Computer Glitch Makes Gas Prices Pennies A Gallon...And Then This Happened

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I apologize for the clickbait-y headline but, I think you'll agree, you didn't see this coming. Price matching a computer glitch takes balls or extreme stupidity, we're not sure which one it is at this point. ;)


Was it all a publicity stunt? Some hackers with very small-time goals? All the travel center’s cashier could say was that there was a computer malfunction, and then the other store decided to keep up with its neighbor and competition.
 
There was some gas stations in Michigan that got down to $0.90/gallon range a couple weeks ago.

Some states mandate a minimum that can be charged per gallon, so as to protect the smaller gas stations (similar to "loss leader" pricing that big companies can employ). Hopefully they don't get fined by a government official that sees a revenue opportunity.

EDIT! The gas station in the article was charging around $0.17
EDIT!!!!!
 
Yeah, this happen in Michigan, I thought it was about 20 cents not 90. Either way that Michigan one was done as a stunt. Hard to say if this was a stunt or somebody not typing stuff in correctly
 
Man I love clicking on sketchy links to see "what happens next".

I guess this just proves that the station across the street is pre-programmed to undercut the competitors price by at least 2 cents a gallon.
 
Eh, gas companies want to maximize profits by being able to change prices at an instant, and have prices tied into some central server, then they kind of deserve this to happen.
 
UGH! Drive by these gas stations on my commute and often fill up there, but managed to totally miss this :(
 
It sounds like this happened very early in the morning and lasted for a couple hours at most so that's not surprising.
 
Yeah, this would never happen in California. Silly gas tax means lowest it will go is about 2$. They claim its to pay for upkeep on the roads... but I drive on these roads all the time and they are utter crap in many places. I always get a kick when I cross the border into Nevada, the road magically becomes nice and smooth at exactly the state line.
 
Ha! Wish that happened here. Though the other station wouldn't price match, they would probably double it. Its a chevron, and gas there right now is $1.99, the am/pm down the street is $1.71
 
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