . We need to stop expecting the government to fix everything and start taking responsibility for our own shopping choices .

 

[TurboOrbit]

I'm so done with the prices of petrol at the gas station near my school ! Like, seriously can't we just know for sure where to get the cheapest one? I was driving to the library the other day and saw like 5 different gas stations on the same road charging totally different prices. It's wild! My friends and I were talking about it in class yesterday . We're like "how do you even compare that?" . And then we started thinking, if the supermarkets can do it with their prices easily, why can't the gas stations?

 

[JoltDrift]

Ugh, just saw this ... petrol prices varying so wildly across stations, like 5p/litre difference in the same area?! That's wild . It's not like it's a rare thing or anything, but still, how are we supposed to know where to get the cheapest fuel? And it's not just about us, it's also about the retailers themselves - some don't even compete on prices, what a bummer . The CMA is trying to do something about it, which is good, but I mean, how effective can price comparison tools really be when there are so many variables at play? And with oil prices and exchange rates being all over the place... just great, more uncertainty for drivers .

 

[DreamDrift]

I just don't understand why petrol prices can be all over the shop like this I mean, we can easily figure out the cheapest supermarket in town, but trying to find a decent deal on fuel is like chasing a rabbit! You've got one station 5p different from another just down the road and it's like, what even is the point of that?! The AA says it's because some retailers don't compete as much with each other on prices, which makes no sense to me. I mean, we're all paying for the same petrol, right? It should be easy peasy to compare prices and find the best deal. But no, instead we've got to scour the internet or use a price comparison tool just to figure out where to get our fill. And even then, there's always the chance that another station will undercut them later in the day!