Anyone sign up for this yet?

http://mygallons.com/how_it_works.html

Quote :

"Reuters reports, "The high price of gasoline has some U.S. drivers looking to the future. A recently introduced service called MyGallons.com allows drivers to fill up their tanks sometime in the future but at current prices, using a debit-like card which banks gallons rather than dollars." Company founder Steven Verona told Reuters he started MyGallons because "The price of gasoline was changing all the time," but "it seemed there had to be a way to fix the price." Launched in January, the company claims 2,000 members today. Minnesota Fox affiliate KMSP explains, "To pre-purchase fuel, you log-in to your MyGallons.com account to buy gas at the current listed price, plus applicable local taxes. When you’re logged in, you can also view how many gallons you have left, look at your transaction history and find the current price for purchasing more gas." Members pay a $29.95 annual membership fee, and a $15 overdraft fee if they go over their prepaid balance at the pump. MyGallons claims that more than 200,000 gas stations nationwide participate in its program."

7/1/2008 2:30:56 PM

that's what wholesalers and big companies do with gas, corn, etc.
For example, Southwest airlines apparently "bought" (i.e. agreed to buy, at a fixed price) millions of gallons of jet fuel years ago at a low price, and that's how they are still able to keep their prices down when all other airlines are getting screwed by high prices.

7/1/2008 2:33:44 PM

Was thinking about this the other day, it would be nice to be able to directly hedge against higher prices rather than slightly indirectly by buying energy/oil stocks.

7/1/2008 2:53:14 PM

Quote :

"MyGallons claims that more than 200,000 gas stations nationwide participate in its program."

Are those major gas stations or what?

7/1/2008 3:13:20 PM

if you click the link it has most major gas stations listed

[Edited on July 1, 2008 at 3:16 PM. Reason : http://mygallons.com/fueling.html]

7/1/2008 3:15:35 PM

http://mygallons.com/locations.html

7/1/2008 3:17:09 PM

public transportation for the win

7/1/2008 3:17:27 PM

don't really see it making a difference unless you buy a hell of a lot of gas to start and gas prices sky rocket.

[Edited on July 1, 2008 at 3:20 PM. Reason : ]

7/1/2008 3:17:45 PM

read the faq

Quote :

"Q Why was there an adjustment when I took a trip? A Adjustments are made to account for tax and price discrepancies between your MyGallons price and the price at the location where you filled up. MyGallons assumes that most of your purchases will occur in your home area and within a reasonable price range and prices your pre-purchases accordingly."

Quote :

"Q Will MyGallons still pay for my gas if prices go to $5 per gallon or higher? A Yes. No matter how high the price of gas rises, you can redeem your gallons at the price you originally pre-purchased them for, subject to certain adjustments, such as fuel grade/type upgrades or purchasing from filling stations with prices higher or lower than the acceptable range for your area."

Quote :

"Q What if I really need gas now and the only station is charging really high prices? A Most stations charge a fair and reasonable price for fuel. Some stations charge much more than the current average price in their area. We encourage you to avoid these high priced stations. If you must use one on occasion, MyGallons will adjust your account, in gallons, to reflect the higher priced fuel. This is no different than if you had to pay that station out of your pocket compared to going to another lower-priced station."

7/1/2008 3:25:14 PM

what I'm a saying is that say I buy 100 gallons now @ <$4 or so. That's ~$400+29.95(or 39.95 annual membership fee depending if you auto-reload). After I use those 100 gallons, I'm going to have to pre-order more at a newer and most likely higher rate +$2 each time you preorder. So unless you buy a lot to begin with or gas prices go up a lot after you preorder, it's not going to be that great.

[Edited on July 1, 2008 at 3:35 PM. Reason : ]

7/1/2008 3:34:11 PM

Priceline used to do this, but much better. They stopped doing it because they werent making much money.

it would work like the following: You would state how many gallons you wanted to pre-order. A winning bid for a gas station would come back. it would generally be 10-15 cents cheaper per gallon. You prepaid. You would fill up at that gas station, use your card, and everything would be cool. I loved it. This looks a little shady, since it appears if the prices go up too much, then they can still charge you the difference (so what do you really gain).

7/1/2008 4:03:51 PM

You don't gain much by using this service, but they gain your membership fee.

Buy about 100000 gallons and then you'll be rollin.

Quote :

"Was thinking about this the other day, it would be nice to be able to directly hedge against higher prices rather than slightly indirectly by buying energy/oil stocks."

might as well start investing in futures. there is much more to be made per day.

7/1/2008 5:14:22 PM

you guys are reading it wrong

they look at the average price of fuel for the day you buy it (using the prepaid card) in your registered area

if the station you are getting fuel from is offering it at the average price for your area, you get charged nothing extra. you use the gallons you prepaid.

if they are offering it for higher or lower than the average price for that day, then you either get credited/debited an equivalent number of gallons to make up the difference.

so, say you purchase 20 gallons from them today for $3.99 a gallon. a month from now, gas hits $5.00/gallon on average in raleigh. you go fill up at a place that offers it for $5.00/gallon, and you essentially are paying $3.99/gallon. no surcharges and whatnot. if you filled up at a place that offered it for $5.15/gallon, however, you would be charged a bit more.

7/1/2008 5:54:00 PM

so you are buying gasoline futures?

7/1/2008 6:13:57 PM

sure

7/1/2008 6:17:02 PM

When a site like this shows up, it makes me think that gas prices will start dropping before too long.

7/1/2008 7:39:08 PM

All this is is an excellent idea for the man that thought of this site, he gets paid while yall think you got a deal

7/1/2008 11:07:01 PM

^^

that's what i thought.

7/2/2008 2:01:49 AM

fyi, just got this email:

Quote :

"Dear MyGallons Member, We developed the MyGallons program because, like you, we wanted to help solve the problems caused by the rising price of gasoline. We are proud of what we created and look forward to providing you with this innovative service in the very near future. Due to difficulties with a key supplier, we are unable to deliver the service we promised to you at this time. We apologize for the delay. You will be receiving a refund on your credit card for 100% of the membership fees that you have previously paid. To express our sincere thanks for your loyalty and support, once we secure a new payment network, you will enjoy the benefits of the MyGallons program free of membership charges for your first year. Rest assured, we are working diligently to secure a relationship with a new national card processing company. We will keep you updated every step of the way as we overcome the challenges we face together. Sincerely, Steven Verona Founder and CEO MyGallons LLC"

7/15/2008 9:22:47 PM

interesting

7/15/2008 9:38:38 PM

or you could just take that money and buy stock in an oil company.

[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 8:56 AM. Reason : same effect, only less sketch]

7/17/2008 8:55:50 AM

Haha, so anyone lock in at the beginning of the month when oil was $145 a barrel?

7/29/2008 12:32:59 PM

Quote :

"slamjamason Veteran 450 Posts user info edit post block user When a site like this shows up, it makes me think that gas prices will start dropping before too long. 7/1/2008 7:39:08 PM"

haha. now hopefully the trend continues.

7/29/2008 2:12:49 PM