What did you do to your van today?

[Geek]

The price differential between Petrol and Diesel around here is 21p at quite a few service stations. It makes me think they are all working together.

They are all subject to the same market pressures. If someone could make a profit selling 10p cheaper, they'd have vehicles queueing down the road.

 

[GeoffL]

Interesting coincidence: YouTube just served up the linked video. It seems that those 'market pressures' aren't quite what you might think and the retailers have increased their share/profit enormously over the last few years...

 

[Geek]

Yes, you can always find some fool on YouTube who doesn't get economics.
Yes, there is tax on tax, but you pay tax on your earnings before you get it.
So it is tax on tax on tax really.
Fuel price competition is limited by lots of factors, but as the number of competing suppliers drops, there is less opportunity for small retailers to compete by bringing prices down.
The supermarket filling stations are being bought out by venture capitalist scum.
The remaining supermarkets no longer have to run at minimal margins to attract shoppers to their sites (where other sales will bring in margins).
To some extent, this is good news because it is now possible that the bigger margins will allow new entrants who might actually compete.

 

[runnach]

Satt dish fubared, removing motor fixed to roof, which should loose a few kilo’s.

View attachment 77788

Thought I better give the roof a clean with having the scaff out. Plastic vent cover lhs of large skylight is UV’d to death, very brittle. Time for a new one.

 

[maingate]

Yes, you can always find some fool on YouTube who doesn't get economics.
Yes, there is tax on tax, but you pay tax on your earnings before you get it.
So it is tax on tax on tax really.
Fuel price competition is limited by lots of factors, but as the number of competing suppliers drops, there is less opportunity for small retailers to compete by bringing prices down.
The supermarket filling stations are being bought out by venture capitalist scum.
The remaining supermarkets no longer have to run at minimal margins to attract shoppers to their sites (where other sales will bring in margins).
To some extent, this is good news because it is now possible that the bigger margins will allow new entrants who might actually compete.

Let's hope Aldi and Lidl step in.

 

[Geek]

Aldi and Lidl use the grocery prices as a draw to get shoppers to buy the more profitable stuff in the middle.
Just as the other supermarkets used to use the fuel prices as a draw to get shoppers to buy the more profitable groceries.