[Donger]

Originally Posted by Frosty

Here's the deal. I don't whine about the overall price of gas. It is what it is. What gets my goat is that there is a strong suspicion of price fixing where I live.

I live in an isolated community where there is limited choices of stations. When I moved here 17 years ago, gas would run 15 to 20 cents a gallon higher than Spokane, which makes sense at it costs more to truck it up here.

A few years ago, a major chain (Whitten Oil) here sold and suddenly we were running 30 to 40 cents a gallon higher than Spokane. However, a town that is even further out in the boonies (Republic) stayed at a consistent 20 cents a gallon higher than Spokane.

I was trying to get a sense of if there was a legitimate reason why this might be so and you went off on a tangent on some outdated pricing in Republic (which doesn't update much; it is a very small town) despite having seen with my own eyes what the price there is.

As a follow up, we went hiking last Friday in the Kettle Crest. Afterward, we went to Republic to get some pops. We filled up at the Chevron station there at $3.699/gallon. Gas at the Chevron (all stations actually, since they are in lockstep here) in Colville (where I work) was $3.849/gallon. According to Gasbuddy, the station I fill up at in Spokane was $3.509/gallon. Something hinky is going on, IMO.

As for today, that station in Spokane is still $3.509 and the station I fill up at here is $3.919, verified with my own eyes. That's 41 cents more, so I stand by what I said. The average in Spokane might be higher but it's inflated by the stations along I-90, which are running almost $4/gallon to fleece the travelers. North Spokane, the closest to me, is running around $3.50.

Okay, so you are basically complaining that the difference between gasoline in Spokane and out in the boonies has doubled over the last 17 years?

Originally Posted by Frosty

I was trying to get a sense of if there was a legitimate reason why this might be so and you went off on a tangent on some outdated pricing in Republic (which doesn't update much; it is a very small town) despite having seen with my own eyes what the price there is.

Also, this is incorrect.