Former Fullers is now Irving

[CanisLupusArctos]

Recently while driving by Rob's Gas Depot (formerly Fullers) on Rt 25 in Moultonborough I noticed they're no longer affiliated with Citgo. It's an Irving station now.

[fatlazyless]

Likewise, the Quikpik Citgo at Rt 93-exit 28 recently switched from Citgo to Gulf. Maybe they were not too happy doing business with Venezualian Presidente Hugo Chevez?

A gallon of gas is a gallon of gas....only thing that matters is the price...

[phoenix]

that may be good Irvings usually a little cheaper

[CanisLupusArctos]

that may be good Irvings usually a little cheaper

Has anyone else also noticed that Irving is usually a pretty clean place to stop, if you need anything more than fuel? And you're right, the fuel is usually cheaper at Irving. It also appears to be more local -- a good thing in light of what FLL mentions.

According to Irving's web site, they are headquartered in New Brunswick Canada, and they only serve eastern Canada plus New England. Their US operations are based in Portsmouth NH. They have only one refinery which is in Canada, and are proposing a second, also in Canada.

Seems like Rob's gas depot made a good choice...

[fatlazyless]

Inside the Irving oil terminal control room in Portsmouth they have a large photo of the company founder K. C. Irving, 1899-1992. Irving Co recently decided to drop their BlueCanoe self-managed gas stations and subcontract the store management to a New Brunswick company named Circle K. Isn't a Circle K the symbol for a strikeout? Anyway, Irving supplies the gasoline and owns the biz, and Circle K provides the employees or something?

For the history on Irving Oil, try googling" K C Irving, wikipedia."

[M/V_Bear_II]

Isn't a Circle K the symbol for a strikeout?
No, it isn't.

For the customer, there has been no visible change in operations beyond the logo on bags and cups.

[Lakesrider]

Did anyone notice that they were the same price as the Irving in Merideth when they changed over and now they are $.12 higher? Only 5 miles away?
You can't tell me it costs another 12 cents per gallon to deliver only 5 miles up the road....:rolleye2:

[islandAl]

Last Saturday, Fullers' Irving was about 10 cents higher than the Irvings on the Center Harbor line and same for the Mobil on the other side of them. Merideth Irvings was about 9 cents less expensive than those two.
??????????????:confused:
How can that vary so much in such a short distance?

[TomC]

The customer is free to shop elsewhere.


Not rocket science....

[jeffk]

...
How can that vary so much in such a short distance?

Because that's the price that they need to cover their costs of being in business. You can buy a burger at McDonalds for $3 or at a nice restaurant just down the street for $10. It's mostly the same ingredients and preparation. The restaurant charges more because their cost structure requires them to do it so that they can be profitable enough to stay in business.

Maybe the higher priced Irving's mortgage on the business is high and they need to charge more to pay it off. The Irvings must hope that they won't lose too much business to the higher prices they are setting. A lot of people just don't pay attention. They need gas, they buy it. The same is true for grocery stores. Some chains are significantly higher priced across the board and yet they do fine. In Hudson we have a Market Basket and a Stop and Shop right across the street from each other and both seem to do fine even though the Market Basket has much better pricing. Many people just don't care.

[Waterbaby]

Isn't a Circle K the symbol for a strikeout?

It's just a K with no circle for a strikeout -- and a strikeout without swinging is a backwards K...........

[phoenix]

a lot of the difference can be competition. Put three gas stations on the same corner and all may drop. The same brand few blocks away will be much higher. I was always amazed that when Fullers would raise their price this past summer then Green's corner would go to the same number. Both would be more expensive than Center Harbor.

[michael c]

I actually looked into this a few years ago. What I learned was this: When you find an Irving station and a competeing station,their prices will always be the same. Irving does not raise their prices. If their competition does,then Irving does .If their competition lowers,then they do . What this teaches ALL competition is this: We are bigger than you and if you want a gas war,we will win! So rather than slit your own throat,why not mark your product up to a comfortable level for you,,,and then we can both make a good living. No collusion ,just letting the other guy know "Don't mess with me and i will let you live.
When you are talking about two different Irvings 10 or more miles away,then they simply charge what the nearest gas station charges...if its 10 cents more than a store that is Irving and 12 miles away,they simply match the competition and if questioned why they are higher at one store than another,they will simply answer that their overhead is higher at the higher priced store...its kinda like price fixing but no one can prove it..you will NEVER see an Irving undercut another station nearby,unless its for an hour or two and they haven't had chance to raise their prices.
Unlike Hugo Chavez where all the profits of every citgo station goes to Venezuela,with Irving ,all the profits go the headquarters in Canada...

[hilltopper]

This morning, Exit 23, 3 competing gas stations:

Citgo: $1.78
Mobil (the new one): $1.83
Irving: $1.83

Irving and Mobil always seem to be the same, but not necessarily the same as the Citgo 1/8 mile down the road. Of course the Citgo is a bit of a dive and probably cannot compete with the othe two in the Convenience Store aspect of the business so needs lower gas prices to even have a chance of getting folks to come through their doors.

[Pineedles]

Have they started with the cash or credit pricing like here in CT & MA Difference can be as much as a dime a gallon. Cash price for regular this morning here in CT at a Citgo station is $1.93. I think they all are gouging though, $140 p.b. of oil down to $40 and they can't get the price under a buck, or close for that matter? Give me a break.

[M/V_Bear_II]

Have they started with the cash or credit pricing like here in CT & MA Difference can be as much as a dime a gallon. Cash price for regular this morning here in CT at a Citgo station is $1.93. I think they all are gouging though, $140 p.b. of oil down to $40 and they can't get the price under a buck, or close for that matter? Give me a break.

It's not the stations, it's the wholesalers (i.e., ExxonMobil, Citgo, yes, even Irving). They set the price, and the stations have a very slim and relatively constant profit margin.

The cash vs. credit price is because there is actually a difference in overhead for the station between cash and credit. Debit card companies often charge a flat fee per transaction, and credit card companies often charge a per-gallon fee (some as high as 10 cents). It saves the station money to encourage you to pay cash, and that savings is passed on to you.

[wifi]

Interesting, MV, cause Irving dropped their credit card years ago, I'm guessing, to make other companies float the cost of running the credit card operation?

[Pineedles]

It's not the stations, it's the wholesalers (i.e., ExxonMobil, Citgo, yes, even Irving). They set the price, and the stations have a very slim and relatively constant profit margin.

The cash vs. credit price is because there is actually a difference in overhead for the station between cash and credit. Debit card companies often charge a flat fee per transaction, and credit card companies often charge a per-gallon fee (some as high as 10 cents). It saves the station money to encourage you to pay cash, and that savings is passed on to you.


I didn't say the stations were at fault, I am an equal opportunity blamer. I know that it is the wholesalers, the refiners, and any other middleman, including the oil drillers themselves that are trying to get every dime they can from a crisis situation. I am just saying that we are the suckers that get the short end of the stick. Maybe its because we can't all get together and reduce our speed on the road, turn our thermostats down, (Don't get too excited SteveA, I might be a Native American blanket purveyor middleman) and stop being NIMBYs like certain island dwellers/swimmers in Mass. when it comes to ocean stationed wind power generators.

[brk-lnt]

Have they started with the cash or credit pricing like here in CT & MA Difference can be as much as a dime a gallon. Cash price for regular this morning here in CT at a Citgo station is $1.93. I think they all are gouging though, $140 p.b. of oil down to $40 and they can't get the price under a buck, or close for that matter? Give me a break.

Depending on what state you're in (CT, MA or NH), between Federal and State gas taxes, you'll be paying 36-43 cents per gallon just for the taxes. Now you need to account for the drilling, refining, distribution and gas station markups.

A 42 gallon barrel of crude will yield 19 gallons of gas after refining (plus some other petroleum products), so at $40/bbl, you get a raw price of about 75 cents per gallon of gasonline. Now you're at ~$1.11-$1.18 per gallon, and you haven't accounted for the cost of refining (about 25-30 cents per gallon), distribution (20-30 cents per gallon), or end-user sale (8-10 cents per gallon).

Gas at or near a dollar ain't going to happen unless somebody decides to donate their part of the chain for free.

[Pineedles]

[insert witty phrase here]

Here's my witty phrase, I don't give a darn, git me back to the days when I pulled into the Center Harbor Sport's Shop dock gas pump and filled up my 5gallon tank, in my 14 ft. 14 horse Scott motor and paid 35 cents per gallon and it lasted me all week.:laugh: So much for your well researched pricing model brk-int.:laugh: Just kidding b. You know I love you.

[OCDACTIVE]

Has anyone else also noticed that Irving is usually a pretty clean place to stop, if you need anything more than fuel? And you're right, the fuel is usually cheaper at Irving. It also appears to be more local -- a good thing in light of what FLL mentions.

According to Irving's web site, they are headquartered in New Brunswick Canada, and they only serve eastern Canada plus New England. Their US operations are based in Portsmouth NH. They have only one refinery which is in Canada, and are proposing a second, also in Canada.

Seems like Rob's gas depot made a good choice...

I have always liked stopping at Irvings for their cleanliness. They always have a very clean bathroom and you don't feel like you are going to catch something when you are there.. LOL.

They do seem less expensive as a whole. I for one am happy to see them moving closer to my neck of the woods.

[gus62]

It is my belief that Rob and his wife own the store and Irving simply is contracted to supply gas. Irving got out of the convience store operations and leased all of the Blue Canoe property to another canadien corporation that uses the Circle K name in the US both here in New England and the Southwest. So the condition of the store is solely based on how Rob and his wife run their business and is not a reflection of Irving. I will say that they (Rob and Linda) do a good job running their store.

[Irrigation Guy]

Rob and Linda have done a great job running the store in my opinion too. Their pizza, roast beef, onion rings, and breakfast items are great. Well worth the stop. They got Irving in there because their other supplier was too expensive making it difficult to attract gas customers who shop on price.

I also know they had been hoping to provide seating for lunchtime customers but have had difficulty obtaining the necessary permits due to the size of their septic system and/or the cost of expanding it to meet the current requirements in that regard.

They are great people and friendly just like a local business owner should be.

[BlackCatIslander]

We stopped going to Rob's last year when they stopped carrying the Boston and NYC papers. Does anyone know if they are now selling them?