Posted on 08/19/2024 12:35:17 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The station is the only one around for miles in the Mojave desert.
This summer, gas prices are lower than they have been in the past. In some places though, some gas stations have a “I know what I have” attitude, resulting in some seriously high prices. One desert gas station is like this, and it doubles down on the pricing with a disclaimer for customers.
Najah’s Desert Goods sits in the middle of absolutely nowhere in the Mojave Desert right at the intersection of Route 66 and Interstate 40. Well it’s not technically nowhere; it’s in a place called Fenner, California, which, if you know, might as well be nowhere. At Najah’s Desert Oasis sits a Chevron station and, as seen in a tweet from Twitter X user @mbateman, this station has some of what’s likely the highest if not the highest gas prices around. Regular is at $8.59/gallon, plus is at $8.65/gallon and premium is $8.75/gallon. Outrageous prices anywhere else, for sure.
However Najah’s Desert Goods knows there is a need. The owners also know that people will complain about the prices of the gas. A second picture in the post shows a disclaimer that the station has posted for anyone that’s considering complaining to someone about the gas prices. It reads:
Our overhead is extremely high. Delivery cost is double with this location. There is a vast of almost 100 miles of desert, with no service. Please do not complain about the prices. You have a choice to be a customer or not. We are here for your convenience. Thank you for supporting a family owned business.
On one hand they have a point. You do have a choice on whether or not you choose to stop, pay their prices and get gas. On the other, saying “You need us because look where you are! What other choice do you have!” can be a turn off for some. And it reflects in the station’s reviews: 1.4 stars on Yelp and 2.3 on Google. That’s from nearly 500 total reviews. And from some of the reviews, the station’s prices aren’t the only things wrong.
“With the price they’re charging for gas and other items inside the shop, they can’t be bothered to fix two out of three of the bathroom stalls. Nothing inside has a price tag, just pick up what you want and have a heart attack at the register,” read one review from earlier this month.
I’m not usually price sensitive, I know sometimes you have to charge a premium, but this seems so extreme—more like gouging desperate people than charing fair prices. “I also went inside and paid $8 for water…” read another review.
It seems like if you’re ever in this part of the Mojave desert in California, you should just stock extra gas and bypass this place entirely. Or if you don’t mind paying nearly $5 more than California’s average gas price, pull in and knock yourself out.
Better vote fo Trump - Harris will Fine them!
“gouging” article. Expect more of these. Business bad. Kamala good.
Supply and demand.
People don’t understand that the farther you are from a commodity the more expensive it is.
Corn is cheap in Iowa. But Lobster is outrageous.
Oranges are cheap in Florida, but gasoline is not.
Lobster is cheap in Maine but not much else is..................
What about the Bagdad Cafe?
But enough gas - if you need it - to get to the next normally priced (in California it will still be high) station and be done with Najah. The get the heck out of California altogether.
So here’s what happens. Instead of filling your tank with 25 gallons, you get five gallons to get to the next station. The gas station knows that, and is okay with it. EV drivers better avoid that route.
Exactly!
The wonders of free market capitalism:
1) If you don’t like the price, don’t buy it.
2) If someone is making a lot of money selling something, then get into that business, sell it for less, and you can still make a good profit.
Good movie....................
I’ve been in some seriously out-of-the-way parts of the world. Prices are high. In some cases, so are the locals ...
I checked where this station is located and the owner is right, it’s in the middle of nowhere. 35 miles to Needles and 110 miles to Barstow.
If you have to stop there because your gas tank is low, you are largely unprepared and deserve to pay that price.
I have HAD to buy gas there. If you are low and not sure you will make it the 100 miles to the next station their gas is cheap. You buy enough to get to the next station.
The takers of society want everything free they don’t understand pricing or economics and they like it that way learning is too burdensome.
But do they have EV Chargers?
I saw a sign one time:
LAST CHANCE FOR GAS
FOR THE NEXT 2500 METERS.
As of July 29, 2024, the average price of gas in California was $4.59 per gallon - so it's $4 higher. people should just buy a few gallons and pay the surcharge of be prepared an fill up before driving across a dessert.
LOL!
Holy Moly! What is that, maybe a hunnert miles? I better git me a liter or two just to be safe...
“’gouging’ article.”
Or as kaMAla would say, “gage-ing”.
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