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Author	Topic: Station pricing spread in the last 48 hours	Post a Reply Back to Topics

tdioiler All-Star Author Detroit Posts:892 Points:420,690 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2013 4:24:13 PM Ignore tdioiler Report Abuse I have noticed a number of stations changing their prices in 24 hours; up .10 one day, down 10. another. Looks like a competition thing. How about a MSL option to view the pricing changes over the past 48 hours? That way we can expect a possible change in that range when we pull into a station.

tdioiler

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Detroit

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Points:420,690
Joined:Jul 2011

Message Posted: Feb 10, 2013 4:24:13 PM

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I have noticed a number of stations changing their prices in 24 hours; up .10 one day, down 10. another. Looks like a competition thing.

How about a MSL option to view the pricing changes over the past 48 hours? That way we can expect a possible change in that range when we pull into a station.

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SennaFan94 Rookie Author Illinois Posts:7 Points:665 Joined:Sep 2012	Message Posted: Apr 3, 2013 9:04:20 AM Ignore SennaFan94 Report Abuse Yep, good idea to have a gas price history per station. I was curious this morning what the price was 3 days ago at a station before a price reduction.
scoutmaster Champion Author Pittsburgh Posts:81,330 Points:3,254,445 Joined:Mar 2003	Message Posted: Feb 13, 2013 6:19:42 AM Ignore scoutmaster Report Abuse Do stations participate in price timing or do they raise and lower their prices based on what they paid for their last delivery? Maybe knowing the stations delivery schedule and what the rack price is would be more beneficial. [Edited by: scoutmaster at 2/13/2013 6:20:09 AM EST]
kwzh Champion Author San Jose Posts:20,656 Points:3,684,375 Joined:Jul 2001	Message Posted: Feb 13, 2013 2:39:02 AM Ignore kwzh Report Abuse "not all stations are posted daily", true; that's part of what I acknowledged in my final paragraph. "no hard and fast rule", correct of course, but if there's enough of a pattern, then the system could try to take advantage of it. If it only happens occasionally, then the system should behave as it does now. If the history indicates a strong correlation, then this could be one of several ways in which the system can anticipate a new price before it occurs.
tdioiler All-Star Author Detroit Posts:892 Points:420,690 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 11:37:55 PM Ignore tdioiler Report Abuse The daily posting issue is the big problem with this type of moving stats that could accurately say something. But then again, those stations without a 'significant sample' could be shown as NIL as not enough info to make a statistic viable. And that could say something as well. Bottom line: find those stations that participate in price timing. So I should fill up with advantage of knowing where their pricing will be.
scoutmaster Champion Author Pittsburgh Posts:81,330 Points:3,254,445 Joined:Mar 2003	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 6:32:49 AM Ignore scoutmaster Report Abuse The problem with this is not all stations are posted daily. And there is no hard and fast rule that states "When station A raises their price, station B will do the same".
kwzh Champion Author San Jose Posts:20,656 Points:3,684,375 Joined:Jul 2001	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 1:57:53 AM Ignore kwzh Report Abuse OK. Let's take a look at this, without getting too deep into the actual implementation. Evidently what we'd really want is the ability to recognize the situation described, identify it as (say) "A & B have gone up; C & D will probably follow very soon". And then something should happen. This could be a use for the price alert system, actively sending messages to subscribers, saying "C & D are about to go up", so if you're fast enough, you could fill up before the increase. Or it could be passive, and simply report the fact somehow on the price page, where you might see it while making a decision about where to fill. Kick it around. How might this be done? Btw, note that the system has no way of knowing whether C & D are still low, or if they've also increased but have not yet been reported.
tdioiler All-Star Author Detroit Posts:892 Points:420,690 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:07:20 PM Ignore tdioiler Report Abuse General competition moves in a pack in one day; station A goes up 5, Station B, C and D (all on the same road or close proximity) follow prices in a few hours. For the most part, the prices are stable for over 48 hours. But there are few stations that play the price drop and 2pm with pricing return by 8pm. Basically scraping for low price buyers during high volume. MSL - Master Station Listing would hold that info for those who watch for these price drop timings, or at least who are the stations that use this tactic.
kwzh Champion Author San Jose Posts:20,656 Points:3,684,375 Joined:Jul 2001	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 6:40:23 AM Ignore kwzh Report Abuse tdioiler: I'm unclear on why you'd ask for this as an "MSL option". Do you mean that you're asking for a flag that could be attached to those stations that have this practice?
CampKohler Champion Author Sacramento Posts:9,463 Points:1,563,165 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 3:40:40 AM Ignore CampKohler Report Abuse This suggestion has been added to the Suggestion Tracking List as a new subject.
Gas_Buddy Champion Author Maryland Posts:25,977 Points:3,035,040 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2013 7:24:02 PM Ignore Gas_Buddy Report Abuse Yes, prices going up one day and down another day is a "competition thing", as well as it's responding to changing wholesale prices that station must pay. But how will having a Master Station List showing the price changes over the past 48 hours for every gas station (a previous topic wanted the prices for the past year) help you "expect a possible change in that direction" when you pull into a station? How will knowing what the price was previously, 48 hours earlier, let you know what to expect that the gas buddy posted price won't let you know?
scoutmaster Champion Author Pittsburgh Posts:81,330 Points:3,254,445 Joined:Mar 2003	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2013 6:35:28 PM Ignore scoutmaster Report Abuse Not real sure this would be a benefit. Knowing what the price was 48 hours ago will not help you know if the price is going up or down.