one giant step backwards for mankind

[smileyeagle1021]

This is truly sad, many gas stations are now refusing to accept plastic payment... this is a step backwards in evolution, up until this point it looked like paper money would be obsolete... nope now we are stuck with the damn stuff (if y'all didn't guess I hate carrying cash)

gas stations say no to plastic

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Wait, someone explain this to me, I suck at numbers.

If the credit card companies are charging a 2 percent fee, how are the gas stations losing money? If they are charging more for gas, wouldn't everything go up proportionally? The CC fee is more, but I would think so is the profit. The 2 pecent does not change, it's always 2 percent. So how does it overtake the profit? I don't understand.

[Rapscallion]

I'm working from supposition here, but from having spoken to a fuelling station owner over here, it's a cutthroat business. The stations make very little per gallon or litre of fuel. One day, one station had the bright idea of having supplementary sales - things people could buy on impulse (snacks, drinks, charcoal briquettes), which allowed them to have a lower price displayed than everyone else, and thus everyone else was forced to follow suit to remain competitive.

Most fuel stations over here make their actual profit from the shop part of the company.

Rapscallion

[Caveat Emptor]

Wait, someone explain this to me, I suck at numbers.

If the credit card companies are charging a 2 percent fee, how are the gas stations losing money? If they are charging more for gas, wouldn't everything go up proportionally? The CC fee is more, but I would think so is the profit. The 2 pecent does not change, it's always 2 percent. So how does it overtake the profit? I don't understand.

The way I understand it is that the station owner gets a few cents - maybe 11 or 12 - from every gallon sold. They have to pay CC fees, and the fees eat into that margin. It's a choice of convenience for the customer vs. being able to lower prices by only accepting cash and thus eliminating those fees. I don't know about everyone else, but I *like* pulling up to the pump, sticking my card in, filling up and being done with it. If a station does not have "Pay at the Pump", I will find someone that does (unless it's the last gas for miles and I'm running low.)

[BlaqueKatt]

The way I understand it is that the station owner gets a few cents - maybe 11 or 12 - from every gallon sold.

The gas station across the street from me gets deliveries on mon-wed-and friday only-however they still raise their prices on average twice a day-did the gas company call them and force them to pay more for the gas in their tank?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I'm wondering how this works in conjunction with "prepay only". I like using my credit card at the pump to pay for gas and would be very leery about using my debit card in that case.

Every gas station we visited on vacation out west was prepay. Every. Single. One.

[Plaidman]

o_O Granted, I too belive in the power of the credit card. However I doubt very much its a step back in evolution.

Now, if we had to start paying in gold, or barter. Well bartering is fun. We should barter more.

[Chanlin]

There are stations around where I live that are giving you as much as $0.30 per gallon off if you pay in cash instead of CC.

[smileyeagle1021]

There are stations around where I live that are giving you as much as $0.30 per gallon off if you pay in cash instead of CC.

holy shit
*smileyeagle reconsiders his hatred of paper money*

[Aethian]

We have one for 3.88 a gallon if you get a carwash and pay in cash. One of my coworkers figured it out and your still only paying about 3.91 after factoring in the carwash on a 20 gallon buy.