[Purrybonker]

Ok Mike - let's take a look at a completely different industry, just for comparison purposes...

I bought a new stereo receiver a few months ago. The first thing I did, once I decided what I wanted (right down to the model number) was to send an email to every seller in the province asking for a price. The responses ranged from $2200 to $1400. Now the lowest price was in Edmonton, and I didn't really want to go there (different story), so I have to admit that I "shopped" the Edmonton price around in Calgary a bit. Suprise, suprise... almost every Calgary retailer offered to match my "Edmonton price", so I ended up buying it locally.

Does this example reflect a competitive marketplace? Or does it reflect a marketplace where sellers will only act in a competitive manner if compelled to do so? In other words - Calgary buyers get "scammed" vs. Edmonton buyers unless they threaten to take their business to Edmonton.

In the gas business there is no negotiation. Sellers all have the same price because either: (1) the market is perfectly competitive or (2) the market is rigged through the illegal conspiracies of the participants. Tons and tons of "inquiries" have been conducted by politicians (at voter expense, BTW) to investigate the gas industry over ther years. Each and every inquiry has come back with the same answer.

The difference between gas and a stereo in the eyes of the consumer is that he's buying the latter because he wants to, the former because he has to. That's why he will willingly throw an absurd amount of money at something as ridiculous as a $2000 stereo, when a $150 stereo will do basically the same job, yet he will scream conspiracy when gas goes up $0.10/litre.

If this business is so darn lucrative what happened to names like Turbo, Gulf, Mohawk, Texaco etc, etc, etc over the last number of years? Isn't it likely that everyone would jump into the business to rake in those huge profits rather than the vast numbers of stations we see being closed every year?

You don't like price of gas - do something about your consumption. Same solution as dealing with any other utility. Quit looking for a grassy knoll - there ain't one.