There, it’s on the internet, so it must be true.
Srsly – besides the obvious news pundits, economic indicators, oil futures, and Middle east politics… Beyond the local gas price surveys, and the raft of traditional discount gas stations in the mid to low 4.0x’s. Beyond the breaking of the weather from miserably hot with too much air conditioning, to miserably humid and rainy – it’s not just that running your wipers uses less energy.
No, it’s finally noticing that the Shield Mini Mart in Summvile just inbound of Ball Sq is now listing regular for $3.95/gallon. Of course their “3″ is half-broken, so it ruins the symmetry of the sign a tad, but as a discount station I’ll forgive them.
But $3.95 is a real indicator – unlike the numerous $3.99 places we’ve seen on and off the past two weeks. Pricing at $3.99 is just playing the psychology of 3 versus 4; of an at-first-glance 25% savings from your $4.05 or $4.13 competitor down the street. Pricing at $3.97 – which I saw last week – could be used by a desperate discount place to compete against the lucky name brand gas that could dip to $3.99 for a few days due to a good contract. But pricing at $3.95? That’s a clear shot across the bows of high prices, a definite signal that the peak has passed! Yay! Good times ahead! Make those vacation plans, and book your hotels now! Enjoy!
