Is wednesday actually cheap day in Canberra?

Yep – I still aim for Tuesday, cos then I might remember by Wednesday.

If you forget til Thursday it is bad news.

i am consistently amazed at the lengths people will go to, to get cheap stuff.

You’ve buggered that idea mate.
All power to the “Riot”, but Wednesday had been the quiet cheapy day in the ACT for years. Tight-Arse Tuesday had nothing on Weasel Wednesday.

I was very disappointed when I had to fill my fuel thirsty 4cyl jap import today, and the “cheapness” of 134cpl had gone up to 150cpl. That’s okay though, because John Nohope has sorted out the busses (insert Goon Show laughing track here now)

see, if they didn’t have this entirely arbitrary cycle, there wouldn’t be the queues, better for everyone.

maybe we should start a class action against petroleum corporations generally suing for damages caused through angst. that’s gotta be a winner, yeah?

I second that Woody. Am I the only one who dares to fill the tank on – wait for it – a Saturday, Sunday or Monday? You probably waste a buck or two in fuel waiting in the line on a pay day.

If filling up on a Thursday causes people so much angst… DON’T DO IT!!! There are 6 other days in the week you know, and 13 other days in a pay period.

I’d rather spend an extra couple of bucks a tank and get in and out in two minutes than line up for ten minutes waiting for a pump on cheap day / pay day.

yebbut that doesn’t explain bread milk rice, woody. why isn’t beer cheaper on tuesdays?

This survey does not respecting my diversity,
What about diesel?
Is there a cheap diesel day?
or is it just a rush to fill the tank before it goes up again?

I agree there needs to be a “whenever I need to” option in the survey. And people who fill up their on the days when fuel is more costly aren’t necessarily “dumb”. There are plenty of people like me who need to fill up more than once/week. If I fill up on a Tues/Wed when its cheapest, then the 2nd tank for the week will likely fall on a more expensive day.

I agree – I would’ve chosen an option along the lines of ‘whenever the tank is nearly empty’.

And ease up on calling people ‘dumb’ tylersmayhem – it was you that posted the stupidity about fuel density and adding oxygen to the fuel in that other thread, was is not?

madman 🙂 hehe cools. Sorry bout the bitching then! Fair point. Oh, and I didn’t actually put the post up! I’d like to see an option for that as well – because as silly as it may be – it does happen frequently!

Ease on old fella, maybe some people are quite happy to cop the massive $4-5 hit to their budgets when filling up if the price has gone from 149.9 to 159.9, haha.

I would have ticked a ‘whenever I need it’ option too, if I was provided with one.

Aurelius: What’s the deal with your “If you’re going to put up a poll, put some thought in”. The topic that has been brought up here is a nationwide question – “when is the best time of the week to fill up your car”. There (at times) clearly is a cheaper time of the week to fill up. Mind you, it seems more so in other states than ACT.

For those who need to keep an eye on their budget, it’s worth planning on when to fill your car up is possible. If you’re dumb enough to fill up “whenever”, it would serve you right if you wait till Friday or Saturday to do so.

can anyone explain, simply and clearly, why there is and needs to be this ‘cycle’

Supply and demand. Demand for petrol is low the further away from a pay day you get, so retailers lower the price to attract buyers who are in a position to buy petrol whenever they feel like it, rather when they can afford it.

I vote with LG & Justbands – there’s little point filling up when the car’s fuelled.
When do I buy bread? Milk? Toblerones?
When I don’t have enough.
If you’re going to put up a poll, put some thought in.

How about another poll answer option “When I need to fill up”. None of the answers you have fit for me at all….which I must say is true of many recent RiotACT polls. I think you need to consider the options a little more.

tylersmayhem said :

I agree with VYBerlina – I usually buy on Tuesdays or Wednesdays – there is rarely a difference. If there is a difference, it’s probably only 1c per litre at my local.

If anyone wants to revisit my soapbox thread on the topic of saving a few bucks when buying fuel, feel free to check out: http://the-riotact.com/?p=7398

I still stand by my comments and suggestions in that thread.

On NewsRadio the other day they had some fuel expert guy from the RACV (IIRC) and he debunked most of the theories you espouse. Those he did agree with, mostly relating to fuel temperature/density, he said that in our climate the savings would hardly be noticeable. Moreso during a Canberra winter one would expect.

Ohhh I wasn’t bein pedanitc or putting my foot up ya but doesnt a ? written at the end of a scentence indicate a direct question as it is also known as an interrogation point…

:-p at your pedantic christ sakeness!

It was interesting – infact it’s going to make me fill up this afternoon!

Should be a fourth option… “Whenever I need to”

There’s your proof ant 🙂 and madman – yes, i knew the answer to the question already – the question was simply a header introducing the topic – for christ’s sake – some of the people on this site have become so pedantic – was just trying to share some interesting info with everyone.

I agree with VYBerlina – I usually buy on Tuesdays or Wednesdays – there is rarely a difference. If there is a difference, it’s probably only 1c per litre at my local.

If anyone wants to revisit my soapbox thread on the topic of saving a few bucks when buying fuel, feel free to check out: http://the-riotact.com/?p=7398

I still stand by my comments and suggestions in that thread.

I’ve been saying it for years. Cheap Day = Wednesday. Some servos keep it going to Thursday morning, others have already put it up. Thursdays are always payday for someone, that’s why I reckon it goes up Thursday. Stays up all weekend, then starts falling from Monday.

Some servos close off certain pumps on Wednesday, PULP usually, sometimes that E3 ethanol muck also (the Shell at Manuka does this).

I usually aim for Wednesday… and sometimes fail and get screwed on a thursday morning… though the other week Weston caltex was still down on the thursday morning, surely never to be seen again!

I generally buy petrol Tuesdays or Wednesdays, as there doesn’t seem to be much difference at my local.

I have little sympathy for those who buy petrol on any day other that Tuesday or Wednesday, given that the price cycle is common knowledge.

Looking back through the figures does seem to suggest that the sawtooth weekly pricing cycle is a relatively recent phenomenon in Canberra – only over the last sixth to eight months. Compared to Sydney where it has been going on for years.

It is also interesting to look back to when petrol first crossed the $1 per litre mark – Feb 2003 – 5 years ago. Since then the price has increased by 8% per year on average.

There isnt really a consensus on the exact causes of price cycles, but it basically down to competition between companies – one lowers their price, triggers a race to the bottom to capture some volume, until the price cuts narrow the margin down to breakeven point… at which point the first to start losing money puts their price back up.

Naturally, the others follow suit. And so the process begins again.

Other arguments include pay cycle (ie everyone gets paid and fills up on Thursday/friday, so that is when prices peak), and oil refinery supply issues (chains take their fuel early, leftovers get sold at a discount to high volume/independents => price discounting).

in reality? probably a mix of all the above.

The ACCC recently found that the weekly petrol cycle was a:
“construct of the petrol industry….a marketing strategy”.

No sh*t Sherlock.

Now they need to find out why petrol pumps always seem to break down about Tuesday and self-repair by Thursday…

http://www.smh.com.au/cgi-bin/common/popupPrintArticle.pl?path=/articles/2008/05/20/1211182801304.html

can anyone explain, simply and clearly, why there is and needs to be this ‘cycle’ that makes the same fuel cost more or less depending on where in the cycle you purchase it?

why? why? farkin’ why??

and so why aren’t bread, milk, sugar and flour subject to such cycles??

well then i think you’ve answered your own question there; yes, wednesday’s are cheaper for petrol.

who are we to say research that probably cost a fortune to gather is wrong!!!!