One or more of a trio of Waldoboro gas stations – Big Apple, Twin Stop and Waldoboro Circle K – offered the lowest price on regular, unleaded gas in each of the first three weeks of The Lincoln County News’ gas guide.
This week, Big Apple and Twin Stop talked about their ability to keep prices relatively low and the process of establishing prices.
Philip Sewall co-owns Twin Stop and the adjacent building, home, at present, to a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise. “I try to keep [gas] as cheap as I can and still make a living,” Sewall said.
Sewall watches his competitors – mainly Big Apple and Waldoboro Circle K – and sets his price accordingly. He also monitors wholesale prices. “I try to get it on the downswing,” he said.
The goal, Sewall said, is to “make somewhere between 15 and 20 cents” above the wholesale cost and taxes, although Sewall sees only a share of the margin. “The credit card company gets almost eight cents a gallon,” Sewall said. “The credit card companies are making a fortune.”
Sewall bases the price on the gas he’s bought, not his next order, as some stations do. His philosophy is simple. “I price the gas to try to get more people into the Dunkin’ Donuts because the more they make the more I make,” he said.
For Big Apple Manager Michael Colson, there’s less strategy involved.
“It’s all computer-automated,” Colson said. “I type in our competitor’s price and it tells me what our price is going to be that day.” Colson includes the prices of “all competitors” along Rt. 1 in Waldoboro, where options for motorists are plentiful.
“It’s all a big math equation,” Colson said Jan. 13. “Sometimes we’re more, sometimes we’re less; sometimes we’re the same. Today we’ll be the most expensive.”
“It’s a new system,” Colson said. In the past, someone in a corporate office supplied the store with a price.
Colson thinks the station averages a gross margin (the difference between the wholesale cost and the station’s price) of about 13 cents, but was unsure. “This location is more of an inside sales location,” he said. In terms of both sales and margins, “I do more inside than I do at the pumps.”
Nowhere have drivers paid more than in the villages of Damariscotta and Newcastle and in Bristol and South Bristol. Hanley’s Market in Bristol, with its single gas pump, has offered the lowest price or tied for the lowest price in each of the gas guide’s three weeks.
Mr. Mike’s (formerly Puffin Stop) on Bus. Rt. 1 in Damariscotta is by far the largest gas station in the four towns. Despite their size, Mr. Mike’s has charged 2-5 cents more than smaller stations like Hanley’s Market or Mike’s Place in Newcastle through each week of the gas guide.
According to Manager Dixie Haley, the “main office” – in this case, the offices of Alliance Energy, LLC, Mr. Mike’s parent company – sets the prices.
An Alliance Energy spokesperson did not return repeated calls.
