In a word, NO.
Have you received the chain email letter encouraging you to boycott gas companies Exxon and Mobil in order to “force” them to lower gas prices? It goes something like this:
With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action.
The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.
How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can’t just stop buying gas.
But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.
Here’s the idea: For the rest of this year, DON’T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one),EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit…
This scheme has been making the rounds for years, along with one to boycott the gas companies on certain days of the week. These plans will NOT work. Here is why, according to Break the Chain:
Just for the sake of argument, let’s say we successfully organize the Exxon/Mobil boycott. Exxon/Mobil loses business and lowers prices to lure you back. The other stations will follow suit and lower prices to compete, right? Not quite.
To avoid Exxon/Mobil you go to the Speedway across the street, instead. Speedway’s business increases, causing them to raise their prices to try to control demand, otherwise their supply would be quickly depleted. Their higher prices drive customers to Shell, who in turn raise their prices and drive customers to BP, and so on. Eventually, supply and demand will equalize and all stations will have the same price again.
As consumers, we can do little to control supply, but we can control demand. However, effectively doing so means reducing demand overall, not just at one station. The reduction in demand must be severe and long-lasting. If you want to save money at the pump, slow down on the freeway, plan outings to get everything in one trip, walk more and trade in that gas-guzzling SUV for an economical compact car for starters.
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