Steve Hoffacker's Sales Quips

Gas isn't really on sale as in the old gas wars. It just seems that way. Gas is cheaper today than I've seen it here in 2 years. I bought gas today at Costco for $3.49! I know this is still expensive for many markets, but this is the first time in 2 years that I have seen gas below $3.50 in Palm Beach County. It might have been there someplace, but I didn't see it and no one reported it to me. From what I saw, it got down to $3.51 a few weeks ago before running back up again. Breaking the $3.50 mark is serious progress!

I have personally seen gas for $3.39 in Orlando and Myrtle Beach in July and August, but $3.49 in West Palm Beach is cause for celebration.

Gas is still way more than it should be or neds to be be, but we'll take this incremental decline as good news.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website or go to my other blog "Steve Hoffacker's Home Sales Insights" for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at "Steve Hoffacker's Happenings."

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Podcaster, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2011. All Rights Reserved.

Gas prices are uncharacteristically inching moving up each day throughout the summer when they normally are at a fairly stable low rate. So oil prices must be up there as well, right? No.

Today oil hit a 6-month low.

So what's with the gas prices?

It's not supply and demand. It's not a response to high oil prices. So just what is it?

It is isinflationary. That much is sure.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other bloghomesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2011. All Rights Reserved.

Walmart has announced that effectively immediately at participating gas stations in 18 states, the price of gas will be rolled back 10 cents a gallon for 90 days. Unfortunately Florida isn't one of those states. Maybe they will decide to expand their program.

For now, here are the states where the discount will be offered:

• Arkansas
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Michigan
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia

That has got to help! Thanks Walmart.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other bloghomesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2011. All Rights Reserved.

A few weeks ago when gas was at or above $4.00 a gallon ($3.97 is the most I ever spent locally), I read that gas was expected to slowly decline to $3.50 by the end of June. That seemed like a great hope beut so far off.

Today, sure enough, I noticed gas for $3.51 and we still have a couple more days til the end of the month.

The Administration is taking credit for the decrease because of their decision to release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) along with a matching amount from Europe, but it is the improving dollar and lower demand for oil that is making the difference.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other bloghomesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2011. All Rights Reserved.

At least the high gas prices are good for one thing.

The gas stations that always are several cents a gallon higher than the average still are. In fact, some are dangerously close to the $4.00 mark and have passed it for their premium grades.

The thing that's nice about this price runup - if you can derive any satitisfaction at all - is that there's hardly any difference in the market. I drove by some 30 stations today and didn't see a difference of more than 4 cents. Most were exactly the same.

The point is that we don't have to worry about trying to get the lowest price or driving all over town in search of it. Today, one station is as good as another for price.

Meanwhile, I'm waiting for the serious competition to return and the price below $2.00 again. Until that time, I have no choice but to buy gas at the prevailing rate.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

Photography displayed is original composition and artistic expression of Steve Hoffacker, and as such is copyrighted. Photos are as taken and have not been cropped or enhanced in anyway.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2011. All Rights Reserved.

I finally saw gas break the $3 mark here in Florida today. That was for premium, but regular gas is propably only a couple of weeks away from getting back to $3.

I know this makes the gas station owners quite happy. Those "3"s were just taking up too much space in storage.

As long as we put up with the excessive number of local blends (57 currently I believe) instead of demanding that there just be one or two, these seasonal spikes are going to continue unchecked. A little local drilling and increased refining capacity wouldn't hurt either.

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To learn more about my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

You read right. It's our fault.

But you say we didn't have anything to do with it.

Here's my take on the oil and gas issue. First, oil is a commodity - limited supply and distribution. Gasoline is a product.

Can we have virtually a limitless supply of oil and gas? Absolutely. Can we make synthetic oil? We already do.

If we start treating oil as a product - that it can be produced at will, that it can be manufactured, that it can be obtained from more than one source, and that the game is wide open for competition - we'll fix this unbridled run-up and price instability. Oh, and don't forget offshore drilling because the Chinese won't.

Back to us. We - through inaction - permit Congress to allow states (and this is not a states rights issue) to determine gasoline blends for their states and as a result we have 57 (like Heinz) blends of gasoline throughout the year. We have one type of electricity (while we may produce it different ways). We need to have one type of gas. We don't let states choose different recipes for bread and milk. Set the standards if you like on that one blend and then go with it. Have 3 grades if you like, but even that's not necessary if all engines were designed to burn the same gas.

We allow gasoline to be taxed like there is no other source of tax revenue. That compounds the issue. Gasoline, as a product, is no different today - other than some additives - than it has been over the years. It should sell for under a dollar and has as recently as just a few years ago.

We act like imported oil is all we can get. We if act like we don't need it at all, see how rapidly the prices fall.

By inaction and default, it is our collective fault that gas prices sail right back up at 10-25 cents a day until it gets to a manipulated level that a few people want to achieve.

Unfortunately, too few people really understand this.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

It's been a few months since oil and gas has been much of an issue. Both prices fell, and gas was below $1.50 a gallon in many places (not in our area - not even close). Then gas prices creeped back up to the $2.00 mark, fell back, and surged ahead.

In the Tucson area, gas is still available in the low $1.80s and you can find it for over $2.50 a gallon in some markets.

When gas was bordering on the $2.00 mark it would go up a couple of pennies and then fall the same amount. or more I witnessed a 10 cent increase one day and a 10 cent decrease the next. This kind of market response is tricky if you buy on the day it goes up, but it's relatively stable. You know that market forces will prevail and gas prices will remain basically the same over time - rising or dropping a little.

Now, with no big runup in oil procing - but with the Memorial Day weekend just over the ridge, gas prices are really taking off. Oil actually fell back over a dollar today from its midday high and closed under $59 a barrel.

How can gas increse over 20 cents in one day? Where was the market force that caused this? Guess I missed it, but I long for the day in a couple of weeks when that price drops by a quarter in the same day.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Ever notice that the lowest price is not always the best deal? This afternoon I needed gas, and I had seen a place this morning that was reasonably priced so I figured I'd stop there on the way home.

On the way to place I was intending to go, I saw another station for a couple of cents less so I changed lanes and made my way into this station. It wasn't busy. The first pump had a bag over the nozzle. The next pump said that it wouldn't accept credit cards. Went to another island. That pump said "no gas" - as did the others I could see. No wonder it wasn't busy.

That trip to save a couple of cents a gallon actually cost me in wasted time - what appears to be a good deal may not be.

Well I got my gas at they place I originally intended to stop. On the way home from there, I saw a couple of more stations with gas a few pennies less per gallon than I had paid. Interestingly there were no cars. It was hard to tell from driving by if they were open - perhaps not.

The lowest price isn't always the best choice.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, sales tips, insights, or strategies, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my other blog homesalesinsights.com. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Last week I had a post about the declining gas prices, and this morning I received comment on that post from Karl Peidl in New Jersey. He stated that gas prices had fallen to $3.17 in his area and was speculating about the possibility of gas going below $3.00. From what I hear, that is a distinct possibility. In our area we have a long way to go before that happens, however.

Some time ago, someone lead me to the gasbuddy.com site, and I include a map of their county-by-county pricing across the US on my Home Sales Insights blog. I've been watching the top category drop to near $4.00 a gallon, so I checked it after Karl's comment this morning. Sure enough, for the first time in many weeks, the top category (which mostly just is noticeable in California and the Northwest) is "$3,99 and above." $4.00 is no longer being shown!

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.