Thais buying expensive fuel

[lorus59]

A petrol vending machine dispensing gasohol 95 has just appeared on my street and it seems to get regular customers from local motorcyclists. I find this bizarre as the cost is 42 baht per litre but only 29 baht at the petrol station. Why don't they go to the petrol station? Is this another piece of illogical Thailand?

[johng]

They buy from the vending machine because it is closer to home and thus "saves" money by not having to drive

( all the way even if only 200 meters ) to the petrol station,perfect (Thai) logic.

[cumgranosalum]

it may be to do with there being a minimum purchase at their local Gas station.

[konying]

Because vending machine accepts 10 baht and since they live day by day , 10 baht is all they may have

[dotpoom]

Fuelling the body same same, free water available at most food courts but still prefer to buy it?

[mikebell]

Having bought it, they burn it sitting at traffic lights for five minutes whilst a pedestrian food vendor pushes his cart across Suk whilst 300 cars sit waiting patiently. Or they rent a man and a van equipped with a speaker to drive round slowly holding up other car drivers on the off-chance that someone will hear the garbled message they are disseminating. This advertising ploy must rank with an exhibition of ice sculptures on Beach road as the ultimate in Thai brainlessness.

[Eaglekott]

29 Baht at the petrol station? Where is that, sounds too cheap.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

You want them to travel B 10 distance to fill up with B 10. Why do people under estimate poor peoples ability to act rationally? Why do people think all poor people are stupid ? Next time ask the people why they are doing what they are doing and you may be suprised by their logic. The same is true for people buying bottled water instead of drinking the free water. We will drink the free water at certain food courts and not at others. The reason is if you suspect that the water at a specific food court caused your guts to stay behind in the toilet, you buy the bottled water next time.

[sitti]

The number of this kind of petrol vending machine are growing. That means there are demands for it and manufacturers are making money from it. If you see people are buying from those vending machines, there are demands and vending machine owners are profiting from it. "another piece of illogical Thailand?", that shows your character, doesn't it. You failed to see this as a business opportunity, and you actually think you are smarter than them? Obviously some thais are smart enough to have different logic, saw an opportunity, and turned it into a profitable business.

[Chao Lao Beach]

Bigger fuel staations have a 50b min purchase. I to am amazed how these little pumps are often very close to fuel stations, however I understand them being in a village etc. Just replacing the whiskey bottle stands !!!

The 29b you see I think is deisel, not appales to apples.

[jacko45k]

You want them to travel B 10 distance to fill up with B 10. Why do people under estimate poor peoples ability to act rationally? Why do people think all poor people are stupid ? Next time ask the people why they are doing what they are doing and you may be suprised by their logic. The same is true for people buying bottled water instead of drinking the free water. We will drink the free water at certain food courts and not at others. The reason is if you suspect that the water at a specific food court caused your guts to stay behind in the toilet, you buy the bottled water next time.

Slightly pedantic of me I know, but can one really 'fill-up' with 10 baht?

Maybe drop up, or dribble up?

[petermik]

Go check the fuel machine maybe it has a promotion or BOGOF yes 2 litres for the price of one

[Garry]

The number of this kind of petrol vending machine are growing. That means there are demands for it and manufacturers are making money from it. If you see people are buying from those vending machines, there are demands and vending machine owners are profiting from it. "another piece of illogical Thailand?", that shows your character, doesn't it. You failed to see this as a business opportunity, and you actually think you are smarter than them? Obviously some thais are smart enough to have different logic, saw an opportunity, and turned it into a profitable business.

Agreed, nothing is free and convenience comes at a cost. These self-serve mini-pumps are popping up all of the place and there are many in the two villages I pass through to get to the city.

[impulse]

I wonder if they've discovered 7/11 where I buy a can of coffee for 13 baht, that I can get at Big C for 9 baht (if I buy a case of them)?

[Gandtee]

Reminds me of an old joke. When the cop asked why the driver was speeding, he replied 'I wanted to get to the petrol station before I ran out of petrol'. Ah well. Groan

[how241]

it may be to do with there being a minimum purchase at their local Gas station.

+1...Also, depending on where you are, gas stations are not always close by.

[PattayaPhom]

Why is this Thai logic....it happens worldwide.....not everyone can be bothered to go to the cheapest outlet all the time.......on the flipside, why do Thais love outlet malls....silly prices when cheaper at the market.....it now seems that anything that an OP dosnt think about and agree with is stupidly Thai...

[Anon999]

29 Baht at the petrol station? Where is that, sounds too cheap.

Filled my car up with 95 gasohol on 22 May at 29.84/l, last month it was 29.04/l

[tomyumchai]

You want them to travel B 10 distance to fill up with B 10. Why do people under estimate poor peoples ability to act rationally? Why do people think all poor people are stupid ? Next time ask the people why they are doing what they are doing and you may be suprised by their logic. The same is true for people buying bottled water instead of drinking the free water. We will drink the free water at certain food courts and not at others. The reason is if you suspect that the water at a specific food court caused your guts to stay behind in the toilet, you buy the bottled water next time.

Slightly pedantic of me I know, but can one really 'fill-up' with 10 baht?

Maybe drop up, or dribble up?

yeah, put 20 baht in and all you will get is 10 bahts worth. you think those machines dispense the correct amount? my bike takes 510 baht from dry but i filled up from those machines when out in the sticks and i can get 600 baht in there easily....and run out quicker too. i can also get 6 litres of drinking water into a 5 litre bottle in most water machines.......now thats magic........but i guess it happens all over the world eh?

[lorus59]

The number of this kind of petrol vending machine are growing. That means there are demands for it and manufacturers are making money from it. If you see people are buying from those vending machines, there are demands and vending machine owners are profiting from it. "another piece of illogical Thailand?", that shows your character, doesn't it. You failed to see this as a business opportunity, and you actually think you are smarter than them? Obviously some thais are smart enough to have different logic, saw an opportunity, and turned it into a profitable business.

Yes it is a great business opportunity to rip off poor people if it is true they can't afford the 40 baht minimum charge at the petrol station (Which is less than 100 metres from this vending machine). I would not congratulate anyone taking advantage of poor people to make a profit.

[GOLDBUGGY]

Reminds me of when I was in Saudi Arabia and I went to fill up my car the first time.

I pulled into the first Petro Station I could find but couldn't figure out how much it would cost to fill up as the old fuel pump had all the writing worn off. All I could see was on those old Rotating Dials which move when you fill up, and with one saying 4 and the other 1.

So when the guy came to fill me up I asked him if this was working and this meant 4 Saudi Riyal (about $1.06) for 1 Gallon (about 4 Litres to US Gal.) which would have been quite cheap at that time. But he smiled and said that no this wasn't right. That this means 4 Gallons for 1 Saudi Riyal.

Got to Love it!

[wump]

They really are that lazy/stupid, please don't put it down to the very few who don't have the 50 Baht minimum purchase at the gas station. I'll give you two examples:

There is 2 pumps for motorbikes at the Shell gas station in South Pattaya. Why do most of the Thais fill in V-Power instead of normal petrol? This stuff is 8 Baht dearer and has virtually no benefit. Do they wanna look fancy? Do they believe the marketing stuff? Or are they just too lazy to pay attention to it?

Example number 2: From what I observe, more than 90% of Thais hanging out across the road from Family Mart on Beach road will buy their water from the mobile bicycle guys for 10 Baht instead of walking 15 meters to the minimart. That's a 43% higher price compared to Family Mart. Why is that? I can only see it as extreme laziness, I have no other explanation for it. Even the girls with only 20 Baht in their pocket are still to lazy to go there.

And why is it that they work for 30 Baht an hour, yet to go home from work they'd rather take a 40 Baht motorbike taxi than walking 15 minutes?!

Edited May 30, 2015 by wump

[MESmith]

And let's not even start on those crazy foreigners who pay way too much for a beer surrounded by similar idiots in a bar run by a fellow foreigner. Much cheaper in their local Mom 'n pop store, & no need to travel so far Factor in taxi fares....

[wump]

Yes but there you got a social element to it. I don't see that when you shout "Naam khap" and have some guy giving you a water.

[MESmith]

Yes but there you got a social element to it. I don't see that when you shout "Naam khap" and have some guy giving you a water.

But they could go to thai bar, with thai prices & be equally sociable.

[sitti]

Yes it is a great business opportunity to rip off poor people if it is true they can't afford the 40 baht minimum charge at the petrol station (Which is less than 100 metres from this vending machine). I would not congratulate anyone taking advantage of poor people to make a profit.

That's not right. I don't even see any part of this business is remotely close to ripping off the poor. It's all about choices and how much you see value in a little convenience. Nobody is being forced to buy from that vending machine. Price is clearly listed. If they don't like the deal, they can always go to that petrol station less than 100m away.

They really are that lazy/stupid, please don't put it down to the very few who don't have the 50 Baht minimum purchase at the gas station. I'll give you two examples:

There is 2 pumps for motorbikes at the Shell gas station in South Pattaya. Why do most of the Thais fill in V-Power instead of normal petrol? This stuff is 8 Baht dearer and has virtually no benefit. Do they wanna look fancy? Do they believe the marketing stuff? Or are they just too lazy to pay attention to it?

Example number 2: From what I observe, more than 90% of Thais hanging out across the road from Family Mart on Beach road will buy their water from the mobile bicycle guys for 10 Baht instead of walking 15 meters to the minimart. That's a 43% higher price compared to Family Mart. Why is that? I can only see it as extreme laziness, I have no other explanation for it. Even the girls with only 20 Baht in their pocket are still to lazy to go there.

And why is it that they work for 30 Baht an hour, yet to go home from work they'd rather take a 40 Baht motorbike taxi than walking 15 minutes?!

Are you really this stupid and cheap. What is wrong with what and where they choose to buy from? How much each individual make and how one choose to spend their earned money is none of your concern. There are many people choose to buy from small/street vendors instead of bigbox retailers for various reasons including supporting little local businesses. Are you suggesting that everybody who are riding bike taxi make only 30 baht an hour? They are using the bike taxi because, very obviously, they can afford to. Without these people you call lazy/stupid, small local businesses will be out of job.

Edited May 30, 2015 by sitti

[Pib]

Bangkok prices as of 30 May. And don't confuse Gasoline 95 with Gasohol 95 variants...two different animals.

[lorus59]

Yes it is a great business opportunity to rip off poor people if it is true they can't afford the 40 baht minimum charge at the petrol station (Which is less than 100 metres from this vending machine). I would not congratulate anyone taking advantage of poor people to make a profit.

That's not right. I don't even see any part of this business is remotely close to ripping off the poor. It's all about choices and how much you see value in a little convenience. Nobody is being forced to buy from that vending machine. Price is clearly listed. If they don't like the deal, they can always go to that petrol station less than 100m away.

They really are that lazy/stupid, please don't put it down to the very few who don't have the 50 Baht minimum purchase at the gas station. I'll give you two examples:

There is 2 pumps for motorbikes at the Shell gas station in South Pattaya. Why do most of the Thais fill in V-Power instead of normal petrol? This stuff is 8 Baht dearer and has virtually no benefit. Do they wanna look fancy? Do they believe the marketing stuff? Or are they just too lazy to pay attention to it?

Example number 2: From what I observe, more than 90% of Thais hanging out across the road from Family Mart on Beach road will buy their water from the mobile bicycle guys for 10 Baht instead of walking 15 meters to the minimart. That's a 43% higher price compared to Family Mart. Why is that? I can only see it as extreme laziness, I have no other explanation for it. Even the girls with only 20 Baht in their pocket are still to lazy to go there.

And why is it that they work for 30 Baht an hour, yet to go home from work they'd rather take a 40 Baht motorbike taxi than walking 15 minutes?!

Are you really this stupid and cheap. What is wrong with what and where they choose to buy from? How much each individual make and how one choose to spend their earned money is none of your concern. There are many people choose to buy from small/street vendors instead of bigbox retailers for various reasons including supporting little local businesses. Are you suggesting that everybody who are riding bike taxi make only 30 baht an hour? They are using the bike taxi because, very obviously, they can afford to. Without these people you call lazy/stupid, small local businesses will be out of job.

So why are they buying it at the vending machine? It is obvious that they only have 10 or 20 baht available to buy fuel. That by definition means they are not flush with cash. The petrol station won't allow them to spend so little, so they use the vending machine. The company who own the vending machine know this. Why else would they place one so close to a petrol station? You don't think charging 45% more is not profiteering?

If you are starving and you only had 20 baht in your pocket but a loaf of 20 slices of bread in a shop is 50 baht but they will sell you one slice for 10 baht, what do you do? You buy the 2 slices for 20 baht of course. Now is the shop owner just having a good business opportunity or is he or she exploiting your situation?

[stevenl]

Yes it is a great business opportunity to rip off poor people if it is true they can't afford the 40 baht minimum charge at the petrol station (Which is less than 100 metres from this vending machine). I would not congratulate anyone taking advantage of poor people to make a profit.

That's not right. I don't even see any part of this business is remotely close to ripping off the poor. It's all about choices and how much you see value in a little convenience. Nobody is being forced to buy from that vending machine. Price is clearly listed. If they don't like the deal, they can always go to that petrol station less than 100m away.

They really are that lazy/stupid, please don't put it down to the very few who don't have the 50 Baht minimum purchase at the gas station. I'll give you two examples:

There is 2 pumps for motorbikes at the Shell gas station in South Pattaya. Why do most of the Thais fill in V-Power instead of normal petrol? This stuff is 8 Baht dearer and has virtually no benefit. Do they wanna look fancy? Do they believe the marketing stuff? Or are they just too lazy to pay attention to it?

Example number 2: From what I observe, more than 90% of Thais hanging out across the road from Family Mart on Beach road will buy their water from the mobile bicycle guys for 10 Baht instead of walking 15 meters to the minimart. That's a 43% higher price compared to Family Mart. Why is that? I can only see it as extreme laziness, I have no other explanation for it. Even the girls with only 20 Baht in their pocket are still to lazy to go there.

And why is it that they work for 30 Baht an hour, yet to go home from work they'd rather take a 40 Baht motorbike taxi than walking 15 minutes?!

Are you really this stupid and cheap. What is wrong with what and where they choose to buy from? How much each individual make and how one choose to spend their earned money is none of your concern. There are many people choose to buy from small/street vendors instead of bigbox retailers for various reasons including supporting little local businesses. Are you suggesting that everybody who are riding bike taxi make only 30 baht an hour? They are using the bike taxi because, very obviously, they can afford to. Without these people you call lazy/stupid, small local businesses will be out of job.

I don't think stupid and cheap, just arrogant and knowing all better.

[wump]

Seems like noone actually answered my questions.

Just quote my post and fill it in:

1) Why do they fill up V-Power instead of normal petrol?

2) Why do they buy the water for 10 Baht when they can buy it 15 metres away for 7 Baht?

3) Why do they (normal workers) work for 37 Baht an hour yet they go home with the motorbike taxi for 40 Baht instead of walking 15 minutes (=160 Baht/hour)?

Edited May 30, 2015 by wump