GasBuddy: Why I use it

[BTFT]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Didn't encounter the 'scamming of prices' either....and we traveled ALL OVER the USA


Besides........I always LOOK at prices posted on signage PRIOR to pulling into ANY station

First of all the gaming of prices is and can be very subtle and not immediately apparent. It may be difficult to parse out from just an entry mistake by a buyer.


But in one case where I didnt see the sign before I went in and filled up after consulting GB....I corrected the price on GB and two hours later I checked and it had been changed back to the lower fake price.


Only the naive would fail to understand the benefits to station owners of gaming fuel buddy. And remember many managers of these stations/conv. stores are paid bonuses based on sales volume...



Many times I have pulled in to find the sign price and the posted price on GB differing greatly...even though the price had been updated on GB just minutes before. This of course can be mistakes by buyers too. And I find the Gas price posted under Diesel heading.


For me it's a matter of paying close attention since I have seen so much disinformation on that APP.

[Dutch Star Don]

I've never seen a "gaming" of prices on Gas Buddy. I'm sure it can occur, but you're making it sound like it's a daily event at every station. I've been using Gas Buddy for as long as the APP has been available. I can't think of a single time that the price was different than what GB said it was. Just looked at Gas Buddy for my neighborhood....all prices are right on the money.

[BTFT]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

I've never seen a "gaming" of prices on Gas Buddy. I'm sure it can occur, but you're making it sound like it's a daily event at every station. I've been using Gas Buddy for as long as the APP has been available. I can't think of a single time that the price was different than what GB said it was. Just looked at Gas Buddy for my neighborhood....all prices are right on the money.

I use Gas buddy all over the US western Canada and Alaska. I see many mistakes in price multiple times a day on any given leg of a trip. Canada and Alaska are especially bad.


If you use it mostly close to home it may be different especially if you use the same stations most of the time.


GB is a constant source of frustration due to it's inaccuracy and it's lack of general coverage in many places. In other places it works great but this is spotty and inconsistent.


And just because you have not experienced it does not invalidate my experience of approximately 45 states Canada and Alaska.


Further I am "not making it sound" like anything in particular. I simply pointed out that gaming exists, it is hard to spot and that there is a great incentive to do it for station owners and managers. Several years ago I contacted GB about the gaming issue and reported the station...they admitted they knew they had a problem with it but were pretty much helpless to figure out a way to stop it given the structure of the APP.


Apparently they agree it occurs. But no one is saying it's rampant or out of control.

[JSM180]

The problem I have with GasBuddy is that the price shows "Report Price" if it is not updated within around 24 hrs. This makes it a real problem when looking for diesel, especially in an unfamiliar area. When traveling, I find the the price to be accurate about half the time, whether it is due to gaming or inaccurate reporting, I couldn't care less, I just want to know if the next exit has diesel. I try to avoid the truck stops with their stupid high prices, then have to slop through spilled diesel at the pump.

[egwilly]

Gaming the apps like Gas Buddy and Yelp are pretty common in my experience.

Peeps are compensated to make false reviews and postings. Sure, if they're caught they get banned, but come back as another user name and hide their original names.

Trip Advisor website is going thru this now as false reviews have be discovered.

[CyrusL]

I used to use Gas Buddy, but now days I just use Google Maps. It has gas prices for a lot of stations in my area.

[IC2]

I'll use it while traveling but it seems to be getting a bit cumbersome to navigate lately vs a year or so ago. Or is it just my lack of regular use?

I did find that my usual local I-87, Exit 10 station is still $2.99 for diesel, $2.68 for gas which corresponds to what I saw yesterday. It was $3.09 last week so is getting to be a better price for our summer travels

[chunker]

Gas Buddy is a tool just like all the others we use in our travels. Prices are reported by users and yes by dealers also. One caution is to make sure it's for #2 diesel if that's the grade fuel you use. Some stations sell "off-road" diesel and a casual price updater might report that price. In Oregon stations post the PUC price which isn't available to RVs.

Again it's a tool so verify before pulling in and NEVER wait till the last drop of fuel in the tank to stop for fuel. I operate off the top half generally and top 3/4 at the most. If I am concerned about a price I'll call the station to verify the price and access in. Google earth is also my friend.