It starts here ... Boycott on filling stations

JMSE

This is something I've been thinking about for a while. Ok here is a fact, in March '07 crude oil was $60 a barrel. Now its $150 a barrel. Its goin to go up and up until the cows come home. The reason ... oil spectulators and oil companies.

Heres an article from just over a year ago on 5th March '07 (www.rte.ie)
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for April delivery tumbled $1.53 to $60.55 per barrel in electronic deals. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, slid $1.46 to $60.18 per barrel in floor trading.


My 2cents: theres very few companies really so let us motorists as a group, pick one and boycott all their outlets for a month. The next month, picket another retail chain. If this spread through the internet nationally & internationally then who knows maybe we could undermine confidence in oil share prices. That would be my genuine ambition in doing this.

All thats needed to try this is for us to use our buying power before they price oil so high that we dont have 'buying power' anymore

Seth Brundle

Not a hope of everyone doing this as its not practical.
Also importers, distributors and retailers don't set the price they buy it at

JMSE

Whats not practical. I cant imagine anywhere in this country where people are limited in choice of retailers. It doesnt matter a damn whatsoever about who sets the price, they are sitting atop their ivory tower laughing. The only power you have is where you spend YOUR money. Use it.

Seth Brundle

Its not practical in the sense that many people don't live within a reasonable distance to a choice and also the fact that perple could be offered money to protest yet still wouldn't get off their arses to do it.

As for the price, do you really believe that OPEC, etc. give a flying fupp what anyone thinks? The entire world is going into recession and they don't care!

If you were to protest then it may make more sense to protest to your politicians for them to reduce the tax take on fuel. however with a €3bn defecit, the greens in power and recent increases in political expenses to support, this is most definitley not going to happen!

snowman707

[quote=kbannon;56467479

If you were to protest then it may make more sense to protest to your politicians for them to reduce the tax take on fuel. however with a €3bn defecit, the greens in power and recent increases in political expenses to support, this is most definitley not going to happen![/quote]

+1
coupled with the highest number on the dole in 10 years , there is only 1 way the price of fuel is going is this country .. ^^^ UP. UP . UP ^^^
just like growing old . learn to live with it

We have enjoyed cheap fuel costs for decades. should have put a lot of research into alternative fuels , but squadered the money foolishly instead, protest to you politicions not the oil companies.

Hanley

Sounds like a great idea to boycott a garage and potentially put it out of business leaving an even smaller number of retailers out there who can now bring their price up even further since there's no competition.....

Anan1

The simplest, and most effective, action we can take is to buy our fuel from the cheapest local filling station.

AntiVirus

Anan1 wrote: »

The simplest, and most effective, action we can take is to buy our fuel from the cheapest local filling station.

That is the best solution. I've said this to a few people and the response I got was "it's only a couple of cent cheaper".

Some people will never learn.

nialler

Even better solution if practical, don't use the car unless absolutely necessary. That'll reduce our dependency on the black stuff (not guinness).

LolaDub

Why don't you switch jobs to an oil company you might get cheapo/free petrol!

Marcus.Aurelius

With OPEC making 3 trillion dollars in profits from oil, I can't see them worrying about a few paddies whining about price pressure.

See http://www.amazon.com/Managing-Oil-Wealth-Windfalls-Pitfalls/dp/product-description/1860646484

su_dios

Anan1 wrote: »

The simplest, and most effective, action we can take is to buy our fuel from the cheapest local filling station.

Maybe we should have a sticky where we can post the cheapest prices. If this became popular on here then maybe it might help

Fighting Irish

JMSE wrote: »

This is something I've been thinking about for a while. Ok here is a fact, in March '07 crude oil was $60 a barrel. Now its $150 a barrel. Its goin to go up and up until the cows come home. The reason ... oil spectulators and oil companies.

Heres an article from just over a year ago on 5th March '07 (www.rte.ie)
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for April delivery tumbled $1.53 to $60.55 per barrel in electronic deals. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, slid $1.46 to $60.18 per barrel in floor trading.


My 2cents: theres very few companies really so let us motorists as a group, pick one and boycott all their outlets for a month. The next month, picket another retail chain. If this spread through the internet nationally & internationally then who knows maybe we could undermine confidence in oil share prices. That would be my genuine ambition in doing this.

All thats needed to try this is for us to use our buying power before they price oil so high that we dont have 'buying power' anymore

:rolleyes:

Fighting Irish

AntiVirus wrote: »

That is the best solution. I've said this to a few people and the response I got was "it's only a couple of cent cheaper".

Some people will never learn.

I'm not going hugely out of my way to fill up for €1.28 instead of €1.29 when i know for a fact it doesn't make any difference to the prices

mukki

su_dios wrote: »

Maybe we should have a sticky where we can post the cheapest prices. If this became popular on here then maybe it might help

there is a website that does just that, and it would be much easier to use then a thread with a few hundreds post from users posting their local cheapest

su_dios

mukki wrote: »

there is a website that does just that, and it would be much easier to use then a thread with a few hundreds post from users posting their local cheapest

Oh even better. Got a link?

Anan1

Fighting Irish wrote: »

I'm not going hugely out of my way to fill up for €1.28 instead of €1.29 when i know for a fact it doesn't make any difference to the prices

If enough people do it, it does make a difference. That said, you have to balance it with your own convenience, etc.

JMSE

Pity that so much crap has been attached to this thread. The idea is quite simply not to buy your fuel in say Esso for the month of August, buy it in the other places. Buy their other products, just not the fuel. Are they goin to go out of business, I doubt they make a whole lot on fuel. And the remark about the Paddys, the internet is international, this could be spread to 50 other forums in the space of 1 hour if the cynics werent in the majority.

Hanley

JMSE wrote: »

Pity that so much crap has been attached to this thread. The idea is quite simply not to buy your fuel in say Esso for the month of August, buy it in the other places. Buy their other products, just not the fuel. Are they goin to go out of business, I doubt they make a whole lot on fuel. And the remark about the Paddys, the internet is international, this could be spread to 50 other forums in the space of 1 hour if the realists werent in the majority.

I fixed it for ya!

E92

The best thing we can to is learn how to drive more economically; ease off on the throttle, junk all unnecessary crap in the boot, make sure the tyres are correctly inflated, make sure the engine is serviced when required, put the engine in to as high a gear as possible without labouring it, if you see you have to come to a stop, then slow down as gradually and as far out as is possible, not jam on the brakes at the very end, use engine braking instead of coasting when trying to stop, try and take off as smoothly as possible, go up the gears as soon as possible instead of at the redline, don't accelerate like a bat out of hell from the lights, and sit back and enjoy all the extra miles you get from each gallon of petrol.

The sooner we get off oil the better.

Robbo

JMSE wrote: »

Pity that so much crap has been attached to this thread. The idea is quite simply not to buy your fuel in say Esso for the month of August, buy it in the other places. Buy their other products, just not the fuel. Are they goin to go out of business, I doubt they make a whole lot on fuel. And the remark about the Paddys, the internet is international, this could be spread to 50 other forums in the space of 1 hour if the cynics werent in the majority.

Oh believe me it has been on 50 more forums and then some. It's what happens when an economically naive forum member receives a chain mail and admires the sentiment in it.

L1011

JMSE wrote: »

Pity that so much crap has been attached to this thread. The idea is quite simply not to buy your fuel in say Esso for the month of August, buy it in the other places. Buy their other products, just not the fuel. Are they goin to go out of business, I doubt they make a whole lot on fuel. And the remark about the Paddys, the internet is international, this could be spread to 50 other forums in the space of 1 hour if the cynics werent in the majority.

If you understood how fuel sales work, you'd realise you're gibbering.

The retailer makes a pittance off sales. The majority of fuel retailers in Ireland are franchises, and do not own any refining or drilling capacity.

The majority of oil in the world is drilled and refined by firms that do not have a retail presence. The price is set by commodity traders, not by retailers.

Your plan would just bankrupt franchisers and have zero impact. Even if it was done all over the world, it'd just bankrupt retailers and have zero impact.

Cionád

su_dios wrote: »

Oh even better. Got a link?

http://www.pumps.ie/

OP, boycott Statoil, I guarantee they'll all be gone very soon

Seth Brundle

Statoil is gone - as is Shell!

Cionád

kbannon wrote: »

Statoil is gone - as is Shell!

Whoo-hoo, he did it!

Bee

JMSE wrote: »

This is something I've been thinking about for a while. Ok here is a fact, in March '07 crude oil was $60 a barrel. Now its $150 a barrel. Its goin to go up and up until the cows come home. The reason ... oil spectulators and oil companies.

Heres an article from just over a year ago on 5th March '07 (www.rte.ie)
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for April delivery tumbled $1.53 to $60.55 per barrel in electronic deals. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, slid $1.46 to $60.18 per barrel in floor trading.


My 2cents: theres very few companies really so let us motorists as a group, pick one and boycott all their outlets for a month. The next month, picket another retail chain. If this spread through the internet nationally & internationally then who knows maybe we could undermine confidence in oil share prices. That would be my genuine ambition in doing this.

All thats needed to try this is for us to use our buying power before they price oil so high that we dont have 'buying power' anymore

The Government is taking in a huge bonus in VAT and Excise duty on fuel. Every time a litre goes up in price the Government gains a tax bonus.

You have idiots in the Green party that are happy to have the cost of fuel increase in price due to their nonsense save the plant from C02 Bull$hit and to hell with you and your pocket

You have FF who have made a dog's Nads out of the economy happy to gain any extra tax from the oridinary punter via fuel.

You would be much better off in targeting the above mentioned Leeches to lower their Tax Rake on fuel, either by bombarding your local TD's etc and for Gawd's sake using your vote.

Along with a lot of others I voted no to Lisbon because of the anti european free movement of trade by the government abusing VRT and VAT on cars.

The Lisbon treaty was kicked to touch

The same wasters are going to try and get a second Lisbon treaty vote

Tell them you might votes yes to Lisbon in exchange for a lowering of VRT to European levels and for concessions on fuel Tax prior to a vote

JMSE

Robbo wrote: »

Oh believe me it has been on 50 more forums and then some. It's what happens when an economically naive forum member receives a chain mail and admires the sentiment in it.

Ah now come on, I came up with this idea all on my ownyo, if theres chain mails out there and you're reading them well fair play to you, and maybe I'm not the only economically naive motorist out there but I dont read mails from addresses I dont recognise thanks very much.

And the person who pointed out "the majority of fuel retailers...do not own any refining or drilling capacity" well now thats just shocked me, and there I was thinking they all went and drilled for oil as soon as the breakfast rolls were sold out.

Would anyone who isnt a professor of economics and doesnt own a forecourt and is just fed up paying through the nose for fuel care to vent?

L1011

Nobody on this thread is a professor of economics or owns a forecourt to the best of my knowledge - they just have some modicum of sense when it comes to the real world.

Anyway, you conceded that firms such as Esso, Maxol, etc have little control over the supply of oil, so how the hell do you expect them to be able to influence the pump price, considering the vast majority of it (90+%) is made from taxation and crude prices?

John R

JMSE wrote: »

Ah now come on, I came up with this idea all on my ownyo, if theres chain mails out there and you're reading them well fair play to you, and maybe I'm not the only economically naive motorist out there but I dont read mails from addresses I dont recognise thanks very much.

Well wherever you got the idea from it is neither original or clever.

JMSE wrote: »

And the person who pointed out "the majority of fuel retailers...do not own any refining or drilling capacity" well now thats just shocked me, and there I was thinking they all went and drilled for oil as soon as the breakfast rolls were sold out.

It matters not one bit either way, even if it was a company that produce their own oil that you boycott they would not be stuck for buyers AT FULL MARKET PRICE for all the fuel that they could not sell directly. They would simply sell it to the other retailers who were experiencing a sudden increase in demand due to your boycott.

Funny you should mention the breakfeast rolls, the reason most service stations are now mini-supermarkets/deli's/roadside cafe's is because that is the only way they can make money. Selling fuel alone will not make a profit as there is a tiny margin left for retailers. Why do you think Tesco are happy to offer 5c a litre reduction for grocery shoppers on already cheap fuel prices, effectively selling petrol at a loss? It is because they make a healthy margin on selling food and offering cheaper fuel brings in more people to buy the food.

JMSE wrote: »

Would anyone who isnt a professor of economics and doesnt own a forecourt and is just fed up paying through the nose for fuel care to vent?

Vent; yes. Waste my life with a stupid and pointless protest; No.

If you really want to get fuel prices down then start a campaign to get everyone to use less of the stuff. It is simple (Junior cert not PHD level) economics. The price of a product is determined by supply and demand. If the global demand went down the price would quickly plummet. But that won't happen because like all the other whingers you want someone else to make the sacrifice so you can continue with your lifestyle without having to pay a little bit more cash for fuel.

JMSE

John R wrote: »

Well wherever you got the idea from it is neither original or clever.



It matters not one bit either way, even if it was a company that produce their own oil that you boycott they would not be stuck for buyers AT FULL MARKET PRICE for all the fuel that they could not sell directly. They would simply sell it to the other retailers who were experiencing a sudden increase in demand due to your boycott.

Funny you should mention the breakfeast rolls, the reason most service stations are now mini-supermarkets/deli's/roadside cafe's is because that is the only way they can make money. Selling fuel alone will not make a profit as there is a tiny margin left for retailers. Why do you think Tesco are happy to offer 5c a litre reduction for grocery shoppers on already cheap fuel prices, effectively selling petrol at a loss? It is because they make a healthy margin on selling food and offering cheaper fuel brings in more people to buy the food.



Vent; yes. Waste my life with a stupid and pointless protest; No.

If you really want to get fuel prices down then start a campaign to get everyone to use less of the stuff. It is simple (Junior cert not PHD level) economics. The price of a product is determined by supply and demand. If the global demand went down the price would quickly plummet. But that won't happen because like all the other whingers you want someone else to make the sacrifice so you can continue with your lifestyle without having to pay a little bit more cash for fuel.

JR, you are personalising this, what are you on about, you dont know my lifestyle. My weekly non-work related travel is about 16 miles. I have a family but only 1 car, no lawn mower coz I cant afford one. I go to work at 5 in the morning, theres no bus from here to Rathcoole. I cant afford more per week than I pay. To heat my home will be double this winter what it was last year. I see every project the govt have planned being threatened by massive budget overruns due to oil ripoff. I'm worried about everything in this country that we have going down the tubes because transport effects it all.

Supply and demand you say, I say its speculators getting out of banks, property, and other stocks, worldwide. Its all about speculation. If they decide to shift to something else for whatever reason, the price may fall.

Ok the rest of you win. I'll send emails to my TDs, that should do it. Jobs oxo.

JMSE

John R wrote: »

Well wherever you got the idea from it is neither original or clever

'Tis also neither Junior Cert nor PhD level to follow neither with or

JMSE

I'm pretty disappointed with the reaction to my idea and I'm willing to accept that based on the replies of this particular boards users, my idea is not going to take off. The people who replied with mild 'this is what you should do' ideas have their hearts in the right place but the ones who knocked it just belonged to a group I can only describe as 'knockers'.

kbannon, in post 4 you knocked the idea 'that people could be offered money to protest' - you might as well knock that one alright coz I didnt mention it

snowman707, in post 5 you linked the dole to rising fuel prices, good man

hanley, you suggested my idea would put retailers out of business, your fellow knockers later confirmed what I had later said, that being, retailers make more from non-fuel sales than from fuel sales

fighting irish, 1,970 posts now, your little throweyes icon helped get you there, not long now till the big 2,000

robbo, I think in the 50 forums and then some that you look at you have learnt the art of personalising knocking quite well

MYOB, you quoted me doubting that retailers make a whole lot on fuel and then to boost your argument against me said 'the retailer makes a pittance off sales' ... good man. Also later you inferred I lacked a modicum of sense claiming I had conceded that Esso and Maxol have little control over the supply of oil, damnit I should have done debating at school because it seems people will just say bloody well anything to backup their yet-to-be-founded opinion, be that utterance rubbish or not

and then theres John R, now I've already replied to John R who knocked my idea with a personal slant on it, but his paragraph ... 'It matters not one bit either way, even if it was a company that produce their own oil that you boycott they would not be stuck for buyers AT FULL MARKET PRICE for all the fuel that they could not sell directly. They would simply sell it to the other retailers who were experiencing a sudden increase in demand due to your boycott' is a good opposing argument to my original post, the kind of intelligent opposing or 'for' response I was hoping for last night when I originally posted, but I got ... knockers

Cionád

3 consecutive posts :eek:

No one is interested anymore, don't take it personally, just move on.

Giggle, knockers.

JMSE

ok cionad i got the hall stairs n landin shampoo'd vacuumed all at the same time though so couldnt help the mind wanderin back to my big ploy to save the free world

peasant

I'm locking this now ...before all of the "accused" start defending themselves