Paying More for Gas

As of Tuesday, June 19, 2012

I have always been thankful for where I was born, grew up and now live. The No. 1 reason is that it is in the country. The No. 2 reason is that I live as close to Harpers Crossroads as I do to Carthage.

You might wonder about No. 2 so I will explain. I recently purchased diesel fuel for my truck at Harpers Crossroads and paid $3.69 per gallon. I noticed that regular gasoline was priced at $3.29. I was in Carthage the next day and noticed regular gas was $3.52 and diesel was 3.92.

I do not understand the difference in the price, but I do know where I will be buying my fuel. Do any of these merchants understand why more and more people are shopping outside Moore County, which has become the “pay me MORE county?”

Sam Phillips

Carthage

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pacer 11 months ago

Did you know there are two stations out #211 toward Raeford, still in Moore county that are often 10-12 cents cheaper a gallon than the one's "in town?" I feel your pain, when I visit my family in SC they are often 25-30 cents less a gallon, it's crazy!

Mythreekids 11 months ago

Could it be the extra "City" tax for business that there is a difference? I have noticed that it is always higher in this area. It was $3.26 in Cheraw a month ago.

DoubleHeroides 11 months ago

@Mythreekids: That is a common misconception. The State of North Carolina imposes a tax on gasoline. Local governments are not allowed to tax gasoline. The higher prices in and around Moore County are not the result of any government action but rather are the result of individuals and companies that want to charge you more money at the pump.

DingoMike 11 months ago

Well the reason for the difference in price of your gasoline is the town or city tax. Pinebluff gas prices are always lower then Southern Pines and it's just a little ways down the road. Makes you kind of wonder about our elected officals

Toda 11 months ago

55.7 cents per gallon state and federal tax. Gas on 15-501 to Chapel Hill is $3.30 a gallon. Fayetteville has gas for $3.20 a gallon....For those who haven't lived in Poorer County, we are a RESORT! Aberdeen is a resort! I'm still looking for the travel buses coming to the old bus stop on 211.

CSmithson 11 months ago

For the 2011-2012 fiscal year Pinebluff's property tax rate was higher than in Southern Pines. I believe a business license in Southern Pines is $50. Any gas taxes in any town in Moore County are are the same as they are in any other town in Moore County. No Moore County town has a special sales tax.

If Pinebluff gas prices are lower it is because the merchants in Aberdeen, Southern Pines, etc feel they can charge a higher price- the free market.

Toda 11 months ago

Chris => Pinebluff is a Resort as well. Does the McNeil's have a store in the Bluff?

CSmithson 11 months ago

Tommy, I was responding to the earlier post alleging that municipal tax rates in SP vs Pinebluff accounted for the difference in gas prices. I don't know who own the locations in PB. SP and Pinehurst have the two lowest property tax rates out of ALL Moore County municipalities. Fayetteville also has a much higher property tax rate.

The bottom line is that it is the market, not the local tax rates or fees, that sets the gas prices.

Abruzio 11 months ago

I formally owned several C-Stores that carried both branded and unbranded gas. On average, we our markup was about 4 cents per gallon above the Distributor's price. After credit card fees and electricity for the lights and pumps, we hoped to break even. We only sold gas to generate in-store sales.

Distributor prices within an area vary due to zoning designed to deliver a "targeted" average price. Moore County is in the upper echelon of that price structure. If you check the state's numbers for average per capita wealth, you will see why.

In the grand scheme of things, the Distributors don't knock it out of the park - it's the oil company that makes the money.

olebaldy 11 months ago

In most cases I would agree with Abruzio however in southern Moore County the gas prices are dictated by McNeil Oil Co. if you research the "Mac's" chain you will find that they are probably only charging a few pennies above what what their gas distributer charges them. Here's the rub, McNeil Oil is the distributer. Double profit for the business, the oil company charges the store and the store charges the consumer. The store and the oil company are owned by the same larger corporation. Everyone else charges a cent or two less and makes a killing and the residents of Moore County get shafted.

geoffcutler 11 months ago

Chris, once it is clear who brings into and controls most of the gasoline in Moore County, will we not know then who sets prices that everyone else stays a penny or two behind? Pilot...wouldn't this be a perfect opportunity for some investigative reporting...to perhaps unearth why it is we're paying so much more for gas than our closest neighbors?

Abruzio 11 months ago

I understand what you are saying olebaldy. However, it is the Wholesaler who sells to McNeil and other distributors. It is the Wholesaler who is charging zone pricing to the Distributor and the Distributor passes the cost, along with his markup, on at the pump. Not defending McNeil here, but when you say they collect double profit, they have to - they transport and retail. Other retailers are paying for delivery that McNeil pays itself - that's only fair.

Outlets such as Kangaroo (Pantry) purchase at such large volumes, the Wholesaler gives them better pricing. Nevertheless, their retailing still parallels the zone principle (Check Kangaroos in Vass and Southern Pines, both in Moore County) in order to hit an overall target price.

I have never done business with the McNeils, but I have purchased gas from Raymer Oil in Statesville, Holt Oil in Goldsboro and Swink Oil in Rockingham, all on the same day - their wholesale costs were never the same, but the order from least to most expensive seldom changed.

KevinStewart 11 months ago

Back in the 1980's and 90's my father and I sold gas supplied by Swink Oil and the tanker would drop half a load in Robbins and the other half in Montgomery Co. The gas in Montgomery was sold cheaper than what I could buy it for and it came off the same truck.

DingoMike 11 months ago

So just because we live in a RESORT means that we get bent over a barrel?? Come on people when the heck are we as a group going to say ENOUGH with out of sight profits. I'm all for capitalism, but "Ouch let go of my arm". My old toyota can only get me so far on a tank of gas and I always feel that I'm playing for high score whenever I fill my tank. I watched one poor fellow put over 100 dollars of fuel in his new Ford truck.

herecomesthescience 11 months ago

"Resort" has nothing to do with any of this. Moore county has more wealthy citizens (mostly in Pinehurst, S. Pines,and Aberdeen) than the counties that surround us. The retailers and suppliers know they can charge more for the ease of filling up locally, as opposed to driving out of the area to do so. Plain and simple they charge more because they can. This will not change. Good luck trying to "boycott" them, plenty of others will use them because they are not willing or able to drive 30-40 miles out of the way to fill up. Wealthy area = higher prices. Fact of life. You could live in the middle of nowhere and pay less for gas, or live in a relatively nicer area and wind up paying more. But then how many of us would rather live in 'lovely" Fayetteville or out in the middle of nowhere, and wind up driving twice as far for just about anything? Not saying its fair, but that is how it is...

Mythreekids 11 months ago

DH, thanks for answering that question for me. I am still left wondering why the prices vary so much in a 2 - 3 mile radius. And, Seven Lakes is almost 7-10 cents higher than most. Thanks, guys, for the different reasons. Interesting reeading for me.

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