Its Time. Get Rid of 1/10 Cent Gasoline Pricing!

I can remember 12 cents per gallon. But i was only about 8 or 9 years old.

Is that what you all used to create steam for those steam engines? Just kidding around!

I sure wish we could get it for that price today

As a matter of fact the steel mill I worked at had a steam generator and a coal gas generator. But that was back in prehistoric times.

I grew up at my father's gas station, built by my grandfather. I can remember 17 cent gasoline. Back then, we had Ethel too.
The 9/10 cent was the original tax on gasoline. When that changed, all the mechanical gas pumps of that time were already made to accomodate the 9/10 . It wasn't at all practical, or affordable to make that kind of change, so they just left it be.
I don't know about the modern electronic pumps, it might be a simple and inexpenive change to make today.

Wayne, thanks for the information. I have wondered if it had something to do with the tax a long time ago.
I can remember buying gasoline as cheap as 15.9 cents per gallon. A friend of mine had a gas guzzling muscle car, so he was always looking for cheap gas. I think we got that price somewhere around Amarillo, TX, maybe Pampa, TX? There are refineries in that area, or at least were at that time.

I also wonder if the pumps could be edited to compute at whole cents per gallon, but given the electronic age we live in, I think if not, that we should be able to retrofit a fix for it fairly easily. If it is toughter than I think, I think it could still be done over time, to be mandated by a date down the road. I think any potential problem should be less than compared to the problems given us by requiring fluorescent bulbs, and the benefits are potentially much greater.

This is kind of a silly thread.

Gasoline is sold as a fluid and you can buy any amount of that fluid you want.
If you charge $4.00 or 3.99 or 3.999 per gallon, it doesn't really matter. They always round up to the nearest cent. The flow meter doesn't care. It only measures the flow and then price is simply multiplied by the quantity.

It might be possible to always get gas in such a manner that you are just under the 1/2 cent so you always round down but that would take a lot of care and not worth the cost in time.

I have a question for you, parados: Can you identify anything else you buy at retail level that is priced in tenths of a penny, whether it be per each, gallon, litre, or whatever. For example, how about milk, orange juice, a dozen eggs, bread, magazines, etc.? Even propane and natural gas, I think a propane provider I am familiar with charges an even penny per gallon, and natural gas is charged in even prices per 100 or 1,000 cubic feet or whatever, I think. I could be wrong on natural gas, but I don't think so.

So I guess my point is that you may label this thread as silly, but the really silly thing here is the way the public is buying gasoline in prices of tenths of a penny, such as $3.69 and 9/10, which is silly indeed. Is this practice going to be followed to the utterly ridiculous extreme of $9.99 and 9/10 per gallon, which would essentially be 10 bucks a gallon. In my opinion, the consumers deserve better.

The Obama administration has come up with a special gas coupon and they are
printing millions of them. Each coupon can be exchanged for one gallon of gas.



















Here is a sample of the Obama Gas Coupon

Propane and natural gas are sold per 1000 which means I am paying partial cents when I buy only 1 cubic foot.

If gasoline was sold in 1000 gallon units then there would be no partial cent. So what if you buy one gallon at a time?

I buy hardware that is priced per 1000 pieces which means I am paying partial cents when I buy 100. Why on earth would I want the seller of that hardware to round up the cost for every piece to the nearest cent? I would much rather pay 1.45 cents per piece than 2 cents.


When I buy a gallon of milk at $2.69 it is priced at 67.25 cents per quart. Are you going to complain about that? That is 1/100 of a cent rather than just the 1/10th.

You're welcome.
I would guess that the electronic pumps could be programmed differently, but I don't know.
I think it's been that way so long, it's just a natural part of the gas business.

I remember when 3 bucks and you could cruise all night on the boulevard, ahh nostalgia.

I think you are wrong on propane. In fact I called the retailer where I fill up my containers for the barbecue and for the camper when needed. The price is $3.60 per gallon even. I think also that folks on route for filling up their propane tanks receive the fillups at a given price per gallon in even cents. That is before tax is added. Regarding natural gas, a review of my bill tells me it is priced per units of 100 cubic feet, I think. But it is not sold in 1,000 gallon units. You are making up an artificial scenario.

False reasoning. If it is priced by 1,000 pieces, I would bet the price is not in a tenth of a cent for those 1,000 piece lots. Sure you can calculate fractions of a penny per piece, but that is not the way it is priced.
That is stupid reasoning, parados, and not practiced in reality. It is not priced at 67.25 cents per quart, it is priced at $2.69 per gallon, and I do not believe at all that you could get the store to pour a quart of milk out of the gallon, so that you could buy a quart. If you buy a quart, it will not be priced in fractions of a penny.

I will ask you again, can you cite anything you buy in a retail outlet that is priced in a fraction of a penny, except gasoline? You failed to come up with anything in your above post, but you are welcome to try again.

Actually, the whole thing is designed so you can't stop the pump on an even dollar, the 9/10s insure you'll always go over 1 cent

Thanks to all that have put in their two cents worth on this subject. I have enjoyed learning a bit more about this for myself. Another couple of commodities, my utility bills indicate a pricing of electricity by kwH for the first 1,000 kWH, and then a slightly lower unit price for the usage above that, I think. For natural gas, it is measured by 100 cubic feet and priced in oddball amounts per unit. The bills strike me as confusing and convoluted, and probably a result of the PUC controlling this stuff, and frankly I think it could be done better as well.

Parados, you would probably have your best case of pointing out partial cent pricing in the above two cases, electicity and natural gas. However, those commodities are delivered to peoples residence in bulk, through pipes or electrical cable, and pricing is controlled by the PUC, so I think the situation may warrant how it is done, which contrasts greatly with a retail outlet selling and pricing gasoline by the gallon.

Regarding water, my bills show it is metered by 1,000 gallon increments for a three month period, and priced accordingly.

How much per gallon for your water okie?

How much per kWH for electricity? I bet you pay it in tenths of a cent or even thousands.

Do you use electricity in 1,000 kWH increments?
My electric bill lists electricity at .058070 per kWh.

My gas bill lists it at $.78616 per therm.
Sample bill showing therms charged at $.92838

Another one showing .05700 per kWH


Another one showing $.12743

The reason that stores set all their prices as $19.99 instead of $20.00 is because they make more money that way. This is because, as it is very easy to test, people are more likely to buy something for $19.99 then they are the same thing at $20.

The customer is to blame for this. Stores are in the business of making money and they would be foolish not to play along with the customer's rules.

The same goes for gas prices.

I always round off to the nearest dollar when I see .99.

I do not buy water for my residence from the municipality by the gallon. I buy it in lots of 1,000 gallons, and that is the way it is priced. I am okay with that, as it is reasonable.

So your water meter counts only in steps of 1,000 gallons? (Here, we have to pay it m³ [1,000 gallons would be 3.785m³] and parts of it.)

So you never buy less than 1000 gallons at a time?
How large is the tank on your toilet?