|
Discount Propane
How it Works
Membership starts in September of
each year and runs through the end of August, allowing you to buy at the
negotiated rate for the year (a "cost plus" plan; in addition, we
often get a lock-in through 3/31). Depending upon your supplier and if you
own or rent your tank, the 2009-2010 lock-in
was as low as $1.90. (The lock-in application deadline has passed -- members joining
now will be on a cost-plus basis until the new year (9/1).)
After the lock-in, or for members
joining after the lock-in, you will be on a cost-plus basis through the end of
August. Savings vary, but are usually from 50 cents to $1 per gallon (that's $100 - $200 on a 200
gallon fill-up). Renew
by the deadline (typically, 8/31), and you'll be eligible for a lock-in for the
next year.
If you own your tank, you can switch
as soon as we process your application. If you rent your tank, after we
process your application the new provider will contact you about swapping rental
tanks. (If you rent your tank, only the owner of that tank may fill it.)
A non-member reported paying
$4.38 a gallon
in early 2008. Members at the time were paying $1.50.
This isn't typical, but our savings have been the greatest when we get a
lock-in.
(Savings for 200 gallons:
$576!)
Another reported $4.63 in January of
2010. We were paying about
$2.45
on a cost-plus basis.
(Savings for 200 gallons:
$436!)
Even without a lock-in, we are provided a quantity
discount, so we're still saving money.
|
New members can join now and get a
special $1.90 rate through 8/31/2007, and then get the $1.50 rate in September.
This special expires 8/31/2007.
Click to join or
re-enroll now, or you may send us an
e-mail for more information.
|
Our club:
Costs only $40 annually
(for a single address; $60 for a
commercial account for multiple addresses owned by the same person)
You may leave at any time (but why would you?)
How it works:
-
Propane is lower
in the summer when demand is extremely low, but can double
in price during the
peak winter months when most people need propane the most.
-
When market
conditions allow, we negotiate to get a winter lock-in price each summer
while the rates are low**, and choose the best provider for the upcoming
winter. They pre-buy our propane for the next year to lock-in our price.
That's why the
enrollment period is such a short time -- they buy all our propane in the
off-season. (Don't you wish we could do that with gasoline?) Even
if we don't lock in, we use our buying power to negotiate a discount rate --
typically 50 cents to $1 below market.
-
At some point in
the future, a small deposit (10 cents per gallon or so) may be required for
estimated winter use, but so far we've refused "pre-pay" contracts, and
intend to look at them very
negatively in the future.
-
You will pay the
negotiated cost-plus rate from September 1st through the expiration period,
typically the middle
of August. If you are on a lock-in, it expires 3/31, and then converts
to cost-plus for the remainder of the club year. (One of our members with a very large tank
saved about $700 on a single fill-up of 900 gallons.)
A credit card must be on file to charge your fill-up.
We then
negotiate again for the next year!
Conditions:
e home page for details.
You must own
your own tank, or rent one from the provider we select (250 gallon minimum,
100 gallon minimum fill-up). We will give
priority each year to the current provider to try to keep our members who rent
their tanks from having to change. (If you own your own tank,
you can fill-up from anyone you choose. If your tank is rented, you must use
the owner of the tank.)
Our provider will rent you a tank, and, if your tank is new enough, swap the fuel
from the old tank to theirs. There is no charge for the swapping of the
tanks, just the fuel you buy to fill the new tank!
You need an
estimate of the total gallons you used in the previous year.
There is an annual
membership fee (see membership forms)
to cover the costs of maintaining our membership lists, this web site,
advertising, and other expenses. You may leave at any time. You
agree to notify us if you change your e-mail address.
You will be on a "keep-full" program, where our
provider fills your tank whenever they are in your area.
Membership in the club says they may fill your tank at
any time; anyone refusing a fill-up will have their membership
terminated, with no refund of dues.
While the
"keep-full" program
is extremely convenient, you should always know how much propane is in your
tank, especially during the high-usage winter months. If you are running low
(20% in summer, 30% in winter), you should
call your provider so you don't run out.
After signing-up
for the club, your name and address will be provided to our current propane
provider. It is your responsibility to establish an account with that
provider, as you will pay them directly. You are purchasing propane
from the provider, not us. However, if you accidentally
get charged the regular amount (it occasionally happens -- they're only
human), we will be happy to assist in getting your bill corrected.
Occasionally,
things can go wrong. Weather or break-downs may delay delivery.
You may be charged the retail price instead of the club price. If
something goes wrong, we encourage you to contact your provider. If you
e-mail, please "CC" us. When you contact your provider, please observe
the following:
-
Our providers
are doing the best they can, and they strive to serve our club members.
Explain your problem with professionalism and courtesy and allow them to
assist you. If this doesn't
work, contact us.
-
Do not -- under
any circumstances -- use insulting, intimidating, or demeaning language when
dealing with a provider, unless you expect to pay retail for future propane,
as you will be removed from the club. Ditto for any type of profanity.
If this seems harsh, we don't want a hot-head
spoiling it for the rest of us. We like saving money on propane!
-
Do not escalate
your problem above the contacts listed in this website. Contact us,
instead. If it needs to be escalated, we'll do so.
-
While we'll assist
with legitimate complaints, if you are violating club rules, or just want to
complain for no apparent valid reason, you may "get with the program" or pay
retail. This is a great deal for those of us in the club, and we don't want anyone
to mess it up.
Membership
procedures, transfers, and rules are determined by a mutual agreement between us
and our providers. Most are explained here, but we cannot detail all the
intricate details on a website, so other conditions may apply.
Provide authorization to our provider for us to have access to your
account. This will allow us to contact our provider in your behalf if you
are having any service issues, and close your account if we are switching you
to another provider. You may not be on two provider's lists at one time. (We will become involved in incorrect
billing issues, but not late-payment. If our provider tells
us you are delinquent, your membership will be subject to cancellation without
refund. You are e xpected to pay your bill in a timely manner.)
Payment must be made by a credit card on file with the
provider.
You must
have a valid e-mail address. No, we're not harvesting e-mail
addresses, and we don't share them with anyone but our service
provider. It's simply expensive and time consuming to mail
information.
If your property
is locked by gate or key, you are required to provide the provider (via the
club) with a key
or code to that gate.
If you have dogs
or other animals that appear unfriendly to the driver, you may be required to
leash them for deliveries.
You agree we may
use your name and/or company name in advertising.
In short, the
members of this club save a lot of money on propane. In order to get
these savings, we make concessions (as described above) to our providers.
If you disagree with any of
the other conditions above, pay retail. The rest of us are saving money and having fun. If you
violate any of these conditions, your
membership is subject to cancellation without refund.
What's the catch?
There is none, except for a few "conditions" we follow
(above). Amazingly, some people don't sign up because
it seems too good to be true. However, if you read through the
plan, you'll see it makes sense for our
provider (guaranteed business) as well as the
members (substantial savings).
The only way you could lose? If you just don't use propane.
Or, if prices dropped during the winter (about as much chance as gasoline going
down during the summer driving season!)
(If you save 50 cents per gallon,
the first
80
gallons will pay your membership fee! We've seen savings from 30 cents to $2.88
per gallon, depending upon the season.)
|
Lock-in
The lock-in is determined by each of the
propane companies we use, not us. It's very simple: If
they feel they can lock-in and save us all money, they do. If
not, which has been the case the last 2 years, they don't.
Why? You'll notice, unlike pre-buy
plans, we have no pre-pay. We decided to go the "lock" route
because most people can't afford to pay for an entire year's propane
up-front. When the propane company locks in, their supplier
charges them about 10 cents a gallon. So, if we're paying
$2.00, the lock-in at the same rate would cost us $2.20.
That's great when propane goes to $3 -
$4, as it has in the past, and we're locked-in at a lower price.
But, if the market conditions are unstable, they don't want to
lock-in at $2.00 and then not have the price increase, or, even
worse, have it drop.
If the price stayed the same, we'd be
paying a 10 cent premium for the lock, which would be absurd.
If the price drops, the gas is even more expensive. Members
would simply cancel their membership for the year, and the propane
companies would be stuck with several hundred thousand gallons of
propane for which they paid too much.
Many of our members have become
self-proclaimed "experts" on when we should lock in. Some
demanded we lock-in several years ago when the price was close to $3, and it
dropped to less than $2. A lock-in would have been terrible.
Regardless of how smart we think we are, it's the propane companies
who decide whether to lock -- they are the ones with the cash to
loose.
Thankfully, that was an
anomaly, as market conditions almost always allow a lock.
|
Click here to join!
**A "lock-in" is established
when market conditions allow; otherwise, a cost-plus plan will be
implemented.
|
and
